Ángel
Manuel Rodríguez
Should
Adventists be involved in warfare? What is the church's position?
The
Christian church has reflected on the question of war and the Christian
attitude toward it for centuries. Unfortunately, I'm not sure I can
give a specific answer to your questions, but let me place before you
some things to consider.
1.
War as a Constant Social Phenomenon: As long as the phenomenon of sin is part of the human experience,
war will to some extent characterize social life and relations among nations
(Matt. 24:6). Humans always exist under the threat or the actuality of
war; absolute world peace is a utopia, as is clearly demonstrated by human
history.
2.
War Is Always Evil: We should also acknowledge that there is no such
thing as a just war. Only God, who is all-powerful and all-loving, can
define and actually bring about a war that results in
permanent peace. Christian attempts to define the conditions under
which it would be right for Christians to participate in warfare is called
the just war tradition. It provides guidelines that could be useful for
Christians, but its usefulness is weakened in that it could give the impression
that under certain circumstances war may be morally or religiously justifiable.
The church must insist at all times on the evilness of human wars.
3.
Promote Peace and Reconciliation: The constancy of war forces the
church to think about how to relate to this social evil. In that particular
setting the main function of the church is to promote and
supportpeace and reconciliation (cf. Matt. 5:9). This is how the
church wars against war, a never-ending task in a world of rebellion and
aggression. The church should be always willing to serve both parties
involved in a potential or real conflict in an attempt to avoid or terminate
it.
4.
Provide Guidance to Church Members: We should also recognize that
in some cases church 'members'
participation in war is unavoidable, forcing them individually to reflect
on how they should relate to the phenomenon.
It
is the responsibility of the church to provide guidance to them as they
determine what to do as Christians. We should promote noncombatancy.
If the function of the church in the context
of war is to speak for peace and reconciliation, it must
promote noncombatancy among its members, based on the biblical teaching
of the value of human life. Members who are unwilling to participate
in warfare in any way, no matter the cost, should find spiritual and
emotional support in the church to remain loyal to their call.
It
is the responsibility of the church to promote among church members who,
for some reason, have to join the military the importance of obedience
to God, that loyalty to God must supersede obedience to humans. When service
in the military may result in an open conflict with religious convictions,
Christ and His church expect loyalty to Him. We must be willing to enter
into dialogue with government officials in an effort to obtain for our
members the right to practice their religious convictions while in the
military.
5.
Members Determine Extent of Their Involvement: The extent of the involvement
of the individual church member in war is a matter between him or her
and God. Although the church should never give the impression that certain
wars are justifiable and therefore right, it must acknowledge that in
some situations church members may feel they have to choose the lesser
of two evils and that both of them may require their involvement in defensive
warfare. In such cases church members may benefit by examining the principles
of the just war without concluding that war itself or their involvement
in it is morally justifiable.
Among
the principles of just war that could be useful to them the following
are suggested: (1) the ultimate purpose is peace; (2) war is the last
resort; (3) violence will be limited to those in arms; and (4)
use of minimum force needed for victory. These elements set
some parameters that will help make
war less inhuman and will attempt to respect Jesus' call to
love our enemies (Matt. 5:44.
For
now, we look to a future where there will be war no more (Isa.
2:3, 4).
4/10/03
Copyright © Biblical Research Institute General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists®