Just War Theory is Not Unbiblical

But Most Wars Have Been Unjust

As I write this, it is the 80^th anniversary of D-Day, and last week, we observed Memorial Day. Thus I think it is fitting to reflect again on militarism and how it relates to Christian Nationalism. As I wrote about just a week after Hamas’s brutal October 7 attack, I was in sixth grade on 9/11, and even I got swept up in nationalistic fervor. As an adult, I found arguments for Christian Pacifism compelling. But then Hamas’s attack presented a conundrum. Does God really expect Christians to turn the other cheek when terrorists take women, children and elderly people in wheelchairs hostage and brutally murders infants? Can you really negotiate in good faith with an organization whose charter calls for the extermination of the Jewish people? Though I hadn’t taken the time to carefully study what Scripture has to say about war, I was starting to intuitively understand that Pacifism taken to the extreme might be naïve and potentially dangerous. In War, Peace and Violence: Four Christian Views, Eric Patterson begins his defense of the Just War position with a quote from C. S. Lewis. The Nazis forced him to contemplate the same question Hamas forced me to contemplate. In an address titled Why I am Not a Pacifist, C. S. Lewis asked the rhetorical question, “Does anyone suppose that our Lord’s hearers understood him to mean that if a homicidal maniac, attempting to murder a third party, tried to knock me out of the way, I must stand aside and let him get his victims?”

In the Old Testament, God commands the Israelites to wage war, using the Israelites to manifest his justice by punishing wicked nations. In the New Testament, neither Jesus nor the apostles directly discuss whether war is justified, and the Pacifists and the proponents of Just War theory can both find verses in the New Testament that compellingly support their positions. So perhaps like many aspects of the Christian life, this is a matter where Christians have freedom of conscience. Perhaps God calls some to be a godly influence on the battlefield, helping to ensure that war is conducted with sobriety, seeking as far as is humanly possible to distinguish true, hard-hearted perpetrators of evil from innocent civilians, or even enemy combatants conscripted or violently coerced to fight for a wicked cause they don’t really believe in, and may not even understand as conscripts are often poor, uneducated victims of government propaganda. Other Christians, God may call to serve in vocations that seek to prevent war. According to Myles Werntz, the position of the true pacifist is not one of naïve optimism, but simply a recognition that while war may resolve a particular conflict in the short-term, it often “creates the conditions and fractures that will lead to and justify the next war” (War, Peace and Violence, Page 69). I fear the Israel Hamas War proves this point. Two things can be simultaneously true. It is true that what Hamas did on October 7 was horrific and inexcusable, and that they intentionally use civilians as human shields so that the world would turn against Israel. But it is also true that Israel has been oppressing the Palestinian people for decades, driving them from their land and relegating them to Gaza, which I have heard described as a ghetto, and that the right-wing administration of Netanyahu has crossed the line from precisely targeting Hamas infrastructure, into a war of vengeance, just as we did after 9/11. And I fear this lack of concern for civilians in Gaza may mean that as we speak seeds of hatred are being sown in the hearts of Palestinian children whose lives have been torn apart by the war, and they will grow up to be the next generation of terrorists, continuing the cycle of violence. Thus I believe the world needs the voices of committed Christians who have an accurate understanding of the Just War position and the Pacifist position because “just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others” (Romans 12:4-5).

