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.

J-Term Reading List

Well, break is over and I’m back at good ole MVNU. I had decided even before break that I want to do a lot of reading during J-term. I made a good start at this during break, I finished two books: Red Moon Rising by Pete Grieg and Dave Roberts (which you really ought to read) and Scarlet by Stephen Lawhead(2nd part of a trilogy retelling the story of Robin Hood)
I emailed Professor Beutel a few weeks before the end of break and asked him for some book recommendations concerning war and peace and pacifism or non-violent activism (as I’ve been scolded for using the word pacifist). I decided that I needed to do some research on this topic. I feel at the very core of my being that war is wrong and there is never an excuse for it, but I’m very poor sometimes at defending my position on this. Professor Beutel recommended a few different books and when I got back today I went to the library, and after doing a crossword puzzle with Walter I looked up The Politics of Jesus and What Would You Do both by John H. Yoder. The former I will be starting as soon as I finish this post. Unfortunately, he didn’t give me any books that support the just war theory. I not only want to read things which support the position which I already hold (which would be very easy and I would stay nice and comfortable), but I also want to read some books by people from the opposite opinion, which will challenge my thinking and bring me closer to the truth. So, what I want from you is some good books by intelligent people who believe in the just war theory. The reason I specify intelligent people is because there are a lot of ignorant people out there that support that theory and say ignorant things like “Let’s Nuke ‘em”. So now you have your assignment. J-term is pretty short so get on it.
Aside from that topic, I also want to read A Grief Observed by C.S. Lewis. My Friend Paul (who will be coming to MVNU in the spring) bought me it for Christmas. I also want to find some good books about prayer. I want to really work on my prayer life. So I’m open to suggestions on this topic too.