In Support of War

I have been under the assumption that Christians are supposed to be Pacifists. Some of you will be thrilled and others will be shocked and angry that I have changed my position on this. Christians are clearly supposed to support war and I now have scripture to back this up. Ephesians 6:12 clearly states my point. We as followers are called to arms and to war against enemies that are real. Some of you will be enraged by next statement. Our enemy is insurgents in Iraq, Saddam Hussein was our enemy, Islamic radicals and the terrorist organizations they produce. Our enemy is also many other governments, including our own at times, that oppress and take advantage of people. “Our struggle is against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world” all of those groups that I just mentioned and many others that I don’t have time to list fall underneath this passage. What we need to realize is what arms we are called to pick up against these “forces of this dark world.” The arms that Christ calls us to is not the M16 or grenades or airstrikes, we are called to use a much more powerful, effective and much more destructive to our enemies. If you just said in your head “Nukes!” you are absolutely WRONG. We are called to pick up the full armor of God (I just saw you roll your eyes); to put on faith and righteousness, truth and the gospel of peace. We are called to use God’s word, both scripture and the truths that he’s spoken to us personally. Lastly we are called to pray in all circumstances bringing all requests to our Father in Heaven. Our temptation is to try control situations with man-made weapons instead of believing in the weapons that God himself gave us and trusting in his sovereignty. We proudly quote verses like Romans 8:1: What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? and Deuteronomy 32:43: Rejoice, O nations, with his people, for he will avenge the blood of his servants; he will take vengeance on his enemies and make atonement for his land and people. (just two of many verses that refer to God’s ability to defend us without our help) But do we truly believe that our God and his weapons are enough? I know some of you will highly disagree with me and I’m glad. I’m looking forward to some dialogue on this issue. Feel free to comment on this post.