“Christians should never go to war”. Discuss (5)
I think that many Christians would agree with war, but just as many may disagree completely, or disagree to a certain extent. There are 3 main viewpoints on war; that of holy war, that of just war, and that of no war, also known as pacifism. The belief in holy war is the belief in a war that is on behalf of God, and is directly sanctioned by Him. This would be supported for many Christians by the Old Testament, in 1 Samuel 15, where God says “I will punish the people of Amalek…now go and attack the Amelakites and completely destroy everything they have”. This conflict was directly sanctioned by God and would therefore be considered allowable. Another example of Holy War would be the crusades in the middle ages to free Jerusalem, and recruited for by Pope Urban II. Some Christians would agree with just war, which is decided by criteria laid down by Aquinas in the 13th Century. He said for a war to be considered a just war it had to be on the authority of the ruling power, for a just cause, and to promote good or resist evil. Later on further conditions were added, stating that the war had to be a last resort, only necessary force had to be used, and good had to be gained and peace and justice to be restored afterwards. Many Christians would say that if a war fits these criteria it is allowable.
