Can War Ever Be “Just”? – Part 4 – Greg Albrecht

In Part One we provided an overview of Christ-centered teaching about violence and war [click here to read part 1], in Part Two we summarized two views – 1) Just War and War Is Always Wrong – It Is Never Just, [click here to read part 2], in Part Three we considered, assuming the given principles of just war, Two Wars in 2024 [click here to read part 3], and now we conclude with:

Part Four: Can War Ever Be “Just”?

Jesus and Warfare – the Kingdom of God Vs. The Kingdoms of This World

While the topic of war is huge and impossible to adequately address in a brief answer, here is a brief summary of Christ-centered principles about warfare.

Jesus taught that his followers should respond to aggression by turning the other cheek. Of course, most biblical scholars do not believe he intended that his followers invite aggression, becoming a doormat for others or naively expose themselves to violence by suggesting they allow themselves to be taken advantage of.  

Jesus did teach the gospel ethic of loving one’s enemies. But is love always incompatible with the taking of life? Again, we cite Augustine: “love does not preclude a benevolent severity.” Some would say that no life, human or animal, should ever be taken. But no biblical teaching suggests that taking life is always immoral. People may kill animals for food, according to biblical examples, though some today protest against taking of any animal life, ever.   

There is a distinction, and Jesus made that distinction in his choice of words, between killing and murdering. Murder – the taking of the life of another human in an illegal manner, as defined by the state – is immoral, by biblical standards. Jesus was himself crucified but he crucified no one.

Many suggest Jesus, in the Sermon on the Mount, was far more concerned with returning good for evil, teaching reconciliation and forgiveness as a spiritually superior response to hostilities rather than hatred and revenge. Can one, individually or nationally, use force without hatred or revenge or greed or lust being involved? Can love motivate us to protect others from harm and thus justify some of the means employed to ensure peace and protection? Can one utilize violence in self-defensive and be justified in doing so, according to the gospel?

Since war and violence are just as inevitable as many other life experiences, and while a Christ-follower should always attempt to find other solutions, will there be times, some of them “in the heat of the moment” when a Christ follower will use force in a morally acceptable way?

That said, the peace that Jesus proclaimed is a core belief and practice of his Kingdom. For Christ-followers peace is more than the absence of violence and armed conflict, it is a way of life. The peace of God is the Jesus Way, a transformed life in which the risen Lord breathes the shalom of God into those who believe, trust and follow him.    

War is always hell. Violence and war are always inferior methods to solve differences. War is a curse. War is borne of the base lust, greed and desires we humans must contend with, in our own lives and in the lives of others who impact our own.     

Is Russia-Ukraine/Hamas-Israel The End?

Some say the Bible says the current war in the Middle East is the sign, or another sign, of the end of the world as we know it. They claim to interpret biblical passages in such a way as to come to this conclusion, yet they do not respond to questions as to why this same methodology of biblical interpretation, resulting in scare and fear tactics, has been wrong over and over again, through many generations. Why no responsibility for blatantly false predictions which caused people to dramatically change their lives? Why continue to employ bankrupted, discredited methods of understanding what many call “end times teaching” in the Bible?

Some say that Jesus said that “wars and rumors of wars” would be a sign of his Second Coming. No, Jesus said, “when you hear of wars and rumors of wars” (Mark 13:7). He is describing the kingdoms of the world. 

This current war in the Middle East is not a sign of anything other than the continuing brutality, hatred and violence that human beings have always inflicted on one another, beginning with the biblical story of Cain and Abel. This war is yet another reminder that the only kingdom that can solve such evils is the kingdom that is not of this world. 

Meanwhile, the wars in Gaza and in the Ukraine are a sign, along with the ever-present violence all around us in our towns, cities, states, provinces and countries that we live in a jungle of evil and depraved immorality and how we must be wise in how we interact with each other… whether that be in the Middle East or New York or in the Ukraine or around protests on college campuses.  Come Lord Jesus Come!

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