Conscientious Objector Memorial in London
Once containing a relatively large nonviolence faction, Churches of Christ are now more conflicted. Contemporary Churches of Christ, especially those that hold with the teachings of David Lipscomb, tend toward pacifist views. This means that they believe that the use of coercion and/or force may be acceptable for purposes of personal self defense but that resorting to warfare is not an option open to Christians.
(From the Wikipedia article on “Peace Churches“)
Not to question a reputable source like Wikipedia, but I think their description leaves the idea that a large percentage of churches of Christ have pacifist tendencies. While this was true up until World War II, since then pacifism has not been popular in mainstream churches of Christ. (Some of the smaller movements in our brotherhood have held to this tradition, particularly among the non-institutional brethren)
With yesterday being Memorial Day, a day set aside to honor those who served, I think that we Christians would be negligent not to honor a courageous group among us: those who chose not to serve because of their faith. As I said, this was more common in churches of Christ before World War II. Still, the number of men from churches of Christ who have chosen imprisonment, work camps, etc. because of their faith numbers in the hundreds if not thousands.
At some point, we in the church should stand up and honor these men as heroes of the faith. These are the ones that said, “I’m willing to suffer for what I believe.” They were ridiculed. They were imprisoned. They were treated harshly. Dare we call it persecution? I’m sure that some of them suffered the effects of that decision for the rest of their lives.
As I have written before, we live in a militarized society. It seems normal to us. If we do not teach our children that there is another option, that there is a different path that men of faith have chosen, they won’t even know to ask the questions that need to be asked.
We can’t wait for our government to honor such men. It’s not going to happen. We shouldn’t wait for society as a whole to embrace those who have taken a stand for their faith. It’s up to us. Not surprisingly, it will require us to go against the norms of our culture. I think our church will only be stronger if we recognize those that have had the courage to take a stand for their faith.
I have always said, if those who start wars, had to fight them, there would be less wars. The reason for wars has changed over years, countries used to fight wars over territory. Some ruler wanted possessions belonging to another , so they sent men into battle who would not see any gain whether they win or lose, to die for possessions for a ruler.
Now the ruling class have convinced that we are fighting to preserve our freedoms, (so we are fighting for ourselves ) especially the United States, fights wars over perceived threats, and no property gain at all. (if you look behind the veil some one not fighting, is gaining something) if we ever do win a war we would return the country to it’s inhabitants. In my view you cannot prevail in changing a country unless you intend to occupy that country. I am not condoning occupying any country, just saying how stupid war has gotten . (If your neighbor has a dangerous animal that might possibly endanger you or your family. go and shoot your neighbor) preventive wars never make sense.
I think modern warfare is very different from war in ancient times, although neither appeals to me very much. Thanks for the comment.