In my last article, I asked an important question in a video entitled: Can You Name A Just War?
In that video, we issued a challenge to see if any viewer could name a “just” war in history that met all of the criteria of the so-called “Christian” just war theory.
(If you missed that last video, I encourage you to watch it here when you have a few minutes.)
While we received several comments and questions from that video and email, you may (or may not) be surprised to learn that we received no answers to our direct question and challenge.
That is, no one in our global audience (which includes thousands of Christians) was able to name a single war from history that they believed met all of the standards of the just war doctrine.
This should be alarming to those who casually appeal to just war theory to defend Christian participation in the mass slaughter of fellow human beings through modern warfare.
Through our last few emails we have:
1) explained the basics of “Christian” just war theory
2) examined its surprising pagan origins and utter lack of New Testament support, and
3) and challenged our global audience to name a single war that met all of the just war criteria.
We now move on to our next and final video excerpt on this topic of just war.
In our latest video, which is entitled, Breaking Free From “Christian” Just War Theory, we focus on the spiritual seduction inherent in “Christian” just war theory.
This video is designed to reshape your perspectives on Christian involvement in war through a passionate appeal to the example set forth by Jesus, the epitome of nonviolence.
Jesus Is Our Model
The words and deeds of Jesus Christ are the model for all Christians. While different denominations may arrive at varying beliefs on Christ’s words and deeds, there is no disagreement where He stood on the issue of violence.
No one can honestly look at the life of Jesus Christ, according to His words and deeds recorded in the New Testament, and come to any other conclusion than He lived a life of nonviolent love for both friends and enemies.
This means something and should not be overlooked.
What does it mean exactly?
It means that if Jesus is nonviolent, it is only because He saw the Father’s nonviolence. This is because Jesus did nothing of His own accord, but only did what He saw the Father doing.
For Christ, to be violent would be to betray His nonviolent Father.
If Christ refused to forgive his enemies, he would look nothing like His Father. Instead, He would look like the devil, that father of lies, killing, theft, murder, and mercilessness.
If violence were part of God the Father’s character, it would have been visible in Christ who was the “express image” of God’s character and being.
Those who saw and heard Jesus saw and heard the Father. This is because Jesus’ words and deeds were the words and deeds of God the Father.
When God appeared on the earth, in the person of Jesus, no one died at His hand. Instead, God was in Christ reconciling the world back to Himself.
The good news is that God looks like Jesus.
If the Father uses violence to deal with His enemies, then Jesus Christ cannot be said to be a complete, total, nor exact representation and image of God the Father. After all, Jesus was nonviolent and revealed God the Father as a loving and merciful Parent who cared for all of His creation, whether good or evil.
Not Two Wills, But One
Remember, the will of Jesus is one with the will of the Father.
There are not two wills in God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ.
The only way to God the Father is the way of Jesus.
And what is indisputable is that the way of Jesus is the way of nonviolent love.
Jesus pointed the way back to the Father. Jesus’s model of nonviolent love for both friends and enemies pleased and glorified the Father because it accurately reflected His will.
If Jesus, the “second Adam,” pleased the Father through a life of nonviolent love for friends and enemies, how can modern servants of Christ claim New Testament support for using, or appealing to, violence against their enemies?
Jesus didn’t teach and preach capital punishment. Instead, He was a victim of capital punishment.
Instead, God thwarted mankind’s homicidal actions aimed at Christ and overcame them through life.
Man, both Jew and Gentile, attempted to forever destroy God in Christ.
That is evil.
How did God overcome that evil?
By forgiving all of His enemies, taking the keys of death from the devil, and offering resurrection life to all men.
Which of those things are evil?
None of them are evil.
Instead, they are the opposite of evil because they are actions of supreme love and good.
Does Homicidal Violence Honor God?
If God engages in homicidal violence against His enemies, wouldn’t it be accurate to say that mankind resembled God the Father when they engage in acts of homicidal violence against their enemies?
It’s just this kind of thinking that originates with Constantine and continues to this day under the guise of nationalistic tropes encouraging acts of homicidal violence for the state under an unspoken belief that all wars fought by our nation are “just.”
This, of course, is a fraud.
Does man look more or less like God the Father when he shoots, bombs, stabs, or electrocutes his enemies?
The answer should be obvious: We look less like God the Father when we return evil for evil to our enemies.
Jesus revealed “good news” to mankind that instead of being homicidal, God the Father is a loving Parent to all. That is, He truly loves His enemies and gave the warmth of the sun and made the rain to fall on both the good and evil.
It is not God who is stingy with His mercy.
It is man that is stingy with his mercy.
Don’t Be Cheated By ‘Just’ Homicide Ethics
In this new video, I confront the notion of so-called “Christian” Just War theory by labeling it an obvious “tradition of men” contrary to the teachings of Christ.
Specifically, I ask you to consider the Apostle Paul’s exhortation in Colossians 2:8:
“Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ.”
This video serves as a wake-up call, urging viewers to rediscover the essence of Christ’s teachings and to reject the influence of human traditions as they pertain to violence.
Ready to dive in? Simply click on the link below to access the video:
>> Watch this new 8-minute video
P.S. Our ministry is dedicated to “challenging believers to think and thinkers to believe.” If you are a “believer” and have been challenged to think by our teachings, reach out to us here and let us know. So too, if you are a thinker who has been challenged to believe by our teachings, reach out to us here. Thanks for reading and watching!
