The title of this post is an oxymoron. That said, the argument of ‘just war’ theory seems to have become all pervasive in how we Christians respond to conflict and war. In public discussions we tend to (and this has been my pursuit far too often) approach stories of armed conflict by trying to determine which side is more justified or more ‘just’ in its use of lethal force and express our support for that side. This seems to be our most instinctual reaction to conflict. Just war theory has become the paint we use in the Christian art of war.
This has become evident once again in the latest escalation of violence in the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. What is an extremely complex conflict, riddled with nuances of seemingly irreconcilable historical narratives that stand in contrast to one another, is often being reduced to a question of ‘who started it?’ with oversimplifications being made to justify the violence of one side or the other. Christians often divide down the line just as the rest of the world tends to do. Our response often doesn’t look much different from the world around us, we just tend to justify the side we support by resorting to scripture and theology.
I think we need to challenge ourselves about our response. It’s a challenge that I find deeply confronting.
As Christians, when faced with stories of armed conflict, our instinctual reaction should not be to work out which aggressor we support and to then state the reasons and show our support for their aggression. Rather, our first response should always be to find the voices of peace as quickly as we can and then act as their megaphone.
We should seek to understand what fuels the violence of both sides as this knowledge then gives us a voice into that violence, but our first instinct should not be to find out ways to justify it and support it, our first instinct should be towards peace.
If our idols are control, power, and even security we will miss the challenge and we’ll stand in support of the aggression of those who we think most justifiably require any one of those idols.
It would be easy to respond to this from a perspective that sees peace as weak rather than understanding the gritty, hard and very humble work of it. If we see peace as weak then we need to ask ourselves how easy it is to love our enemies and to pray for those who persecute us. How easy is it to stand in the gap when our own reputations or even our lives are at stake? How easy is to to take the hit when the violence is aimed at someone else, especially if that someone else is our enemy?
It’s easy to hear the challenge and to find a million ways to justify avoiding it, but if we call ourselves followers of Jesus it’s the example of the incarnation, the cross, the resurrection, the ascension and the promise of a renewed creation that we hold front and center. The cross is all about standing in the gap and taking the hit of violence in the place of others. It’s way easier said than done. The cross demands that we do not justify this rocket or that rocket, the use of this rifle or that rifle, rather it demands that we stand with those who put themselves on the line for peace and that we do so from an unrelenting love for all, even those who choose violence.
This is not an argument for pacifism or just war, it is an argument that challenges and calls us to an instinct that transcends both, an instinct that gives little thought to whether or not the use of force is right or wrong, but instead simply sets about seeking its end and supports those who work towards that end with the dignity of all in mind. Our instinct should be nothing more or less than a question of redemption in any and all situations and redemption always looks like Christ through whom it is made a reality.
Now, before you pose different scenarios to me that you think justify violence, reread that last paragraph. With that in mind, answering the philosophical scenarios becomes pointless.
Now, Lord, help us! Grant us peace, teach us peace, guide us toward peace.
Open our eyes and our hearts and give us the courage to say: ‘Never again war!’ ‘Everything is destroyed by war.