Challenges of a Post Christian Culture – Lesson Two
Here is a summary of 6 key points that I was making in class today. Our Post Christian culture asks, “How can you believe in God when believing in God has led to so many wars and death? can a book that sanctions killing for the sake of God be a true source for moral absolutes? Can I really let a book determine my ethics?
Six Broad Answers
1. Atheist ideologies have led to more deaths and wars in the 20th century than in the previous centuries “wars of religion” combined.
2. War in the Old Testament is always limited in scope. See Deuteronomy 20 and 1 Samuel 15.
3. God’s judgment on rulers and nations stands today as well. We cannot trust in our military might. We must give God permission to go before us, and indeed He does.
4. Jesus never gave approval to violence. His ministry challenged the allegiances of every person. His teachings did not only apply to the “religious side” or “private world” of his hearers.
- Matthew 5:44 “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you”
- Matthew 22:21 “Give to Caesar what is Caesar”
- Matthew 26:52 “Put your sword back in its place”
- John 18:36 “My kingdom is not of this world”
- John 19:11 “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above”
- 1 Peter 2:21 “To this you were called . . . “
5. Historically, Christians have taken four options as they understand war, retaliation, justice, and violence. See Amy Orr-Ewing, “Postmodern Challenges to the Bible,” Beyond Opinion, (2007): 19.
- Thoroughgoing militarism – Any war, anytime, anyplace, and for any cause is just.
- Selective militarism – only war that the state declares is just.
- Selective pacifism – only war with which the individual agrees is just.
- Thoroughgoing pacifism – no war anytime, anyplace, and for any cause is just.
Which of these positions was reflective of the church in its first three centuries of existence? Before Constantine, the church’s response was entirely as pacifist that allowed Christians converts to stay in the army. Government was seen as the great beast of Revelation 13.
It was not until the time of Augustine (354-430 AD) that “just war theory” began to be articulated as he faced the Donatist controversy. “The primary disagreement between Donatists and the rest of the early Christian church was over the treatment of those who renounced their faith during the persecution of Roman emperor Diocletian (303–305).”
It was Augustine who applied Paul’s teachings in Romans 13 to those living under Christian ruling authorities
6. Is it good to show no opposition to evil? Is a government good that shows no opposition to crime?
Extending what you talked about, what would your answer be to the notion not only that “Christianity promotes war”, or that the Bible is a violent book, but that in contemporary culture, whenever there’s a war, Christians seem to be the ones who are the most excited and happy to go fight it? Certainly it seems to me to be the case that support for the current conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan is most strong among those who (generally speaking) consider themselves followers of Christ. Why is that? Do we, as I’ve heard in prayers, believe that missionaries and soldiers are on the same level, both bringing God’s word to the infidel?
Also, what are your thoughts on the use of “war metaphors” within churches in general? We seem to have co-opted much of the language of conflict and struggle into our own narrative regarding how we interact with the world. What implications does that have with regard to how we see the world and ministry?
Jeff,
You are on to something here that is important. Dan Kimball talks about this in They Like Jesus But Hate the Church. We should be cautious about words like “crusade” and “taking the world for Jesus.” While the metaphors of being a soldier for Christ are very biblical, they might be interpreted wrong in our times.
As far as Christians being excited about war, I think that’s hard to gauge. It has a little more to do with being patriotic and feeling a sense of national pride and God’s providential oversight of our country.
Churches of Christ do have people that dissent against war and lean in pacifist directions. One of most articulate spokespersons is Lee Camp. You might like Tokens.
Thanks for writing.