"Even in Old Testament times, God worked His will through warfare," Bliffon said. "If one nation sees another nation being oppressed and doesn't go to its aid, you're just as guilty as the oppressor." World War II offered a clear case of oppression by both Germany and Japan, he said.
"War is never the preference, but at times, it has to be an option," Bliffon said. "At times in American history, you can see the hand of God working through warfare to bring about His will."
On the one hand, I love what he had to say about nations rising up against oppression. The prophets of the Hebrew Bible are clear that such oppression is an abomination. But the follow up statement regarding war being an option holds the crux of the problem. Does God actually use warfare to bring about God’s will? Does God want us engaging in such things? Doesn’t God’s will for us to live override some other will that we think God has?
It is a sticky subject and I have no answers. As I said, I applaud the church for honoring these men and women because they have sacrificed much in the name of freedom and justice. I guess I am looking for alternatives other than war and bloodshed to bring about these ideals.
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3 comments:
It is interesting that I am writing on this same subject on Monday.
Good quesions. And I doubt I have complete answers to them.
But I would also state that if we believe war is sin, then we should not applaud churches for honoring men and women who killed for our temporal kingdom. The people have shown sacrifice and devotion but they have shown it to the wrong cause. That should be a sad thing rather than a thing of celebration. If something is wrong, no amount of sacrifice or devotion makes it admirable or worthy of celebration. Maybe I am just too far one way on this issue.
I am planning a Memorial Day service at our church to remember those who served in the church and have passed on. I do not know how it will go, but it was a way for me to get around honoring those who have died in service to the temporal kingdom. We seem to celebrate our temporal kingdom much more than our eternal one.
Regan, I understand what you are saying. Take the Crusades for example - many of the people involved were not out for personal gain but to "spread the Kingdom." And yet, that period stands as the greatest embarrassment in the history of the church. That being said, I don't think that WW2 is the same as the Crusades on most levels. But what both groups have in common is their willingness to stand up to what they perceived as evil influences in this world, and it is from this point that I would differ from the response to that evil.
I look forward to Monday.
Sam
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