Christian Worldview and Pacifism

I occasionally get drawn into discussions about whether Christians should participate in or support military action. There's a lot of shallow thinking today about pacifism. If this topic interests you, check out this article. You don't have to agree with everything, but this is a good example of someone diligently working through facets of a big issue.

I am not a pacifist, just so you know. I do not think violence is a first solution, but there are times when protecting innocent lives requires it. Let's consider a personal level. If some man is beating on my daughter, and doesn't stop when I ask, then as a father I need to step in and remove him to protect my daughter. I will use whatever force is needed to stop his action.

On a national level, in this fallen world, sometimes war is the only means of stopping evil. I am not arguing that all wars are ok, or that wars begun for noble purposes always remain noble, or that individual actions in the midst of wars are excused.

What happens after the war is also critical. I sat next to an elderly Japanese man on a plane trip once. He had been a teenager during WWII, and expected to die defending against a US invasion of Japan. He told me that the forgiveness of the Americans after the war, and their willingness to help rebuild, shocked his family to the core. This was so unexpected of a "conqueror."