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Can a Christian Go to War?
George W. Knight III
War in [Southeast Asia], war between Arabs and Jews, strife and
warfare in Northern Ireland: these shake the world, as well as the countries
directly involved. Before these recent conflicts we had the world wars, and
one could keep tracing war back in history to the epochs represented by the
New and the Old Testaments.
Where were Christians in these wars and conflicts? More important,
where should they have been? Should they have refused to participate in any
and all wars as pacifists? Or should they have been willing to participate in
some, though perhaps not all, as a duty owed to God? In view of the abiding
relevance of this question and especially in view of the ambiguity of some
recent conflicts, Christians should reflect again on the principles concerning
war found in the Word of God.
A central point of departure is an appeal to the sixth commandment,
“You shall not kill.” There are those who say that this settles the issue once
and for all: since God here prohibits killing human beings, this command
prohibits war. It means, according to this view, that no one, individual or
nation, has a right at any time to take another’s life.
But the Old Testament also gives the express command of God to men to
put a murderer to death: “Whoever sheds man’s blood, by man his blood
shall be shed, for in the image of God he made man” (Gen. 9:6). This in
itself goes to show that every death inflicted is not a violation of the sixth
commandment, which prohibits
murder.
Genesis 9:6 gives to men acting col
lectively, designated today as the state, the right—indeed, the responsibil
ity—to inflict death on those who unjustly kill others.
This awesome responsibility of men extends not only to capital punish
ment for the murderer but also to the waging of war and the slaying of ene-
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