| Scripture and War |
| Yay!
The good news: my defense mechanisms appear to be up and functioning for the time being. As could be told by the last couple entries, they were failing for a while. For now, they seem pretty good, though. Plus, I'm taking steps to try and alleviate the root problem. Hopefully, they prove successful. In other news, there is great debate going on at the moment between the members of our group. Now, realize, our group right now is more divided between the "this war is a necessary evil" and "this war is so much fun!" camps. Well, us all being Christians, we are using Scripture to support our positions. The problem is that the "yay, war!" camp is completely taking Scripture out of its Scriptural and historical context. And, in this case, the context is not only important, but is EXTREMELY important. So, I'm going to spend this entry talking a lot about how specific Scriptures are being misapplied. I hope then to set forth some principles that will allow us all to interpret Scripture in a more proper form so we aren't all wasting our time throwing Scriptures back and forth in an improper fashion. Psalm 18: 34-42 "He teacheth my bands to war, so that a bow of brass is broken by mine arms. Thous hast also given me the shield of thy salvation; and thy right hand hath holden my up, and thy gentleness hath made me great. Thou hast enlarged my steps under me, that my feet do not slip. I have pursued mine enemies and overtaken them; neither did I turn again till they were consumed. I have wounded them, that they were not able to rise; they are fallen under my feet. For thou hast girded me with strength unto the battle; thous hast subdued under me those who rose against me. And You girded me with strength for war; You subdued my adversaries beneath me. My enemies You put to flight before me, and those who hated me You destroyed. They cried for help--but no one saved them; to the Lord -- but He answered them not. I ground them fine as the dust before the wind; like the mud I trampled them down." Here's the contextual problem. Aside from the fact that it is flat out dangerous to build theology out of the Psalms, my Bible (and most) note that this psalm is "Of David...when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul." First, David, as the divinely chosen leader of God's chosen people (before Christ, but that's another discussion!) who were supposed to reign over Canaan. So, the wars that he carried out to that purpose were, in fact, directly commanded by God. (Pursuant to God's command to Israel, given to Joshua in Joshua 1:4) Then, more specifically with Saul... How was David delivered from him? 1 Samuel 31:4 tells us: "Saul said to his armor-bearer, 'Draw your sword and run me through'... But his armor-bearer was afraid and would not do it, so Saul took his own sword and fell on it." This happened after David spared Saul's life twice (1 Samuel 24 and 26). Then, when an Amelekite came to David and claimed to have killed Saul, David had him executed! (2 Sam 1:15-16) Immediately following that, David LAMENTS Saul's death. "O daughters of Israel, weep for Saul" (1 Samuel 1:24a) Hardly the actions of a man who embraced war as some delightful game, as many of my friends seem to. Moving on... "Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword." --Matthew 10:34 (Jesus speaking) Well, let's get a better idea of this and look at the verses immediately following: "For I have come to turn a man against his father, a daugher against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law - a man's enemies will be the members of his own household." (vs. 35-36) Clearly, Christ is not talking about war between nations. Also, if we look at the less immediate context, we discover that Christ was telling his disciples this before they went out to teach in Galilee. The purpose was not to prepare them for war, but rather to prepare them for persecution. "I am sending you as SHEEP among wolves." (vs. 16) We aren't the wolves, ladies and gentlemen. One more... Romans 13: 1-4 "Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established...Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves...For he is God's servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God's servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer." Historical context: Nero was Emperor, and was persecuting Christians. The Apostle Paul is NOT asking Christians to patriotically support Nero. Rather, he is informing them that obedience, as far as it is consistent with God's law, should be the rule. NEVER does he say we should unconditionally support the authorities' decisions. There is a difference between respecting obedience and support. There is also a difference between vocal disapproval and rebellion. As a side note, Jonathan Dymond notes that Christians before Constantine's time chose martyrdom over soldierdom. They believed that God's law didn't allow for them to submit to conscription. See an excerpt of his major work here. So, now that I've dealt with the major verses given in support of war and the war, let's move to principles of Scriptural interpretation. Some base rules: The Psalms need to be interpreted very carefully. They are not intended to be theological works. Nor are they intended to be commands. The entire Old Testament must be carefully interpreted. It was given to Israel. Much of it was given in the desert, which would imply that God wasn't handing these laws to the whole world, but rather to Israel particularly. So, don't try to apply Leviticus (or even Samuel) to the governments (or individuals) of today. The New Testament is the easiest to apply. There is no revelation superceding it, and, for the most part, it is for the general audience (Jew and Gentile). However, we must take care when making simple statements about reality ("I come not to bring peace, but a sword") into commands. Some statements are commands. ("Do not resist an evil person" Matt. 5:39) These can safely be considered commands. But, statements like "I come not to bring peace, but a sword." should NOT be construed as a command to carry the sword. Instead, look at the context. If God intends a command, odds are there is one nearby. Use that instead of a very shaky interpretation of a non-commanding verse. Well, that's it for now. I hope that this discussion guides us in our discussion, and as we seek to use Scripture on any issue. |
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