The Immorality of War

War is immoral and unjust. There is no justification for a Christian to take up arms for the state and kill his fellow man. The Lord Jesus is the Prince of Peace, and war is anti-Christ.

Matthew 5-9 - “Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.”

Romans 14:19 - “Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another.”

As a Christian, my aim is to live in peace. I have no obligation to kill others, but every obligation to live a peaceable life. I have no desire or duty to kill anyone. The interests of the state are none of my concern and no justification for me to kill others. I will not violate my convictions because of the dictates of the state, and I have no responsibility to commit acts that I find immoral because of the views of others that I do not agree with. As a Christian it is my duty to care for the weak and poor and to help those in need, not to create orphans and widows, or maim the weak and poor. War is chaos; it destroys families and ruins lives. To take part in this would be disrespectful to God and to human life. God is a God of order, not of disorder, death, and chaos.

War is entirely unethical. Why should I kill some man just because of the country he was born in? It is outrageous that I could be commanded to kill someone that I have no quarrel with, simply because his country drafted him into their war. Why should the people of any country be required to fight, kill, and sacrifice themselves because politicians have decided to enter a war? War is unethical because civilians will be injured and killed for something they have no part in. Homes and businesses will be destroyed, and resources will be lost. Thousands of people will die, people will suffer, be tortured, and lives will be ruined. And for what? What does war solve? How does the death of thousands of people benefit anyone? Don’t these men, that I would be killing, have lives of their own? Do they not have families of their own? Do they not have hopes, dreams, and goals of their own? Is their own government not telling them that I am the enemy? They are no different than me. They are human beings being used by their government to kill, maim, and destroy. Human life is too valuable to waste it killing one another.

I refuse to take up arms to impose the will of the people who are in power. The state’s goals and agendas are not my goals and agendas. I will not sacrifice my life for the ideals of any human government. Human beings are fallible, greedy, and selfish. No human or group of people has the right to demand that I sacrifice my life so that they can accomplish their goals. I cannot break God’s moral law to please sinful man. The government does not own me. My decisions are mine to make. I will not be part of any war because politicians think they can use me to further their interests. No government can make the decision for me to give up my life. No government can make the decision for me to take someone else's life away from them.

The Draft is anti-freedom. The state has no right to demand my life from me, and does not have the authority to command my life. As a Christian, I strive to obey God. The draft does nothing less than strip me of my freedom; the freedom to choose for myself, and the freedom to choose right or wrong. The draft takes away my freedom to serve God and obey my conscience. The government cannot decide for me what is right or wrong. The state cannot tell me how to serve God. I am accountable to God for my actions, not the state. I must obey God regardless of what the state demands of me. I cannot simply obey government and do what is evil. And war is certainly evil. I will not take part in war.

Luke 6:27-31 - “But I say unto you which hear, love your enemies, do good to them which hate you.”

There is no love in war. Only death and suffering. Men killing each other in the name of their country. I cannot let fear of the government influence my course of action. No fear of repercussions should influence my decisions. Right and wrong are not determined by the government. I am looking farther ahead than what men may do to me right now. My relationship with God is hanging in the balance, and that is a far weightier matter than my relationship to the state. Someday I will have to stand before God, and give an account of myself. I’d rather tell him that I was a draft dodger than tell him that I killed other people, that he created and loves, in the name of an earthly kingdom. I should be more worried about those people’s souls than I am about killing them because a politician thinks that it would be a good idea. I am living for another kingdom. A kingdom that will last forever; a kingdom not ruled by mere men, but by the Lord. God has told us tell the world about him, and to shine his light in the world. He has told us to be fishers of men. Instead, the world is bent on war. This world wants to kill and destroy.

Matthew 6:24 “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other.”

I cannot serve God and serve the state. I must choose to serve one over the other. I choose to serve God. He is my master. I choose to live a life of peace. Not a life of killing for the government.

Is War a Necessary Evil?

War is not a necessary evil, because what is evil cannot be called necessary. War is destructive. It destroys resources and kills thousands of men. How could that be necessary? The people of any nation should be able to work with the people from any other nation. There are other ways to solve problems than to fight. Why do we resort to war? It is certainly not necessary to do so. People should be able to interact in a responsible, reasonable manner. And that shouldn’t stop at the borders of America. Instead, the people in power have a disagreement and send other men to fight and die. It is absolutely unnecessary. It is evil, and it is a lie to say that is necessary.

It is never necessary to disobey God. What God declares evil is not necessary. Murder cannot be necessary, therefore war for the state cannot be necessary. Slaughtering men in other nations in a war for the state is murder. Murder is sin. To say that war is a necessary evil does not justify it. The opposing nation will say the same thing. But which nation’s evil is more necessary? Neither. It is a ridiculous question but must have an answer if war is indeed a necessary evil. The world wants to embrace evil. It wants to call it unavoidable, even necessary. I will not take part in any evil. Men should learn to live in peace rather than to make war against each other. I say that peace is necessary. Not war. Many things that are evil are considered good by evil people.

Is it wrong for a Christian to serve in the military in any capacity? Yes.

I not only refuse to serve in the military as a hired killer, but I also refuse to serve in any role. I cannot support the killing that I refuse to take part in by serving as medical aide, a chaplain, or in any other role. Service in the military is not service to God or my fellow man. It is service to the state. A service that is immoral and should not be supported in any way. I am in no way indebted to the state. I owe nothing to the United States of America. I have no reason to “serve” an evil state by supporting the state’s evil. Supporting evil in any capacity is unacceptable. Just as I would not support a murderer in any way, I would not support state sanctioned murder in any way. Just as I would not support abortion in any way, I would not support state sanctioned murder in any way. I will not support murder of any kind. I cannot condone war for the state by serving in wartime or in peace.

Just as the draft is evil and anti-freedom, so is involuntary “service” in any role. Service for the evil state is wrong.