War is contrary to the will of God

In my career as a clergy person, I have always attempted to be ecumenical. The churches I have served have maintained membership in ecumenical organizations. When a clergy organization existed, I joined. Clergy persons have been some of my closest friends.

This does not mean that I found theological agreement with other clergy or churches. I have had close clergy friends with whom I disagreed. The simple confession that “Christ is Lord” is enough for me to embrace a lot of people as “brother” or “sister.”

Some would say that I do not take theology seriously, and it might be true. I suspect that every good theologian should have a gracious ability to laugh at himself/herself. Change is constant and the serious theologian should always be ready to change his mind.

What is a much more important issue for Christians is how we behave. Behavior, not belief, is where we draw a line. The most damming exercise that human beings embrace is war. War is contrary to the will of God. No exceptions. There is no “just” war. This was a difficult conclusion for me to make. I am a Bible reading/studying Christian. There is lots of “God approved” killing in the Bible. When the Israelites escaped slavery in Egypt, evidently God had no hesitancy to drown the Egyptian army. When the Israelites came to Jericho under the leadership of Joshua, the people of Jericho were of no value. “Kill them all” was the word for the day. God assisted the Israelites by knocking down the city’s wall. Israelites possessed the land for themselves in Palestine by giving the residents a choice. Bow down to Jehovah God or be killed. Eventually in their rise to “greatness” under King David, Israelites became some of the most vicious killers in history. David was considered great because he killed thousands. It was all done in the name of their God, who had “given” the land to them.

Eventually their behavior caught up with them. Those who live by the sword die by the sword. In the 6th century BCE the last remnant of the David empire was brutally conquered. Jerusalem, the capital city was decimated and the Solomon temple was leveled. A small remnant was taken to Babylon as slaves. The ways of violence had passed their own judgment.

All during the years of power through killing there were people who heard a different voice of God. Prophets spoke, but they were ignored. Still, memory had its day. The remnant remembered and repeated a simple story of how a herder killed a farmer and tried to avoid responsibility by asking a simple question. Am I my brother’s keeper? It is a rhetorical question that is never answered. It is probably the greatest question ever asked by human beings. Is God an angry, judging, vengeful God, or is God a God who insists that human beings are to be treasured, loved and helped?

The story as I have recited it, is very brief. In fact the story has many chapters and is as long as history itself. It is still being played out on the stage of life.

Once I came to understand the Bible story better, I was forced to read it through different eyes. The Bible was written by a long list of writers, who were engaged in a history-long argument about the nature of God and of life itself. My critical point in studying the Bible came when I realized I was being invited to join in the argument.

We jump to Jesus and find that he had to choose which side of the argument he should embrace. I am convinced that he came down on the side of love, peace and non-violence. I choose to go with Jesus down the path of peace. His words “blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the sons of God” should be enough but he has a lot more to say, and his actions spoke louder than words.

Jesus lived in horrible circumstances. Poverty was rampant. The Roman Empire was a tyrant and killed dissenting people without hesitancy. Many of Jesus’ neighbors and friends were advocates of the sword. They had had enough. The Zealot movement was in its formative stages and was powerful. Scholars have argued convincingly that Jesus was a Zealot. However, Jesus was a Zealot that advocated rebellion without swords. His chosen tools of rebellion were love and the doing of good. Jesus was killed because he was seen as an insurrectionist. Loving is a dangerous vocation.

Some devout Christians believe violence is a necessity as a last resort. Augustine argued eloquently for “just war.” Augustine was wrong. Violence leads to more violence. Jesus repeated his admonition “put up your sword” as he was facing an unjust death. Jesus is my “Prince of Peace.”

I choose to follow the lead of Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth. I will not take to the sword or guns. War and violence is contrary to the will of God. Love, kindness, and the doing of good are the better way.

The Rev. Howard Bess is a retired American Baptist minister who lives in Palmer. His email address is hdbss@mtaonline.net.