Another reason that Christians disagree with the above statement is that some are pacifists. This means that they will not fight. Pacifists are those who believe that violence leads to more violence and rarely achieves the results intended. They also believe that war brings out the worst in mankind and ‘lays bare the dark side of human nature.’
Quakers are a branch of Christianity that are also pacifists. They do not fight at all with any weapons for any aim whatsoever. They say “The spirit of Christ by which we are guided is not changeable, so as once to command us from evil, and again to move unto it.” This means that because of the spirit of Christ they will never fight and it will never move them to ‘fight and war against any man with outward weapons, neither for the kingdom of Christ of for any kingdom of the world.’
Jesus never fought in all his life, even when he was being arrested and knew that he was going to die. This is an example that some Christians follow. They choose to follow Jesus and the example that he gave.
There are other Christians that believe that under certain circumstances war is eligible. One of these circumstances is if the war is a Holy War. When people fight a Holy War they believe that they have God on their side. An example of a Holy War is the Crusade. This was between the Christians and the Muslims fighting for the Holy Land-Palestine. This is different from Pacifism as this type of Christian believes that a certain type of war is acceptable- although it is the last resort.
Another type of war that some Christians find acceptable is a Just war. There are seven criteria that a war must pass to be known as a just war. These seven criteria are:
-The war must be declared by the head of state.
-A just cause is required. Those attacked must deserve to be attacked.
-The reason for the war must be to advance good and not evil.
-The war must be the last resort.
-There must be a good chance of success.
-The ways of fighting must be proportional. Excessive force must not be used.
-The good gained by the victory must be greater than the perceived evil that led to the war.
There have been many arguments whether these conditions are just or not, but are those used by the Catholic Church.
A final reason that some Christians may give for disagreeing with the statement is that they believe in Liberation Theology. This is a movement believe that the gospels demand that the people stand up and fight against injustice. This does not necessarily involve violence but for some it does. There is a lot of Liberation Theology movements in Latin America where there is a lot of poverty and suffering. They do not believe that God has left them, they believe that it is up to themselves to stand up for what they believe in.
There are many viewpoints that a Christian can have and none of them are right. Personally I most agree with Liberation theology but not through violence. I think that it is good to stand up for your rights and what you believe in.
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