As I stand before you this morning, the United States of America is on the verge of war. This country that we love so much is in the middle of a great conflict over whether or not we should go to war against Iraq. On the one side there are those who believe it would be immoral for us to go to war, and on the other side are those who believe that there is justifiable cause for us to go to war.
All across our world millions of people have been demonstrating as pressure as pressure mounts to come up with a peaceful solution to the Iraq crisis. Religious leaders, rock stars, movie stars and media personalities have entered the fray. Former presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter are making their voices heard. It seems that everyone has an opinion to express. It is a very difficult and tense time as the people of the world watch and wait to see what will happen.
I speak to you this morning realizing that there are sincere people on both sides of this issue and that the issues are extremely complex. This morning I want to try to give a biblical perspective concerning the issues of war and peace.
I have personally struggled with the ethical issues involved. If we invade Iraq, what about the innocent people of that country who will suffer and die?
What about the hate of my country, your country, the United States of America, that will be generated by a war? This is a hate that may well continue for years to come and affect the generations after us.
What about the loss of life of our soldiers that we most certainly will incur and the resulting loss of these people’s contribution to the world? What about the scars, physical, emotional and spiritual, that will affect the lives of those who fight the war — on both sides?
What will this war do to our nation’s soul? What about our fellow believers from other countries who will die in this war?
How does my belief in the sanctity of human life affect my beliefs about the justification for war?
Many of us have loved ones in the military now. What if they die in battle? My son is over there in harm’s way as we speak. How will I feel if he loses his life to a bullet from the enemy, friendly fire, or God forbid, as the result of chemical or biological weapons?
There are many questions about this war that haunt me. At heart, I am an idealist, one that believes we must always fight for what is right, but at the same time I have to face some very grim realities. These are realities with which we must all grapple, whichever side of the issue we are on.
The first reality we need to face is the reality that there is evil in this world. I have been amazed as I have listened to some of the talk shows on radio and watched them on television. So many people call in and actually believe that if we just try hard enough we can negotiate with Saddam Hussein and get him to destroy his weapons of mass destruction. They believe that if we just give him what he wants, or make our case patiently and clearly enough, he will understand and will ultimately cooperate.
Whatever our position on war is, we must understand that there are some people who are truly evil, people who are determined to abuse their power even to the point of using instruments of death to accomplish their purposes. Whether we believe we should go to war or not, we cannot escape the reality that there is evil in this world, and the fact that there are some people with whom you can never negotiate.
The vast majority of Christians have always understood the reality of the existence of evil in the world. Most have held to the belief that war should always be the course of last resort, but that sometimes there is no other option left.
I think we would probably all agree, as Christians, that war is never something good, and should be avoided unless it is absolutely necessary in order for us to protect our nation and other nations from a worse fate.
Before World War II the world did not take seriously the evil of a man named Adolph Hitler. The nations of the world engaged in a policy of appeasement, peace at all cost. At that time in history, there was a man named Neville Chamberlain who was the Prime Minister of Great Britain. He understood that his country was still tired and weary from World War I, and he wanted to avoid war at all costs.
The problem was that Adolph Hitler knew that, and he was depending on the world’s distaste for another global conflict so that he could pursue his own plans for world dominance.
Mr. Chamberlain reached an agreement with Hitler in September of 1938, which resulted in what was called the Munich Pact. Italy and France joined with Great Britain in agreeing to surrender parts of Czechoslovakia to Germany, in return for Hitler’s agreement that he would not invade any other European countries.
Prime Minister Chamberlain confidently returned home to Great Britain proclaiming to his people: “We have achieved peace in our time.” Along with Italy and France, Great Britain had sold out the people of Czechoslovakia and had not taken Hitler’s evil seriously — naively believing that he would limit or stop altogether his aggression toward his European neighbors. The United States did not become involved in this conflict. Our country stood on the sidelines wanting Europe to handle its own problems.
Soon after the Munich Pact was signed, Hitler defiantly used his military force to take over nearly all of Czechoslovakia and then his troops marched onward and invaded Poland. It soon became apparent that France and Britain were now in imminent danger. Hitler would eventually march his troops into France and take over that country as well. Shortly thereafter, the United States entered the war and it was our soldiers that shed their blood overseas in the tens of thousands to free the French and protect the British.
The Munich Pact is now a universal symbol of the failure of the policy of appeasement. What caused Mr. Chamberlain and the others to actually believe that appeasement would work? In my heart I truly believe it was the failure to understand the reality that evil exists in this world and that it cannot always be contained peacefully.