However if you carefully apply the biblical principles laid out by proponents of the Just War theory, I would argue that with the possible exception of World War II, the United States has never fought a just war. I say “possible exception” because while a compelling biblical argument could be made to support the position that we had a duty to assist Europe in the defeat of Hitler whom C. S. Lewis was right to call a homicidal maniac, the United States also had its fair share of antisemitism, and Hitler drew inspiration for Germany’s eugenics laws from the American eugenics movement. We should also keep in mind that Russia was one of our allies during World War II, yet Stalin was also a homicidal maniac who murdered millions of people. As for Japan, a compelling argument could be made that we had to respond to the attack on Pearl Harbor which killed 2,400 Americans. Japan attacked Pearl Harbor because they wanted to modernize by becoming a colonial power, and fearing American retaliation if they expanded into the Philippines, Japan hoped that attacking Pearl Harbor would weaken our military. But we should not forget that we were also a colonial power who unjustly acquired territory in the Pacific via conquest, and to this day, we have yet to fully acknowledge and repent for our subjugation of indigenous people in these territories. True Christianity cannot dismiss the reality that “there is no one righteous, not even one” (Romans 3:10). Even if our involvement in World War II was just, we frequently violated biblical principles for fighting a just war. On a personal note, our involvement on the Pacific front during World War II is particularly complicated because my maternal grandfather (Papaw) served in the Philippines, so it is possible that if we hadn’t dropped the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the war would have dragged on much longer, my Papaw could have been killed and I wouldn’t be here. But in college, I read the book Hiroshima by John Hersey. In this book, Hersey documents the lives of 6 survivors of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, and the magnitude of suffering, both in the immediate aftermath of the bomb, and the long-term effects of radiation sickness was chilling. After reading Hiroshima, anyone with any humanity in them should seriously contemplate whether the staggering loss of life—100,000 in Hiroshima—and the suffering innocent civilians had to endure was out of proportion to the attack on Pearl Harbor. Committed Christians are free to hold different positions on whether war is permissible, but Genesis 1:26 is non-negotiable. If all humans were created in God’s image, then a Christian discussion of war cannot place greater value on American lives than on Japanese civilians.

I just finished reading The Power Worshippers by Catherine Stewart. The documentary God and Country was actually based on this book, which shows how numerous organizations which much of the American public thinks are grassroots Christian organizations, are actually part of a well-funded, interconnected network that is threatening religious liberty, democracy, and I would argue, the true teachings of Jesus. One of the prominent figures in the Christian Nationalism movement that Catherine Stewart profiled was Ralph Drollinger, who founded Capitol Ministries, an organization that creates Bible studies for members of Congress that were also attended by many in President Trump’s cabinet. These Bible studies are also available for free to the public, so for research purposes, I downloaded Drollinger’s two-part Bible study titled The Bible on When War is Justifiable.

I have often written here that Christian Nationalism is a wolf in sheep’s clothing, and this Bible study is a prime example of this. It is not that this study is complete heresy, a misrepresentation of biblical teaching. Its advocacy of Just War theory is biblically sound. But there are two problems with this study that jumped out at me, problems that pose a threat to the credibility of Christianity for a watching, secular world, but subtle enough to lead vulnerable sheep astray. First, although this Bible study accurately presents the biblical argument for the Just War theory, it gives credence to this position only. It inaccurately presents the Pacifist position as a naïve optimism, and calls it unbiblical and irresponsible. Sincere commitment to teaching biblical principles requires accurately and impartially presenting arguments for both of these positions. Second, this Bible study bares false witness when it comes to applying Just War principles to our country’s history. In Part 2 of this Bible study, after summarizing the four principles for fighting a just war, Drollinger states, “Fortunately and historically, America’s culture of war has largely been informed by these principles, and our nation has demonstrated these values in its use of force.” The truth is that from our use of the atomic bomb in World War II, to the devastating consequences of Agent Orange in Vietnam, to our indefinite detention without a trial, and torture of people at Guantanamo Bay, our history is full of violations of the biblical principles for fighting a just war. In Part 1, Drollinger accurately teaches that “To in any way invade, usurp or colonize another nation is the wrong objective for the use of war,” but then inaccurately proclaims, “Thank God that this Genesis 11:8 idea is deeply, unwaveringly embedded in our nation’s fabric.” The truth is that deeply, and unwaveringly embedded in our fabric, from the genocide of Native Americans and our theft and plunder of lands they stewarded beautifully for thousands of years, to our usurpation of Vietnam’s desire for independence from the French, is a history of colonization and usurpation of the sovereignty of other nations. Taken together, these two problems reveal figures like Ralph Drollinger to be dangerous wolves leading vulnerable sheep astray by teaching American idolatry, but disguising it well in biblical clothing.

