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NASB | John 18:36 Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm." |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | John 18:36 Jesus replied, "My kingdom is not of this world [nor does it have its origin in this world]. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would be fighting [hard] to keep Me from being handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this world." |
Bible Question:
Is war biblical? First off: Probably it seems ridiculous to you but I've been thinking about this topic for almost a year now and I'm still looking for statisfying answers. So please look into this thread again if you answer it in case new questions or arguments come up. Once again the basic question: Is war or violence in general biblical under any circumstances? I came to the conclusion that it is not, but in the USA almost all Christians vote for the Republicans (War in Iraq) and also my former church believed that war and violence are biblical under certain circumstances. Hopefully somebody will be able to help me in this forum..... |
Bible Answer: Hi, Churon... Orthodox Christianity in general and Reformed Christianity in particular embrace what is called the "Jus ad Bellum" (Law to War, or what might be more familiar, the just war theory). You can find it defined in a secular sense at http://www.iep.utm.edu/j/justwar.htm St. Augustine carefully considered this question many centuries ago, and his thoughts form the basis of most modern deliberation. I've included his major tenets below. In Him, Doc 1. A just war can only be waged as a last resort. All non-violent options must be exhausted before the use of force can be justified. 2. A war is just only if it is waged by a legitimate authority. Even just causes cannot be served by actions taken by individuals or groups who do not constitute an authority sanctioned by whatever the society and outsiders to the society deem legitimate. Romans 13:4: "for it (civil government) does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil." 3. A just war can only be fought to redress a wrong suffered. For example, self-defense against an armed attack is always considered to be a just cause (although the justice of the cause is not sufficient --see point #4). Further, a just war can only be fought with "right" intentions: the only permissible objective of a just war is to redress the injury. Augustine says "A just war is apt to be described as one that avenges wrongs, when a nation or state has to be punished, for refusing to make amends for the wrongs inflicted by its subjects, or to restore what has been seized unjustly." 4. A war can only be just if it is fought with a reasonable chance of success. Deaths and injury incurred in a hopeless cause are not morally justifiable. 5. The ultimate goal of a just war is to re-establish peace. More specifically, the peace established after the war must be preferable to the peace that would have prevailed if the war had not been fought. Hence Augustine says, "True religion looks upon as peaceful those wars that are waged not for motives of aggrandizement, or cruelty, but with the object of securing peace, of punishing evil-doers, and of uplifting the good." 5. The violence used in the war must be proportional to the injury suffered. States are prohibited from using force not necessary to attain the limited objective of addressing the injury suffered. 6. The weapons used in war must discriminate between combatants and non-combatants. Civilians are never permissible targets of war, and every effort must be taken to avoid killing civilians. The deaths of civilians are justified only if they are unavoidable victims of a deliberate attack on a military target. |