Is war justified in Christianity?
The main Christian view of war ethics is contained in the doctrine of the Just War. The basic assumption of modern Christians is that war is rarely justified and should be avoided unless the Just War conditions are met.
The word of God is not only from the beginning; it is eternal. (Psalm 119:89). Should the disciples of Jesus join armies and fight wars? Jesus' position is unambiguous: those who belong to the kingdom of God do not fight over the things of this world.
Justification is that gracious and judicial act of God whereby a soul is granted complete absolution from all guilt and a full release from the penalty of sin (Romans 3:23-25). This act of divine grace is wrought by faith in the merits of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ (Romans 5:1).
In his prophecies of the Last Things, Jesus spoke of the wars of the future. He said that nation would rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom, that wars and rumours of wars would be heard of, that Judaea would be devastated, Jerusalem besieged and taken by the gentiles, and the Temple defiled and destroyed.
A war is only just if it is fought for a reason that is justified, and that carries sufficient moral weight. The country that wishes to use military force must demonstrate that there is a just cause to do so. The main just cause is to put right a wrong.
The Lord has commanded His people to “renounce war and proclaim peace” (D&C 98:16).
Many Christians believe that war should be avoided if possible, and should only be undertaken if all efforts to resolve an issue by peaceful means have failed. Many Christians see war as the result of a failure to live by God's standards.
By God choosing Israel as his kingdom of priests and the holy nation he has to allow them the capacity for war to defend themselves and exist in that region. So that's one reason why God could command war. The second reason God commands war is to reveal his character and nature on a national and international stage.
The Church is emphatically for peace in all places and for all people, and has time and again advocated vocally for the prevention or cessation of war and supports the long tradition of pacifism in the Church. Yet, under certain circumstances, it also believes that war is morally permissible perhaps even necessary.
- He tried to justify his behavior by saying that he was being pressured unfairly by his boss.
- The fact that we are at war does not justify treating innocent people as criminals.
- It's hard to justify the cost of a new car right now. = It's hard to justify spending money on a new car right now.
Where in the Bible does it say we are justified?
Paul writes in Galatians 2:16, “Know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified” (NIV).
4:4–5). Recall that Jesus also teaches that the one who is justified before God is not the one who boasts in his or her own righteousness but the sinner who cries out to God for mercy. Isaiah prophesies that our justification will come about through the suffering of the servant for our transgressions.
Members of the Historic Peace Churches such as Quakers, Mennonites, Amish and the Church of the Brethren object to war based on their conviction that Christian life is incompatible with military actions, because Jesus enjoins his followers to love their enemies and refrain from committing acts of violence.
You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come.
' Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” These verses present some important limitations on the use of physical force. We are not to avenge wrongs done to ourselves. In fact, we are to behave in the opposite way toward our enemies and treat them with kindness!
According to Just War Theory, the reason for war should be to protect innocent life from danger. For example, if genocide is occurring in a country, war is justified as it aids the victims. In essence, the cause of war must be in self-defense or other's defense to be ethical.
The act of war cannot be justified for three main reasons: the horrendous short term and long term effects, wars are fought for misguided ideas of power and of righteousness, and wars are fought because of the darkest or most evil part of human nature.
Jehovah's Witnesses and Christadelphians, refuse to participate in the armed services on the grounds that they believe they should be neutral in worldly conflicts and often cite the latter portion of Isaiah 2:4 which states, "...
pacifist Add to list Share. A person who opposes the use of war or violence to settle a dispute is called a pacifist. If you are a pacifist, you talk through your differences with others instead of fighting. A pacifist is a peacemaker — even its Latin origins of pax, or "peace" and facere, "to make" show it.
The Golden Rule. It is often claimed that religion causes conflict and war. It is true that sometimes deeply held beliefs can lead to clashes, and there have been many wars that were caused by disputes over religion and beliefs. However, for many people religion can be a power for peace.
What does the Bible say about peace and war?
The Theme of War in Scripture
Scripture tells us that there is “a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace” (Ecclesiastes 3:8). Battles were planned throughout the ages, according to God's appointed time and purpose.
The military for many Christians is the highest form of sacrifice for others pointing to Jesus saying, “greater love hath no man that he gives his life for a friend.” Soldier in the military is giving their lives for those they love. This would seem to be a clear case that Christian's should support the military.
