I have been challenged of late to look at my world view and my view of war specifically. I want so badly to say, "Hell yes! go kill those SOB's!" But Is this the Kingdom that Jesus spoke of? He Himself with all His power and might rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, a sign of a humble king seeking peace. Only the war king would arrive on a horse. But Jesus choose a donkey. I have had the quote, "He who lives by the sword will die by the sword" bouncing around my head like a ping pong ball. Is the Kingdom Jesus speaks of one brought on by violence? Is turning the other cheek being a pansy? Jesus' Kingdom was brought on by him riding a symbol of peace. Not of War. I have often thought, "why can't the most evil people like Hitler or those like him be saved? Did Christ not die for them? He did. So there is hope for them until they die. But what if they die by my hand? Have I ended that person's chance of salvation? Only God knows for sure. But Mine is not to judge someone to death. It is God's choice alone.
But I cannot excape the fact that there are times when God uses peole to bring justice. I also cannot shake the truth that there are those that are hurt or killed by others and cannot defend themselves. Who will stand for them? I believe that there is a time for physical defense of the inocent and to stop someone from killing. But does that go against Jesus' teachings? Maybe, maybe not. He has stopped the needless killings of other many times. I believe there are those times that makes violence nessary.
So I have come to the conclussion that war is wrong and killing is against the plan of God for us in His Kingdom. But there is a time to end more killing, there is a justified time to use violence to stop more violence.
With that said, what of this current war in Iraq and Afghanistan? Where there have been some good and noble reasons for these wars, I do not think we should be there now. We have too many our own issues here in the States to be trying to fix others. If we do not fix many of our own problems, we will never be able to help anyone else. We need to fix our own broken issues first. Not only that, but are the people there totally defenceless? Let's love them and work on giving them a chance to know our God. Let's not give up hope on them just because they have given up on us. Let us pray not fight. Let us love not kill.
I may have some of these thoughts a bit jumbled in my thoughts. I will clarify anything that anyone does not make since you.
Joe
Hi Joe,
ReplyDeleteJesus is the same, yesterday, today and forever.. He does not wish that any should perish, eternally, or be lost, eternally.. He is the God that spoke of using the sword and dying by the sword, and who commanded the killing of women, children and men, many times, through israel, in their taking of the lands, God gave them, and in His punishment for their evil deeds.. He is the same God that drowned the large number of Egyptians that followed through the once divided sea,and the same God, that drowned at least thousands of souls, because there was none left good upon the Earth besides Noah.
Yes, death is evil, as it is a punishment we all must endure due to the sin of Adam and Eve.. And, so also is war, but, it is a necessary, lesser evil, when it is a just war. And, well, America isn't waging a just war right now. The american way, is not God's way... It is the way of religious freedom, which leads to religious indifference, which leads to there being no real God to speak of... Americanism is a killing of the soul, slowly, truly and ultimately.
www.theepistemologicworks.com