I grew up in Australia where war was either absent or seemed distant. It was too far away and had little to do with playing cricket and going to school and enjoying summer holidays in Queensland. And yet, for nearly half of my life, Australia has been involved in military missions and in war.  

The world is never far from experiencing war and armed conflict. We are however witnessing the most significant assault on global peace perhaps since the Second World War. In many parts of the world there are hotspots and threats. There are aggressive and egregious regimes built on hatred and see destabilising societies as their Divine calling. It’s not that we are without our own sins and failures; there is more than we are likely to ever admit. But some of the commentary, protests and tiktoking that derides Australia and America, is problematic. Can you believe that today young adults are reading Osama Bin Laden’s letter to America and agreeing with this now dead terrorist?

The war in Ukraine dominated the news for a year. The noise of war continues in that land but it’s now mistakenly heard as a soft murmour as the world now fixes attention on Israel and Gaza. All this demands focus while geopolitical tensions in South East Asia is like waiting for the Australian fire season following months of heat and drought.

There are lots of conversations and opinions being expressed about the nature of warfare, and when and if it is ever a moral imperative. The global scrutiny being applied to Israel’s armed response to Hamas’ terrorist attack is staggering. The volume of antisemitism is frightful and the speed at which online preachers demand the cessation of fighting displays our sheer ignorance of human nature and what evil is. At the same time, as our eyes watch on from the safety of our homes 1000kms away, we are witnessing the tragedy of war and the immense complexities associated with fighting ‘a just war’.

In 2015, the Australian Government announced that they would be stepping up their bombing offensive against ISIS in Syria. I wrote a short piece to outline 12 BIble propositions about the Ethics of war. In light of the current and terrible events we are seeing, I thought I’d republish this list. Given that this list predates the current war in the Middle East by 8 years, it may help us to consider the morality of war without the heat of the current battle.

Great tomes have been written on the subject of war. Christian theologians have offered careful and complex views on war and whether it is ever just and justifiable. The question I am seeking to address here is somewhat narrower, and that is, can Christians ever support war? Can participating in war be consistent with Christian faith?

Answering these questions is no easy task, partly because the Scriptures do not give us a definitive position, and partly because the rationale and particulars of armed conflict differ from one to the next. In addition, in every conflict, there are multifarious motives, aims, and experiences that when combined deny us the possibility of simple and obtuse theorems about war.

Historically, Christians have come to different conclusions regarding the practice of war. We cannot ignore the fact that there have been times when ‘in the name of Christ’ many anti-Christ acts have been committed. Sins of commission have stained history blood red, and perhaps so have sins of omission. Christians must not build their theology of war from either Gandhi or Napoleon, but from the belief that God is the Lord of history and that he has given a book that speaks truth and wisdom, even in the 21st Century.

In attempting to construct a theology of war there are a series of theological propositions that we shouldn’t ignore or relegate:

Continuity

1. The God of the New Testament is the God of the Old Testament. Christians are not Marcionites. God is not honoured by the fallacious suggestion that the God of the Old Testament is a different God to the New Testament, or that his character has changed, or that in the Old Testament God was wrong to make war. God’s character is eternal and unchanging.

2. God is holy and just. God’s acts of violence are described as God’s just judgements on sinners. He is a holy God who cannot tolerate sin. Should God tolerate rape? Should God tolerate people sacrificing babies to Molech? Should God tolerate the greedy stealing from the poor? God did not sanction all the violence and war that was exercised in the Old Testament, however, he did oversee and lead some war.

3. God has an understanding of justice that no person or group of people possess. He also has the ability to always do right, which no Christian can achieve.

Discontinuity

Christians cannot read the Old Testament without through the lens of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, who is the fulfilment of all the Scriptures – “Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms” (Luke 24:44).

4. The Old Testament has a geo-political centre that is removed by Jesus in the New Testament. Whereas God’s people in the Old Testament were a nation, God’s people are now from and in every nation. God’s Kingdom is of a different nature, As Jesus said to Pilate, ‘My kingdom is not of this world’.