War (prop. לָחֶם, πόλεμος, but represented in the Heb. by many subsidiary terms), HEBREW. We may define war as "an attempt to decide a contest between princes, states, or large bodies of people, by resorting to excessive acts of violence, and compelling claims to be conceded by force."
Bible Gateway Ecclesiastes 3 :: NIV. a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace. What does the worker gain from his toil? I have seen the burden God has laid on men.
*Scriptures:
*2 Chronicles 20:17; You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you, Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the Lord will be with you.
Wherever a Christian lives in God's world, he or she engages in a spiritual battle against the cosmic rulers that futilely wage war against God's victory in Christ (Ephesians 5:1-9, 6:10-18). Christian “warfare” involves learning to rightly live in the triumph that God has provided in Christ and His Kingdom.
War is a failure of politics and of humanity, a shameful capitulation, a stinging defeat before the forces of evil,” and quotes Pope John XXIII that “it no longer makes sense to maintain that war is a fit instrument with which to repair the violation of justice.”
Christian Attitudes Toward War
Throughout the greater part of its history, the Christian religion has given official support to war, although there were dissenters among the early church fathers. Marcion, who died in the latter part of the second century, insisted that war was contrary to the teachings of Jesus.
“The madness of war,” Francis said at his weekly general audience. “The innocent pay for war — the innocent! Let us think about this reality and say to each other, 'War is madness. '”
adjective. jus·ti·fied ˈjə-stə-ˌfīd. : having or shown to have a just, right, or reasonable basis.
How do you explain justified?
Being justified speaks of being declared or pronounced legally righteous. Biblically speaking, being justified deals with a person being declared righteous before God by their faith in Jesus Christ. In a court of law, if a judge declares someone on trial “not guilty” that means they're justified.
justified; justifying. transitive verb. : to prove or show to be just, right, or reasonable.
' Matthew 12:37, ESV: for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” Matthew 12:37, KJV: For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.
In the opening of Paradise Lost, Milton invokes his Muse, the Holy Spirit, to grant him “Eternal Providence” that he may achieve his goal for the epic: to “justify the ways of God to men” (PL I. 25- 26). Milton believed in a God that was infinite, eternal, omnipresent, omnipotent, and omniscient (Fallon 33).
Nothing can or should be justified. There is causality ("He did this") and there is generally emotional affect, in this case, usually blame. Affect must be removed; cause-and-effect and intention ascertained.
As already noted, justification removes sin and allows a person to be in a relationship with God. Another reason deals with God's punishment. When Jesus justifies a person, he removes every sin (past, present, and future), which means he takes the punishment for all sin upon himself.
Adam is the name given in Genesis 1-5 to the first human. Beyond its use as the name of the first man, adam is also used in the Bible as a pronoun, individually as "a human" and in a collective sense as "mankind".
ADAM1 was the first man. There are two stories of his creation. The first tells that God created man in his image, male and female together (Genesis 1: 27), and Adam is not named in this version.
A just war is not a war that is 'good' as such. It is a war that Christians feel to be necessary or 'just' in the circumstances, when all other solutions have been tried and have failed. It is a necessary evil and a last resort.
For the thinkers in this its classic form, the just war tradition is grounded in a verse from the thirteenth chapter of the letter to the Roman church: “For [the sovereign ruler] is God's minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain.
Why don t Christians go to war?
Members of the Historic Peace Churches such as Quakers, Mennonites, Amish and the Church of the Brethren object to war based on their conviction that Christian life is incompatible with military actions, because Jesus enjoins his followers to love their enemies and refrain from committing acts of violence.
Christian views towards war and peace
Jesus taught a message of love and Christianity has a strong pacifist tradition. Christians do not actively want war. Peace will always be the preferred option. However Christians can and do accept war if it is just.
The just war theory is a largely Christian philosophy that attempts to reconcile three things: taking human life is seriously wrong. states have a duty to defend their citizens, and defend justice. protecting innocent human life and defending important moral values sometimes requires willingness to use force and ...
The Jus Ad Bellum Convention. The principles of the justice of war are commonly held to be: having just cause, being a last resort, being declared by a proper authority, possessing right intention, having a reasonable chance of success, and the end being proportional to the means used.
The just war theory postulates the belief that war, while it is terrible but less so with the right conduct, is not always the worst option. Important responsibilities, undesirable outcomes, or preventable atrocities may justify war.