One of the things we need to consider when we wrestle with the issue of war is this: God has given governments the responsibility for the restraint of evil in the world. If we are willing to admit to the reality of evil in the world, then we have to ask ourselves who is responsible for restraining it.
Is it all up to God, or does God give all of us the responsibility for confronting and stopping the evil that is present in our world?
At every level in the world, we, as Christians, are partners with God. We are partners with God in creation as our children are born. We have doctors, nurses and midwives that deliver our children. We are partners with God in providing food, as we till the soil and harvest the grain. God does not just rain down food without us having a part in it. God made the land and fertile soil for us. He gave us the knowledge of how to plant, sew, cultivate and care for our gardens. Likewise, we are partners with God in carrying out His justice and maintaining peace in the world. He gave us both His laws and the authority to carry out His justice when evil asserts itself and violates the laws of God.
There are people who believe that war is always wrong in every circumstance, and people are free to believe that. However, we must understand that if we choose to avoid having conflict with evil, then we must be prepared to accept the consequences of that decision. There are many naive people today who believe, as many did at the beginning of Hitler’s aggression, that evil can be appeased and that the world can decide to have peace at any cost and still remain basically the same.
This is not true, for life cannot go on as it is, without interruption, if we do nothing to stop the aggression of someone who is bent on a course of evil and destruction, with a total disregard of who or how many get injured or killed. Our country, and others, will be overrun; democracy will cease, and freedom will end. To do nothing often comes at tremendous expense. Let us not be deluded into thinking that great suffering and injustice will not come with it.
To the movie stars and musicians that have chosen to speak out so harshly against the war and against our President, let me say this. If my memory serves me correctly, it was not movie stars or musicians, but the United States Military who fought on the shores of Iwo Jima, in the jungles of Vietnam, and on the beaches of Normandy.
If they lived in Iraq, they would not be allowed the freedom of speech they have in America today. Are not these the very people who are against war because of the loss of life, yet they fight for pro-choice and abortion rights?
Are they the same people who are for animal rights but against the rights of the unborn?
On December 7, 1941, there are no records of movie stars treading the blazing waters of Pearl Harbor.
On September 11, 2001, there are no photos of movie stars standing as "human shields" against the debris and falling bodies descending from the World Trade Center. There were only policemen and firemen, underpaid civil servants who gave their all with nothing expected in return.
When the USS Cole was bombed, there were no movie stars guarding the ship. - Where were the human shields then?
If America’s movie stars want to be human shields, let them shield the gang-ridden streets of Los Angeles, or New York City, let them shield the lives of the children of whose mothers lay them down to sleep on the floor each night to shelter them from stray bullets.
If they want to be human shields, let them shield the men and women of honesty and integrity that epitomizes courage and embodies the spirit of freedom by wearing the proud uniforms of the United States Military. Those are the people who have earned and deserve shielding!
Throughout the course of history, this country has remained free, not because of movie stars and liberal activists, but because of brave men and women who hated war too, yet they laid down their lives so that we all may live in freedom. The Bible says, "What greater love hath no man, that he lay down his life for his friend," or in this case, his country.
We should give our military honor and acknowledgement and not let their lives be in vain. If we want to see true human shields, all we need to do is walk through Arlington Cemetery. There lies true human shields, heroes, and the BRAVE Americans who didn’t get on television and talk about being a human shield – instead they were human shields.
I thank God tonight for freedom and for those who bought and paid for it with their lives in the past, and those who will protect it in the present and defend it in the future.
America has remained silent too long! God-fearing people have remained silent too long! We must lift our voices united in a humble prayer to God for guidance and the strength and courage to sustain us throughout whatever the future may hold. Let us stand proud, and let us be the human shields of prayer, encouragement and support for our President, our country, our troops and their families. Let us pray that God will again bless America, and that America will bless God. America – the land of the free and home of the brave – the greatest nation on the face of this earth.
If we decide that war becomes necessary, it must be done justly. Let me be careful to say that not all war is justifiable. We are told that 11% of the population of the world is willing to go to war at any time and for any reason. There are many people who would be willing to blow up our enemies completely and without remorse. That is never the Christian position.
Unlike the religion of Islam, Christians never speak of a “holy” war. Even a just war is never a holy war. War must always be the regrettable last option. When it is decided that there is no other option left but war, it should always be seen as a tragic and ugly necessity. War always does great harm to our enemies and also harm to us. We should never glorify war or boast about our triumphs over our enemies, for in every war innocent lives are lost.
From the earliest times in Christian history, followers of Christ have thought long and hard about the problem of war. The first Christian thinker to write in any depth about this was St. Augustine (A. D. 354-430). His theory of a “just war” is still used as a guide for Christians today.