5. God’s anger is demonstrated supremely in the cross of Jesus where Christ died to satisfy God’s righteous wrath. History has a cross dividing it, such that there is no longer any moral or theological support for Holy War this side of the cross. God’s righteousness is revealed in the Gospel of Jesus Christ and his propitious death brings peace to all who believe. This once-for-all all death has an efficacy for disarming hate, anger and greed:

“When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.” (Colossians 2:13-15)

6. The Kingdom of God grows through the proclamation of the word of God, and not through political or military means. Christians believe in war, but it is a spiritual war, one that is engaged by putting on the armour of God (faith, righteousness, truth, etc) and by using the sword of the Spirit (the Bible) and undergirding it all with prayer. If the power of God for salvation is in the Gospel of Jesus, then it is erroneous to believe that Christianity will extend through war. Not only that, it suggests that coercion is an effective means to grow the Church, whereas the Bible speaks nothing of coercion but it does speak of persuasion through speaking truth and living out God’s love to all.

7. The Bible nowhere teaches that a Church can engage in war, and it gives us no room for supposing that armed conflict can aid Christian progress, however, it does leave room for the possibility for the State to engage in war.

The State is not the Church. In Romans ch.13 the Apostle teaches,

“Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and you will be commended. For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also as a matter of conscience.”

i. Governments are not beyond the rule of God, even though they may reject his dominion.

ii. Governments have a value in and for this world, for the good of society, which includes collecting taxes to pay for civic needs and to judge and punish those who do wrong.

iii. At the very least verse 4 refers to law enforcers and the judicial system that exists within a nation, but it is likely that Paul also has in mind the exercise of military action. Even if Romans 13:4 does not speak of war and only of civic responsibilities, the point is nonetheless unavoidable, Paul affirms that there is a place for Governments to use the sword in punishing wrongdoing.

Further Principles

8. There is a difference between turning the cheek and loving our neighbour. If one saw their neighbour being attacked, it would be immoral to stand by and do nothing, and it would be right to come to their aid, to defend them and fend off the attacker. While Christians ought to pursue peace, even at great personal cost, loving our neighbour may necessitate military intervention.

9. “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone” (Romans 13:18).

10. The Bible discounts many of the reasons that have been used in history and in contemporary global and sociopolitical scenarios for waging war: for conquest, for profit, for revenge, and for religious advantage.

11. When Christians engage in war it should not be under the banner of Church or Gospel, but as as expression of submitting to the Government and loving our neighbour.

12. People should not go against the conscience, except when their conscience violates Scripture.

Can war ever be just? Ultimately the answer to that question is no, because even on a good day people are prone to sinful desires. War is never fully just but it may be justifiable. Occasions of crisis may arise where more action is required than simply prayer and good wishes. It is a loving act to lay down one’s life for a friend, and even more so for a stranger who is being oppressed by a militaristic or terrorist regime.

Should Christians fight in war? Often the answer will be no. We ought to be reluctant. But there may be circumstances where the Government decides to go to war, and should the reasons be congruent with a Christian’s understanding of the Bible, participating in that war is permissible. Indeed, in some instances military action is the necessary response to an existential threat against the nation.

War, however, is not the ultimate solution to evil in the world; only the Gospel of Jesus Christ is powerful enough and pure enough and sufficient enough to do a penetrating work in the human heart. The world lives in the epoch of peace, where God is manifesting his patience and grace, calling men and women to repentance and reconciliation. While millions of people are coming to realise and experience God’s shalom, there remains much that is wrong in the world, such that even the most laudable acts of human kindness and justice can not overcome.  Christians, though, believe that God remains holy and he promises a day when he will judge the living and the dead. Many injustices may escape our attention, but they will not allude God:

“I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. “He will rule them with an iron scepter.” He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty.  On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written:

King of kings and lord of lords.” (Revelation 19:11-16)