Christian View on National Security, Peace and War

There are different perspectives on the issue of national security, peace and war. Many religions and doctrines have their opinions and say regarding this matter. While the issue of national security seems to be fully controlled by the government, it is important to consider what other stakeholders perceive of the issue. For that reason, this paper will define the issue of national security, peace and give determine the say of Christianity on the same.

To start with, national security ensures that a nation is in a state of calmness and free from harm either internally or externally by terrorists. For daily activities to progress normally, the nation needs to be at peace. There are a lot of challenges and short comings that are afflicted to citizens when a country goes at war with another country or when the country is internally disturbed. During war, many vices are executed by people with evil intents. People lose their live, others get hurt and property is destroyed (Obadia and Wood). War is a situation that should be avoided at all cost. Alternatively, peace should prevail over all interests of the nations. With peace, people live harmoniously and help one another even during difficult times.

Christianity has its take on national security, war and peace. Most of the principle that Christians follow are biblically referenced. By evaluating the case of God telling David not to build the temple because he had killed many people, Acts 13:22, we establish that God loathes shedding of blood. From this point of view, God sees militarism as an activity that is intrinsically devious. It is worth noting that David was a religious man but the fact that he had engaged in several battle and claimed many lives, God did not find him worthy to build a sacred temple for Him. This shapes the Christians’ view of national security and what it should really entail.

Referencing the Bible could be highly controversial and confusing since there are places that God advocates for self-defense and protection of his people from outsiders. The Christianity view of national security, war and peace therefore include ethics that have been developed over time. These ethics and principles are aimed at ensuring fairness for all people since the Bible commands Christians to love their neighbors and to pray for their enemies.

Christianity advocates for stringent national defense measures but at the same time reprimands the authorities to do so in a manner that is humane. Christianity highly discourages the use of brute force against other countries and rather advocates for better means of reconciliation that are humane. In the contemporary world, many countries have access to weapons of mass destructions. For that reason, a confrontation between two capable nations can lead to catastrophic effects.

The use of brute force is usually destructive and causes unjustified deaths to citizens of the affected country. Women and children are affected by the war and become vulnerable to other vices such as rape. The aftermath of using nuclear weapons is also severe since the contaminated battle fields will render a series of health problems for generations to come. (Obadia and Wood) This is one of the reasons that Christianity disapproves use of force against other countries since it is the innocent citizens that bear the consequences.

While Christianity may be termed as the universal right since it is a prosecutor of violence, Christianity could also be seen as a precursor of violence. This is because at some extent, it allows for the use of excessive force. From a Biblical perspective, self-defense is not condemned. As a matter of fact, the bible encourages Christians to protect themselves. However, a great deal of understanding is needed when referring to these scriptures. From the Ten Commandments, “Do not commit Murder”, Christians are warned against intentional malice that would result to loss of another person’s life (Obadia and Wood). However, the bible does not condemn killing in a justified manner. This can be referenced from Genesis 14:14-16 where the Old Testament allowed for justified homicide. In the New Testament, Jesus is believed to be a believer of justifiable aggression. In John 2:13-16, Jesus attacked people violently when He found them selling things in the temple. From these instances, it is evident that the nature of a situation can warrant the use of aggressive force. Some Christians also agree with the use brute force where the situation warrants the military to do so.

The bible which informs the decisions made by Christianity, does not condemn the role of soldiers at any point. Jesus and many other prophets in the bible shared a perspective of the appropriateness of force. Both John the Baptist and Jesus can into contact with soldiers but did not condemn them. If the role of the military was against God’s will, it would be referenced in the bible (Obadia and Wood). During baptism, John the Baptist never told the soldiers to refrain from violence Luke 3:12-14. However, the teachings of Jesus do not advocate the use of deadly force. As a matter of fact many scholars have established that deadly force should be used when the situation is very dire. When Jesus taught about giving your left cheek when you are struck on the right cheek, He was teaching the people to be humble. From this manifestation Jesus would like Christians to turn away from assaults rather than fighting back. Christianity advocates for what is fair and Justifiable. Christians endeavor peace and loath war as commanded from the bible. The use of justifiable force is therefore acceptable in Christianity as referenced from the bible.