War vs. Pacifism
Many well-meaning Christians today believe that ANY use of violence is unjustifiable under ANY circumstances (especially war). This view is known as pacifism. Christians refer to Jesus’ command to Peter, “Put your sword away" (Matt 26:52), and to Jesus’ character of peace to validate their position. As noble as this view is, this view is short-sighted because it doesn’t take into account the situations where violence is NECESSARY to prevent more violence. Here is a quick argument that demonstrates the moral bankruptcy of pacifism:
P1: Either violence is never justified or violence is sometimes justified and it just depends on the situation.
P2: Violence is justified when it is the only thing that will stop a murderer from murdering.
C: Therefore, violence is sometimes justified and it just depends on the situation.
The argument is really that simple. The only thing Christians might contend with is premise 2. But here is what contending with premise 2 amounts to: When a knife wielding maniac (enemy) breaks into a home to rape and murder everyone inside, the proper course of action of the Christian father/protector of that home should NOT be to grab the nearest weapon to protect his family. He should just love the intruder and pray for him. This is pacifism taken to its logical conclusion. Can you see how ridiculous it is? God gave us common sense, and common sense should tell every father to pick up any gun, knife, bat, or whatever weapon necessary to stop the evil that is about to fall upon his family.
Some might agree with the logic above but still disagree with “war”. For those I must ask, do you not celebrate Independence Day? Were our Christian founders wrong to fight our British oppressors for independence? How about WWII? Were we wrong to use force and not just pray for our Nazi enemies? It is no surprise that the pacifist is reluctant to answer these questions. The ability to answer these questions with compassion, coherence, and consistency is a real problem for the pacifist.
If your contention is with the subjectivity of “depends on the situation” please read this article by Brian Knowles that helps clarify when violence is justified.
If you are still not convinced and want more on the subject, please refer to the 46:00 mark here where a caller asks the question, "Why aren't Christians pacifists today like the early believers?" The conversation is worth listening to.
If I could sum up this whole topic in one sentence it would be:
The just war is fought not out of hate for the enemy, but out of love for who your enemy is trying to destroy.
P1: Either violence is never justified or violence is sometimes justified and it just depends on the situation.
P2: Violence is justified when it is the only thing that will stop a murderer from murdering.
C: Therefore, violence is sometimes justified and it just depends on the situation.
The argument is really that simple. The only thing Christians might contend with is premise 2. But here is what contending with premise 2 amounts to: When a knife wielding maniac (enemy) breaks into a home to rape and murder everyone inside, the proper course of action of the Christian father/protector of that home should NOT be to grab the nearest weapon to protect his family. He should just love the intruder and pray for him. This is pacifism taken to its logical conclusion. Can you see how ridiculous it is? God gave us common sense, and common sense should tell every father to pick up any gun, knife, bat, or whatever weapon necessary to stop the evil that is about to fall upon his family.
Some might agree with the logic above but still disagree with “war”. For those I must ask, do you not celebrate Independence Day? Were our Christian founders wrong to fight our British oppressors for independence? How about WWII? Were we wrong to use force and not just pray for our Nazi enemies? It is no surprise that the pacifist is reluctant to answer these questions. The ability to answer these questions with compassion, coherence, and consistency is a real problem for the pacifist.
If your contention is with the subjectivity of “depends on the situation” please read this article by Brian Knowles that helps clarify when violence is justified.
If you are still not convinced and want more on the subject, please refer to the 46:00 mark here where a caller asks the question, "Why aren't Christians pacifists today like the early believers?" The conversation is worth listening to.
If I could sum up this whole topic in one sentence it would be:
The just war is fought not out of hate for the enemy, but out of love for who your enemy is trying to destroy.