Christians also believe in the sanctity of life, where everyone is made in the image of god, also suggests that killing in a war might be wrong, because it involves taking away a life that had been made and planned by god. Some Christians believe that it is therefore never right to retaliate or to use violence, even when other people are aggressive. These people are called pacifists. Quakers, known as a religious society of friends believe that war can never be justified. They recognise that there is evil in the world but say that evil cannot be overcome with the use of weapons, which harm and kill. They believe that Christians should use ‘weapons of the spirit’ which are love, peace and truth to overcome evil.
“ On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple area and began driving out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of money changers and the benches of those selling doves.” (Mark 11:15)
This quote shows that Jesus felt that what was going on justified his actions and shows that he is only human like the rest of us and can be swayed by anger in certain circumstances.
Some Christians believe this means that it can sometime be right to be violent when people are being cheated on or being treated unfairly. Christians might use this example to support that sometime military action is the best way of making sure that there is justice. In the First World War churches continued to support their countries when they were at war. But killing in the war was to a scale that had never been reached before. Christian believed that it could have been wrong to take military action. In world war two most Christian churches believed that it was right to fight against Hitler. But many people weren’t happy with methods being used such as ‘carpet bombing’ of the German city of Dresden, which was reduced to ruins. Some Christians said that unnecessary force was being used.
At the end of the Second World War the first atomic bombs were dropped. The effects were devastating. Thousands died instantly and radiation killed many others. Some Christians believed that it was necessary, because it brought a swift end to the war, but others said that it was an evil thing to have done and that it was totally against Christian teaching.
Many Christians believe that there is such a thing as a ‘Just War’. This is war that is morally right to fight. But there are conditions to be met before action can said to be justified:
- War should be declared by a proper authority such as a government or a king, and not just by any ordinary group of people.
War should be declared by someone with authority who knows what should be done and what processes to take.
- There must be a good reason for starting a war, not simply greed.
A war cannot be started for petty reasons.
- The reason for going to war must be a desire to do good.
The reason for going to war must be so that something good is going to come out of it and not just destruction and harm.
Later four other conditions were added:
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- War must be a last resort, when everything else has been tried first
War has to be the very last resort after all the peace talks and agreements. If nothing can be agreed and war is the only option left.
- The good that is likely to come out of the war must amount to more than the harm done.
In the long term the war must e successful. The war shouldn’t just be won it should be carried through right till all requirements have been fulfilled.
- It must be possible to win. Wars should not be fought against an opponent who is obviously much more powerful.
A war should not be fought if it is a large superpower like the USA against a small country like France.
- The war must be fought fairly. The amount of force use must be only enough to succeed. There must not be deliberate unnecessary cruelty.
The war must be just, and only fight for what is needed and not for personal achievements.
“Blessed are the peacemakers.” (Matthew 5:9)
This quote supports the idea that the New Testament promotes peace by saying that those who support peace and try to enforce it in a way are to be thought of highly.
“Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you.” (Matthew 5:44)
This also promotes the idea of peace and agape by saying get on with those that you don’t like and pray for those who can’t think of better things to do than to dislike you.
“Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.” (1 Peter 3:9)
This quote again promotes the New Testaments message of agape and peace by saying don’t retaliate to those that are horrible to you just be nice about it and you will receive your reward.
All of these quotes support the view that violence is never acceptable. Jesus is teaching that the right response to aggression is love, and that Christians should not behave violently even when they are attacked.
In the Old Testament people are sometimes commanded or encouraged by god to go to war. There are many books in the Old Testament that are about god telling people to fight and destroy foreign tribes in order to gain possession of the promised land.
“The Lord Your God will drive out those nations before, you little by little. You will not be allowed to eliminate the all at once, or the wild animals will multiply around you. But the Lord Your God will deliver them until they are destroyed. He will give their kings into your hand, and you will wipe out their kings into your heaven. No one will be able to stand up against you; you will destroy them.” (Deuteronomy 7:22-24)
The Church of England today teaches that war is sometimes ‘an unfortunate necessity’, something which might have to happen in order to prevent even worse evil. The Church of England and Methodist Church accept the right of individuals to follow their own consciences about whether or not to fight in a war. This means going to war with a country because they could be a threat to other countries for example the war between the USA and Vietnam. The USA wanted to stop the spread of communism throughout Europe and thought the only way to stop it would be to go to war.
The Catholic Church agrees, teaching that nuclear weapons must only be used as a deterrent, to prevent war, and must never be used to attack whole populations or whole cities. Countries, which have nuclear weapons, should always be working to reduce them. Both catholic and Church of England encourage their members to pray for peace and love all around the world. The power of prayer can be very strong if you believe in it.
Many Christian churches hold a view that although war is wrong, it can sometimes be the only way of resolving a situation of injustice or abuse of human rights.
