Christians and War:
Three Viewpoints

Holy War
–

Just (justifiable) War
–

A crusade of Good against Evil
Limited war that is tragic but necessary for the cause of
justice, freedom, and peace
Pacifism
–
Nonviolent love
Christians and War:
Three Viewpoints

Common Ground
–
Holy War and Just War = God occasionally calls
His people to kill enemies
–
Just War and Pacifism = Initial instinct against
violence
–
Holy War and Pacifism = Clear biblical examples
Christians and War:
Three Viewpoints

Common Ground
–
–
–
–
All three agree that nothing is worth living for that
is not worth dying for
All three agree that courage is necessary if one
wishes to follow God faithfully
All three value sacrifice
All three believe that Christians should love their
enemies
Christians and War:
Three Viewpoints



Christian responses to war are not about
“positions”
No Christian has a stake in defending any
“position” in and of itself
Christian responses to war are about faithful
discipleship
PACIFISM

Nonviolent (adjective) love (verb)

Primary example
– Sermon on the Mount
– Jesus’ cross

History
– NT times—Constantine = all Christians
– Constantine—Present = Clergy, “Peace”
Churches
PACIFISM

The Theory
– Jesus’ continued witness was the way of the cross
– The Church continues Jesus’ ministry by witnessing to
the world the way of the cross
– Evil is a “power” both material and spiritual that is not
defeated by violence
– The cross is God’s way of defeating the “powers”
– Therefore, the cross is the Church’s way of defeating
the “powers”: There is divine power in living as we
were created to live
PACIFISM

Scriptural Justification
– You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall
love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But
I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for
those who persecute you.
–Matthew 5:43-44
– Jesus told his disciples, ‘If any want to
become my followers, let them deny
themselves and take up their cross and follow
me.’
–Mark 8:34
PACIFISM

Scriptural Justification
– As he [Jesus] is, so are we in this world.
–1 John 4:17
– To this you have been called: because Christ
suffered for you, leaving you an example, you
should follow in his steps. . . . When he was
abused, he did not return abuse; when he
suffered, he did not threaten; but he entrusted
himself to the one who judges justly.
–1 Peter 2:21, 23
PACIFISM

Scriptural Justification
– Our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh.
—Ephesians 6:12
– Bless those who persecute you . . . Live in harmony with all .
. . Do not repay evil for evil . . . Beloved, never avenge
yourselves.
—Romans 12:14—19
– God proves his love for us in this: while we were still
sinners Christ died for us. . . . While we were enemies, we
were reconciled to God.
—Romans 5:8, 10
– God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, has
given us the ministry of reconciliation.
—2 Corinthians 5:18
PACIFISM

Strengths of Pacifism
– Consistent with the overwhelming witness of
the New Testament
– Pacifism “imitates” (Eph. 5:1) and “follows in
the footsteps” of (1 Peter 2:21) Jesus
– Demonstrates faith in “things unseen” (Heb.
1:1)
PACIFISM

I say to you, ‘Love your enemies.’
—Jesus
– Love is an empty term until it is defined in the
life, death, and resurrection of Christ. To love
is to love as Christ loves: sacrificially.
PACIFISM

Christ is agape; self-giving, nonviolent love. At the cross
this nonviolence found its ultimate revelation in the
uncomplaining and forgiving death of the innocent at the
hands of the guilty. This death reveals how God deals
with evil; here is the only valid starting point for
Christian pacifism. The cross is the extreme
demonstration that agape seeks neither effectiveness
nor justice and is willing to suffer any loss or seeming
defeat for the sake of obedience. But the cross is not
defeat. Christ’s obedience unto death was crowned by
the miracle of the resurrection and the exaltation at the
right hand of God.
—John Yoder, Peace without Eschatology?
PACIFISM

In Response to Holy War and Just War
– Who is the “we” in war?
– Do National ties trump Christian ties?
– There is not a single example of a Christian
asked to or permitted to use violence in the
Bible
PACIFISM

In Response to Holy War
– Along with sin came the need for sacrifice
– A sinful world pays for its sins through
sacrifice
– With the advent of Jesus a final/ultimate
sacrifice was offered
– Jesus is a once and for all sacrifice (he was
the last person who had to be put to death as
a sacrifice for sin)
PACIFISM

In Response to Just War
– Killing to protect the innocent: no NT example
 God Himself allows evil to work in this world
 Jesus did not allow Peter to protect the innocent
 No one rushed in to protect Stephen
– Soldiers in the NT: God’s word reaches even
the unlikeliest people
 “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the
prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God
ahead of you” (Matt. 21:31).
PACIFISM

In Response to Just War
– State “responsibility”: modern reading taken
out of context
 Romans 13 refers to pagan rule: rulers such as
Nero
 God “orders” these governments so that they
serve God’s purposes in spite of themselves
 There is no indication that God blesses the State
any more than God blessed Babylon who was also
“God’s servant” (cf. Jeremiah 25:9)
PACIFISM

In Response to War with Iraq
– “I believe unarmed truth and unconditional
love will have the final word in reality. This is
why right temporarily defeated is stronger
than evil triumphant.”
—Martin Luther King, Jr., Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech
– To be Christian is to be nonviolent
– Christians cannot support war
Christians and War:
Three Viewpoints

Holy War: Christians fight because God
commands them to fight

Just War: Christians fight to secure justice,
freedom, and peace for the innocent

Pacifism: Christian refuse to believe the myth
of redemptive violence exactly because they
believe the cross is the grain of the universe