War is Immoral

We were created to love our neighbors and live in peace. 

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

Murder is a sin. Murdering someone for the State is a sin. Murder is never acceptable.

Proverbs 6:16 says: These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood. 

Under no circumstances will I break the LORD’s commandments. I will live according to my convictions and beliefs and will not be swayed in those beliefs by anyone regardless of who they are. Killing for the state goes against the commandments of God, who condemns murder and that is what war is, mass murder. I will not take part in war for the purpose of self-gain or the benefit of the State. I refuse to go to someone else’s homeland and slaughter men whom I have no quarrel with. Not only men that have done nothing to me, but innocent women and children. War makes enemies out of people who have no reason to hate or fight the people they are killing. I refuse to take part in destroying families and their homes for the benefit of the State and will not be one of those men making widows out of women who have also seen their men sent off to fight for the State. Mothers and fathers lose their sons to war because of the decisions of the wicked leaders of the State. I reject the idea that the soldiers that are sent to other countries are going over there to protect our freedom. Nobody that the United States invades and kills has anything to do with defending our freedom. It happens because of sinful men in power. Men who care nothing for human life, only how they can use ignorant young people to follow orders so that they can grow in power. They send young men off to die for a lie. On top of that, the LORD does not command us to kill for freedom in the first place. Warmongers want to make it sound noble, but what takes place through the military activities of the world is evil.  Humans are made in the image of God, and I stand firm on the fact that we are not to destroy and maim human life for the benefit of the State or anyone else. Any man that murders another is in danger of judgement from God. 

Military conscription is immoral just as war is.  

No human being should be required by the State government to take part in something that he does not see fit to do. It does not matter if the government decides that someone owes service, the government has no right to force any one into service or combat. No individual or group of people has the perfect knowledge and wisdom that the LORD God has, and therefore I will swear allegiance to no one but God. My faith lies in God, not in any man, and certainly not in any corrupt government of men. The governor of my life is God alone. I will stand on the commandments that he has given.

“Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.” 

The Constitution was written for one reason, and that was to protect the inalienable rights that we human beings have.  The 13th Amendment clearly states that no man should be forced to serve in any way that he does not choose. The very idea of conscription contradicts the 13th amendment. The definition of conscription is: compulsory enlistment for State service, typically into the armed forces. 

Some make the claim that war is evil but sometimes necessary. What is my response to this statement? 

Is evil ever necessary?  I would make the case that evil is never necessary. Mass murder is never the answer to a problem.

1 Thessalonians 5:15 states: See that none render evil for evil unto any man; but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves, and to all men.  

Wars are never necessary. There are no good outcomes from war because all wars are motivated by evil. It is not necessary to meddle in other nations' affairs and the United States does just that. The wars that involved the United States have not been defensive wars, aside from perhaps the Revolutionary War. Anything since then has been in the interests of corrupt leaders, pure evil, and certainly not necessary. To initiate war is evil. To wage war on another nation is wicked and sinful. My short answer is this: war always stems from evil. There is not a war that was not caused by evil, and evil is never necessary. 

To those who point to God wiping nations from the face of the earth, or wars that he condoned in the Bible to make an argument in favor of war, I would say this: you are not God. No one in the government is God. God is perfect and just, with perfect wisdom and discernment, something that no human being can claim. If God found war necessary, then so be it. We are his creation and he can do what he pleases with his creation. The people that God eliminated were wicked groups who were at cross-purposes with him. There are no nations today that are not living apart from God. There is no nation seeking to fulfill God’s purposes, only their own selfish desires. 

I am not a nationalist. It is my duty to serve all mankind. 

The Lord Jesus Christ took on flesh and lived as a servant to mankind. My job is to serve others by showing the love of God and helping to pull souls from destruction. My duty is not to help the growth of national interests. No human being has more value or more right to be loved based on where they are born. No one is better because of where they live. The entire world is filled with wickedness, no nation is a Christian nation, and all nations are evil in God’s sight. I will stand with my brothers in Christ from anywhere in the world before I will stand with a wicked man because he was born in the USA. I am a human being and a Christian, not an American patriot. The Lord Jesus was not interested in earthly kingdoms, only the kingdom of God. 

John 18:36 says: Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence. 

Our eyes should be set on the kingdom of God and furthering God’s purpose, not murdering people for an earthly nation.

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

First you must ask yourself what purpose a Christian is to serve.  

Matthew 22:37-39 says: Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. 

First and most importantly, Christ commands us to love the Lord God with all our heart, soul, and mind. How do we love God but by living in obedience to his word? Are the leaders of the military loving God? Far from it. The state is seeking only to expand its own wealth and power, not the kingdom of God. The military is most definitely breaking the greatest commandment among plenty of others. In what way is the military obeying God at all? As I stated above, Christ tells us that his kingdom is not of this world. Would you serve a military and nation whose sole purpose is to kill and destroy so as to build itself up with power and wealth? 

What about loving your neighbor? Killing innocent people to get what you want is hardly loving your neighbor. Invading other nations, ripping apart families, destroying resources, and acting like you are the world’s police comes well short of loving God or your neighbor. Then ask yourself this: Do I want to serve, pledge my allegiance to, and obey in any capacity a government and a military that makes breaking the greatest commandments of God a regular practice? A military that cares nothing about honoring God or serving others? After considering these, ask yourself one last question. What Godly purpose could you possibly serve in the military? You cannot serve God by blowing up the people we are commanded to love and by praying for God to bless the troops as they murder and destroy.  

Can you live according to your duty as a Christian and serve the State and its military simultaneously? Absolutely not.