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.
Christianity and the ethics of war. 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.
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 pacifist is a person, religious or not who believes that war and violence can rarely or never be justified, and that conflicts should be settled in a peaceful way. Not all Christians are pacifists because many believe that war and conflict can be justified on occasions under certain criteria.
First, because it's a tool of the state necessary for survival. Two, because it is a theological means to communicate God's supremacy and power in the ancient near east and third, because it is a tool of judgment against sin with that kind of covered.
Christians fight an internal battle between our old, worldly self and our new self in Christ. The enemy of our soul knows how to appeal to our sinful nature. Ultimately we do not fight against other people or earthy circumstances, rather, we wage a battle against evil spiritual forces. (Ephesians 6:12).
Whether you like it or not, the Bible teaches that justified warfare is moral - war that is necessary to protect your country and defend your freedoms! Immoral acts may be committed in war; but the principle of war is moral when war becomes necessary. Fighting and killing the enemy is moral - not immoral!
Foremost among them were the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), Amish, Mennonites, Hutterites, and Church of the Brethren.
Therefore, a perception of war as the inevitable expression of the nature of the political community is intrinsically disordered. Nevertheless, the Catholic Church also teaches that under specific circumstances, war can be fought in a manner consistent with justice. This is the well-known just war theory.
The primary impetus has historically been religious. Before the American Revolution, most conscientious objectors were members of “peace churches” — among them the Mennonites, Quakers, and Church of the Brethren — which practiced pacifism.
“Peace is a fruit of the Spirit, and Jesus was, and is, full of the Spirit.” It's somewhat shocking, therefore, to learn that when the expected Messiah appeared on earth, He told His disciples quite plainly that He did not come to bring peace, but rather a sword (Matthew 10:34-35).
And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. (Isaiah 2:4).
Constant PRAYER – Ephesians 6:18. Remember, all of this together forms the whole Armour of God or what we may call the weapons of our warfare. In other words, for us to be in position to really confront the power of darkness, we must put on the whole armour.
THE JUST WAR TRADITION
St Augustine (354 – 430 CE) used biblical teaching to support the view that in some situations, war could be considered morally acceptable for Christians. He developed the idea of a just cause. In other words, a war should only be fought in self-defence or to defend the innocent.
The whole world sits under the authority of Christ (Matthew 28:18), and so the world is the Lord's. 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).
Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, 'VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY,' says the Lord. 'BUT IF YOUR ENEMY IS HUNGRY, FEED HIM, AND IF HE IS THIRSTY, GIVE HIM A DRINK; FOR IN SO DOING YOU WILL HEAP BURNING COALS ON HIS HEAD.
For hundreds of years disciples of Jesus have spoken of the “three enemies of the soul” – the world, the flesh, and the devil.
Verse 18 describes how Christians are to use these tools. The verse begins with a present participle: “praying.” Praying is our war cry that attaches to the bayonet of God's Word for the very real and brutal spiritual warfare in which we must engage. As one Reformer maintained, “We fight by prayer.”
With Vatican II we affirm that: "All those who enter the military service in loyalty to their country should look upon themselves as the custodians of the security and freedom of their fellow countrymen: and when they carry out their duty properly, whey are contributing to the maintenance of peace".
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.
The Thirty Years' War was a 17th-century religious conflict fought primarily in central Europe. It remains one of the longest and most brutal wars in human history, with more than 8 million casualties resulting from military battles as well as from the famine and disease caused by the conflict.
Jain monks and nuns must rank among the most "nonviolent" people in the world. A Jain ascetic is expected to uphold the vow of Ahimsa to the highest standard, even at the cost of his own life.
War is bad
War is a bad thing because it involves deliberately killing or injuring people, and this is a fundamental wrong - an abuse of the victims' human rights.
Jesus appeared to teach pacifism during his ministry when he told his disciples: You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth. ' But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.
So Moses said to the people, "Arm some of your men to go to war against the Midianites and to carry out the LORD's vengeance on them. Send into battle a thousand men from each of the tribes of Israel." So twelve thousand men armed for battle, a thousand from each tribe, were supplied from the clans of Israel.