Christian Nationalism is an ideology with a spectrum, and fortunately, I would say my church is on the mild end of the spectrum. It does not sing patriotic songs, meddle in partisan politics, or have an American flag on the pulpit. It is overall a wonderful church with pastors committed to sound biblical teaching. But to some extent, Christian Nationalism is woven into our country’s  history such that it is as ubiquitous and unavoidable as the air we breathe. The Sunday before Memorial Day, a Vietnam veteran began the service with a prayer. Please understand that what I am about to say next is not intended to imply any disrespect toward this veteran who likely mourns the loss of dear comrades every Memorial Day. I can understand how it might be too painful, even disrespectful on the solemn occasion of Memorial Day, after witnessing firsthand the brutality of war, to give voice to the truth that our government’s rationale for subjecting him and his comrades to this trauma was unjust. Overall, it was a very nice prayer. It first gave glory to God, and then he prayed for the day when wars would cease and peace would prevail, and asked God to comfort the families of fallen soldiers. But in words so reflexive I used to utter them without a second thought, he thanked God for the soldiers who died so that we could be free. The thing is, Craig Watts, in his book Bowing Toward Babylon, points out that religious freedom was never at stake in a single American war. Most of our wars were wars of colonial conquest, or wars to usurp the sovereignty of “weak” nations, wars that had nothing to do with defending freedom or punishing evil.

I do not write all of this because I hate America. This past Sunday’s episode of 60 Minutes featured an Iranian national who sought asylum in America because her government wanted to kill her for her involvement in protests against the oppression of women in Iran. But it turned out that Iran secretly hired a hit man in America to spy on her, and kill her when he got the opportunity. Our government alerted her to this plot and is providing protection for her. Through tears she said, “my home country is trying to kill me, but my adopted country is protecting me.” This about made me cry too, and I sensed the Holy Spirit convicting me, reminding me that despite all of our country’s problems, it is not sinful to acknowledge when we have been a force for good. But American idolatry is not an expression of genuine love. It is a superficial love, similar to the love parents think they are showing when they believe their belligerent child can do no wrong and thus never disciplines him, which ultimately hurts the child long-term. In fact, love of God and genuine love of country go hand in hand in the sense that we show our love for God by being careful stewards of the sphere of influence he has given us in this life. So it is out of genuine love that I feel called to speak truth, and the truth is that the common thread among friends and family that no longer want to call themselves Christian is not feminism, or science, or liberal college professors. It is Christian Nationalism. Our watching pluralistic society is longing for the authentic Christianity Jesus preached, which does not glorify literal war, or worship worldly power, but stands against these dark forces with the belt of truth buckled around our waists, the breastplate of righteousness in place, our feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the Gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God (Ephesians 6:14-17).

That Reminds Me of a Song: Please forgive me for sharing a Christmas song in June, but this song perfectly encompasses the sentiments I have tried to express here. Belleau Wood, sung by Garth Brooks, tells the story of what became known as the Christmas truce of 1914, when German and British soldiers came out of their trenches and sang Silent Night together. Two lines of this song are especially poignant to me. First, the narrator notices a German soldier standing beside him smiling as if to say, “Here’s hoping we might live to see us find a better way.” Then, sadly but predictably, the song ends with “the devil’s clock” striking midnight and the war raging once again, but in that brief, heavenly moment, it became so clear to the narrator that “Heaven’s not beyond the clouds. It’s just beyond the fear.” In that moment, God gave those soldiers a glimpse of how his creation was supposed to be. Christian Nationalism is an ideology fueled by fear of increasing secularism and the collapse of American culture, and I suspect this ideology’s glorification of war, its unwillingness to acknowledge our country’s history of unjust wars, is a manifestation of this fear. I am actually planning another post to unpack this more, but for now, I pray this song might remind us that while God doesn’t forbid war as a means of justice in this fallen world, it wasn’t supposed to be this way. Here’s hoping for a revival of an authentic Christianity willing to repent of our history, cast aside ungodly fear so that we might not have to wait until Christ’s return to see us find a better way.