Today, I want to continue our look at pacifism and just war, though in a different manner. I want to look at a text I preached on a couple of weeks ago at Garden Park. The passage is Psalm 8.
——–
1 Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory
in the heavens.
2 Through the praise of children and infants
you have established a stronghold against your enemies,
to silence the foe and the avenger.
3 When I consider your heavens,
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which you have set in place,
4 what is mankind that you are mindful of them,
human beings that you care for them?
5 You have made them a little lower than the angels
and crowned them with glory and honor.
6 You made them rulers over the works of your hands;
you put everything under their feet:
7 all flocks and herds,
and the animals of the wild,
8 the birds in the sky,
and the fish in the sea,
all that swim the paths of the seas.
9 Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
———-
One of the things that I like about this passage is that it serves as a reminder to me about where I fit in God’s creation. Let’s face it: too often life is hard,we mess up, we beat ourselves up and ultimately we think less of ourselves because of our failures.
Here’s a fun exercise: on a scale of 1 (low) to 10 (high) rank everything. Ten is God (perfection) and one is the lowest possible life for (a worm or something like that). Where do humans fit? Where do you fit?
Average answer for humanity: 2, or maybe a 3 for the really good ones.
But we need perspective. What does the psalmist tell us (verses 4-5): that we are a little lower than the heavenly beings crowed with glory and splendor. We have been given dominion and the ability to govern all of God’s creation.
Huh. So if God is a ten, the heavenly beings are a 9/9.5 and where are humans? We are an 8.5, and that changes everything entirely. If I think of myself as a 2 or 3, I am going to operate a certain way and view humanity a certain way. When I spoke on this passage a couple of weeks ago, it was in the context of prayer as we looked at order and priorities. I highlighted humility and respect for God’s order in creation.
Humility isn’t tearing ourselves down. Any prayer that focuses on our worthlessness isn’t humility. “Oh God look at your lowly servant! I am nothing! I am only a 2 please don’t hate me!”
That’s not humility. That’s self-degradation. That’s looking God in the eye and telling him that his creation isn’t good, valuable or worthy. It’s calling God a liar.
Humility isn’t putting ourselves down lower than we should, it’s recognizing where God is. It’s recognizing that while we aren’t a one or a two, we also aren’t a ten. The order in our relationship with God means that God has to be at the top.
But in our discussion of just war and pacifism I also find it a helpful text in understanding why I refuse to take up arms and defend my country or my ‘rights.’ In this mindset (humanity is an 8 or 8.5) I must understand what killing someone does. Most importantly I think, it takes someone that has been crowed with glory and splendor by God and extinguishes their God-made image. It demeans someone down lower than me, it makes them an other and somehow signifies that I am better than they are. We end up believing a myth that we are somehow better than them because we are right and they are wrong. It creates two classes of people.
Pacifism is about honoring the right of all to experience a life of love and reconciliation with God. It works hard to end injustices and promote God’s healing shalom to all things. Pacifism doesn’t pretend to ignore the wrongs that are done it this world, it just refuses to fight that evil by demeaning others and devaluing their life.
Please Enter the Discussion below.
Justin, this is a great series. I have huge respect for those who practice pacifism along the lines of your definition, which I would attempt to re-stated as actively working for peace through absolute non-violence.
I want to suggest a “third way” besides a prohibition on all Christians from participating in war. Some Christians do participate in war as a way to work toward peace. There have been times in history when the non-interference of nations with military power have resulted in great evil. I would not offer that as a basis for prescribing military service for all believers, but as a potential reason for some believers to participate in the military with a clear conscience.
Neither your quotes from Brown’s book nor your counter-arguments sway my belief that some of us are called to participate in government, which has been given the sword. All governments outside the church/Kingdom of God rule by the threat of violence.
Does Paul ever use an example of sin to explain Kingdom of God principles? Yet he describes a soldier donning combat gear and weaponry as a metaphor for being in Christ and filled with the Holy Spirit. I’m aware of no metaphor for Christian life that uses an adulterer, liar, or thief. And no, the wicked judge does not represent God.
Why didn’t Jesus tell the centurion to go and sin no more? In every other case of life-style sin, He confronted that sin and charged the sinner to sin no more. Zacchaeus gave back all he had stolen and more. Jesus told the woman caught in adultery to stop. Philip doesn’t instruct the Ethiopian to leave government service. Peter doesn’t instruct Cornelius to resign his commission. And so on.
But… nor does anyone ever tell Christians that it’s acceptable to join the Roman Army.
The Bible is not clear on the issue of participating in a legitimate government’s military because God leaves it up to believers.
A third way is that some Christians are called to nonviolently work for peace, including making a stand against military action in the name of Christ. Others are called to work for peace by participating in government, including the military.
Those in the military need to understand the principles underpinning just war theory, and should understand both sides of the discussion. Hopefully they read and think about strong arguments for pacifism like the series you’ve posted here. Having done that, each believer should make a conscious decision with a clear conscience – then revisit that decision often.
Soldiers who are also believers are very familiar with the horror and evil of war. Many are also familiar with the horror and evil of not arriving in time to prevent the death of innocents.
Thanks for posting this.
Tim,
Thanks for stopping by the blog and adding your thoughts. I really appreciate what you have to say. You highlight a few points that I have been thinking about in posting on in this series and just haven’t put it up yet. I will be adding a full response later (hopefully today), please look for that. I am excited to have you in the conversation.
Grace and Peace.
Justin
Cool! I’ve got a post scheduled for tomorrow morning with more on the discussion as well. I’m recommending anyone considering joining the military read this series, as well as C.S. Lewis’ thoughts on war. For me the key thing is that believers struggle with this before making a decision, rather than just go with what parents, media, society, or friends tell them.