He said that for a war to be just it should meet seven conditions:
1. Public authority: War must be declared by a legitimate government. It is not for private individuals, like Usama bin Laden, or groups, like al Qaeda, to decide when lethal violence must be used in support of justice.
2. Just Cause: War must not be waged except to protect innocent life, to ensure that people can live decently, and to secure their natural rights. Needless to say, this would not authorize the aim of destroying entire groups in a hated population, like the Kurds in Iraq or the Jews in Israel.
3. Right Intention: Not only must there be just cause to take up arms; this just cause must be the reason for taking up arms. Our goal must be to achieve a just peace, to bring freedom from tyranny to the people, not to pump up the economy or keep gasoline prices low.
4. Comparative Justice: War should not be waged unless the evils that are fought are grave enough to justify killing. Notice the word: ‘Killing,’ not ‘murder.’ Murder is deliberately taking innocent human life. This is categorically forbidden, even in wartime.
5. Proportionality: There must be reason to expect that going to war will end more evil than it causes. This means not only physical evil, but also spiritual — not only destruction of bodies and buildings, but also corruption of callings and virtues.
6. Probability of Success: There must be a reasonable likelihood that the war will achieve its aims.
7. Last Resort: War should not be waged unless a reasonable person would recognize that the peaceful alternatives have been exhausted. There comes a point, though, when even a reasonable person recognizes that the opponent is not interested in peace.
For many years, the church has taken Augustine’s rules of a just war as their guide. The problem is that our enemies do not always play by the rules. Terrorists and tyrants care little for rules. They have no intention of following them. They deliberately target innocent civilians and public buildings rather than military sites. In fact, the more harm they can inflict the better — there are no innocents in their minds. They will cause as much harm and do as much damage as possible.
The unprovoked attack on the World Trade Center on 9/11/2001 violated every one of the principles for a just war. The American people learned a great lesson that day. Out of the rubble of collapsed ruins and innocent lives lost, the people of the United States came together in one accord. As a nation we vowed, never again. Never again!
Today, 18 months later, we do not know for sure whether or not Saddam Hussein was involved in this attack. However, what we do know is this - Saddam Hussein will conduct war the same as he has done in the past. He will use his own civilians as shields for his military. He will torture and mutilate both our people and his own. He will use weapons of mass destruction indiscriminately — even against his own population. He is a man that has taken away basic human rights from the people he governs. He is a man that will continue to pursue nuclear capability and the obtaining of weapons of mass destruction.
As long as he remains in power he will be a threat to the free and civilized world. He can never be trusted to not sell his technology and arms to terrorist organizations throughout the world. He can never be trusted to not invade neighboring countries. He can never be trusted to not try and annihilate the people of Israel or the people of the United States of America.
Now – you might ask this question - But what about the sixth commandment which says, “Thou shall not kill?” The Hebrew word for kill in the command is rasah. It is the word for murder, and carries with it the idea of premeditated, intentional violence. Murder is never used with the intention of carrying out justice. Murder carries out vengeance, or killing someone for the purpose of personal gain or satisfaction.
There is a great deal of difference between murder and killing where the purpose is to save more lives than those that are taken. War is never desirable, but sometimes, as a last resort, it must be carried out for the sake of the safety of a majority of people, or the administration of justice. It should seek to curtail evil rather than add to it.
Jesus was hardly a pacifist, for he chased the moneychangers out of the temple with a whip. In Matthew 5:9, Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers,” but he also said in Matthew 10:34, “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.” In Luke 22:36, He told his disciples of the coming dangerous days where they may need swords. Jesus knew that if no one enforced justice, chaos would prevail.
So I ask you this morning - If no one is willing to stop evil, what will become of those who are defenseless? When evil men arise and many innocent people suffer, what will happen if no one comes to their aid? Is it right to do nothing? Can it be moral?
After the Second World War came to a close, there was a German Lutheran pastor, Martin Niemoeller, who wrote his now famous confession called, “I Didn’t Speak Up.” Perhaps it has relevance for our time. He wrote: “In Germany, the Nazis first came for the Communists, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Communist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a trade unionist. Then they came for the Catholics, but I didn’t speak up because I was a Protestant. Then they came for me, and by that time there was no one left to speak up for me.”
Having said that, I have to also say that I long for the day when the prophecy of Isaiah, found in Isaiah 2:4, will be fulfilled which says, “He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore”
As God so clearly told us in our scripture this morning:
Scripture Reading: Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
1. To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.
8. A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of
war, and a time of peace.
It is time for all Christians to put on the whole armor of God, to stand up for the principles which He gave us, and to bring freedom and basic human rights to the oppressed people of Iraq.
