Should A Christian Go To war?
At the outbreak of World War I, Alvin York from Pall Mall, Tennessee struggled with this question. His pastor was a pacifist and begged Alvin to stay home as a conscientious objector. Alvin was an earnest Christian, and deliberated with much prayer about the course of action he was to take. He finally responded to the draft notice and trained in the infantry. In the fall of 1918, at the Battle of Argonne, almost single-handed he killed 25 Germans, knocked out 35 machine guns and captured 132 prisoners. He was awarded the Medal of Honor and was considered the most valiant soldier of World War I. He attributed his success to God’s help and protection. Was Alvin York mixed up or was his pastor wrong?
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught us about the Christian ethic which stipulated our duty to love our enemies, to turn the other cheek when struck and to do good to those who hate us. This ethic was to be the pattern for believers as they sought to emulate God’s grace among unbelievers.
`Yet it is important to remember that Jesus’ ethic is given to Christians about conflict regarding their faith. They were not to retaliate for persecution aimed against them. They were to demonstrate that Christians do not use the sword to impose faith and to force conversion. Yet Jesus did allow the sword as a defensive weapon (Luke 22:36), perhaps as a deterrent against those who would harm the apostles, not because they were Christians, but because they presented easy targets for thieves and robbers.
In a cursed world filled with the schemes of the wicked, it is not sinful to protect oneself and by implication, it is not wrong to join an army to protect one’s nation from threat by another. We see some justification for this view from examples in the New Testament.
In Luke 3:14, we are told that soldiers responded to the preaching of John the Baptist. They asked the prophet about their social responsibility in light of the soon appearing of the kingdom of God. John did not tell them to quit the military. He simply commanded them not to use their authority to exhort money from the population or to accuse falsely and pervert justice. They were to be content with their wages (Luke 3:14).
Jesus commended a centurion, a Roman military officer, for having more faith than any in Israel, because he recognized Jesus’ power to speak a word and bring forth the healing of the centurion’s servant miles away. Jesus implied that this soldier, full of faith, would take part in the future messianic feast (Matthew 8:5-13). Jesus did not force him to renounce his profession as a soldier of a pagan empire. He dealt with him as an individual and accepted him as he was.
Another centurion, Cornelius, was visited by an angel with a message to contact the apostle Peter in a nearby town about the gospel of salvation (Acts 10:1-3). As a believer in the God of Israel, Cornelius was appreciated among the Jewish population for his kindness to their people. His prayers and gifts to the poor had come up as a memorial offering before God. Cornelius dispatched a devout soldier to find Peter (Acts 10:7). It seems God was pleased to choose soldiers to hear about Jesus and be saved.
Every Christian is a citizen of heaven and a citizen of a sovereign state. In the event of a war between two nations, he must evaluate the nature of the conflict to determine if there is just cause for defending the home nation against the foreign power. In the case of fending off an aggressor, the Christian can enlist and confidently serve God in the military. If need be, the Christian can go to war.
