Prior Book | Prior Chapter | Prior Verse | Next Verse | Next Chapter | Next Book | Viewing NASB and Amplified 2015 | |
NASB | Deuteronomy 7:2 and when the LORD your God delivers them before you and you defeat them, then you shall utterly destroy them. You shall make no covenant with them and show no favor to them. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Deuteronomy 7:2 and when the LORD your God gives them over to you and you defeat them, then you shall utterly destroy them. You shall not make a covenant (treaty) with them nor show mercy and compassion to them. |
Subject: How do we respond to war as Christians? |
Bible Note: Response............................. Greetings Sir Pent! Sorry, this post was attached to your last post, so I didn't see it until just now! I'm not sure I have a lot to add! :-) We debated this issue pretty thoroughly awhile back! I believe that war can be just and that self-defense is allowable. If someone broke into my house and threatened my family, I would give him every chance to get out or surrender, but if he refused, he would be stopped! Or, at least I would give it the old college try! As you know, my logic goes this way! 1) War was commanded at times in the Old Testament! 2) God cannot do or tempt others to do evil! 3) Therefore, not all wars are evil! 4) There is no specific verse which forbids warefare or self-defense in any part of the Bible. Therefore, if someone chooses not to fight, I would support them. In fact, I would fight to defend that choice! :-) But, I don't believe that war or killing are always immoral. In fact, I think it would be immoral for good people to sit back and do nothing while bad people take advantage. I believe it would have been immoral for us to sit back and do nothing about Hitler. Unfortunately, we didn't get involved in that war until Pearl Harbor was bombed. So, I would agree that as Christians we shouldn't be trying to get rights for ourselves, but I think we should fight for the rights of others. For instance, when I was in high school, I did a little boxing. I am big enough to defend myself - about 230 right now! But, there were many times when I would allow a bully to pick on me (even spitting and hitting me) because I believed in turning the other check. However, if I see someone else being assulted, who is not able to defend themselves, I would be there in a heart beat! Peace - whenever possible! Force - only when necessary! Justice - always! Your Brother in Christ, Tim Moran |