May 25, 2011

• Christian Pacifism: Compelling the Conscience

  A little over a month ago, one of my Xanga friends messaged me about sharing my thoughts on Christians serving in the military. Not too long after that I had a discussion with one of my Christian brothers Sirnickdon regarding the very same subject. This post is my response to that request as well as my thoughts on the discussions I’ve had with Sirnickdon (SND) and many other Christian pacifists (CPs).

   

  Sorry so late, my Friends.  

   

   First of all, I believe any division on the subject stems from a lack of biblical direction (purposeful, no doubt) regarding vocational choices. This uncertainty combined with the desire to follow Christ and honor God often leads to honest disagreements about the role of Christians in the world. It is encouraging to know that the exhortation to be imitators of Christ is not taken lightly by those who seek the introspective life. Most Christians would agree that this journey starts with an eye toward introspection, and it continues to thrive through self-examination and a deep desire to pursue this divine friendship.

   

   With that in mind, I have to say I’m not interested in persuading anyone to my position regarding Christian military service. My ultimate goal is unity; not recruitment. In the end, this issue comes down to a matter of conscience. Changing someone’s mind or even their paradigm is different than attempting to compel their conscience toward a position they find offensive. We should always be willing to challenge, and be challenged by, different ideologies. In doing so, we can guard ourselves against the snares of dogmatism. There have been many times I’ve changed my mind after careful and prayerful consideration.  But the conscience is uniquely different than the mind.  When a person’s conscience has embraced a certain position they’ve then wedded their emotions to the idea. For Believer’s, we need to be considerate of our brother’s conscience. (Romans 14:14;20). This is important and even comes with clear warning.

   

   But even from a strictly secular perspective, I think this distinction between mind and conscience is an important one. It’s just not a practical use of your time.

   

   Attempting to compel a person’s conscience is akin to trying to convince someone that they really like a food that they absolutely abhor. No one will ever convince me, for example, that fried okra is fit for consumption. I refuse to eat things that are hairy on the outside and slimy on the inside….. even if they are deep-fried. A person’s Conscience isn’t nearly as dogmatic as their taste buds, but it’s a useful  comparison.

   

   

   Since there are no scriptural mandates or cautions regarding military service, I believe that God leaves it open for Christians to serve…. Or not.

   

   Roman’s 13 makes clear that all authority is ordained of God but the text is silent on exactly who He feels is qualified for service. There are not prerequisites given for applicants. It’s left to the individual to decide. Believers are to filter decisions, whatever they may be, through the sieve of  scripture. In this particular case, we look to the general exhortations given by God.

   

   This is where the problems begin. People love to take general exhortations and get very granular about it’s meaning and application. This is perfectly fine as long as we limit the application to ourselves, but the urge to build constructs and rally people to our position is a powerful one.   

   

  For example, we read:

   

  1. “Be Holy, because I am Holy”
  2. “Love your neighbor as yourself”
  3. “your body is a temple”
  4. “women dress modestly, with decency and propriety”
  5. Do not be drunk with wine.

  And we evaluate the meaning and it’s application for ourselves, which is good. But our tendency is to go on from there.

  1. Evaluate
  2. Build a construct
  3. Look to scripture for additional support
  4. Rally others to our view

  Through this process general exhortations become unnecessarily granular; rule oriented and ultimately divisive. My point is that Scripture already has immovable pillars of support. Why would we need to create fragile constructs? There are clear points that leave no room for compromise why insert extra biblical ones?

   

  Man made rules regarding food, drink, apparel & vocation don’t usually encourage a closer walk with God. They create sectarianism.  

  You shouldn’t drink alcohol

  No sleeveless shirts; bathing suits etc.

  Abstain from meat.. especially if it’s not organic.  ;)

  Women should not go to college

  listening to secular music is wrong

   

  I’m sure you get the point. It isn’t that we all can’t draw from general principles. It’s that the strict definition and application is nearly impossible to discern. I’ve not met too many people who’ve successfully avoided turning these “rules” into points of performance and eventually barriers to truly loving their neighbor. 

   

   

  The Pacifist’s desire to avoid a situation where their conscience might be violated or one where they might be asked to commit a sin is a noble one. We all must weigh our choices based on obedience to God. However, this applies to whatever we do recreationally or vocationally. The businessman; doctor; lawyer and pastor will necessarily find themselves confronted by decisions unique to their profession. My husband deals in life or death every day. Resuscitate or not? The Christian businessman may be tempted to do any number of unscrupulous business deals. The employee might be asked by his boss to commit (fill in the blank) sin for the good of the company.  We walk out our faith in whatever situation we’ve arrived at. It’s the reality of living in this world.

   

  And so it is the same for the soldier.

   

  The idea that we should appeal to a board of Elders to seek their approval over our career choices is a false construct. This is entirely different from the scriptural encouragement to seek godly council. And it becomes different the moment it’s mandatory. And while I support and might even encourage the pacifist’s conviction to refrain from military service, I take issue with this extra-biblical construct that’s been created. This is the moment a conviction comes dangerously close to dogma. The interesting thing is I believe all Christians at one point in their walk will struggle with this temptation to transform a genuine passion into an extra biblical tenet. Some folks may even make it into a habit. So I speak from experience having tried to apply a broader application to a pet conviction in the past.  :)

   

  I understand the reaction to the blending of a  jingoistic devotion to America and Christianity. This is unfortunate and extra biblical as well, but I think there is a bit of an aversion reaction going on here.

   

  Many Christians enter service with a sincere desire to serve and protect their countrymen. Some enter for other reasons and yet God can intervene. I think of my own husband’s experience. The Lord used his time in the service for spiritual growth. He entered the Army with dog tags that he had he created himself. They listed his religion as “Orthodox Heathen”, but by the time he left the service he had a different set that said “Christian”.  During that time, we developed some of the most enduring friendships we’ve ever had. The depth of Christian fellowship we enjoyed while on active duty was beyond anything we experienced in civilian life.

   

  Unfortunately, there is a distorted perception of the military that I think is tragic. I would never claim it is a perfect institution… far from it. But I can’t say that the challenges presented aren’t more difficult to reconcile with the Christian faith.  In fact, there were times when the mandate to “Love your enemies” was facilitated through this institution. My husband tells the story of the mass surrender of Iraqi forces just days after the ground war started in the First Gulf War. These soldiers flooded into US camps in record numbers. They were tired, thirsty and hungry. They had been left out in the desert for days without supplies and commanded to hold back American forces. My husband was attached to the 15th M.I. Unit at the time and they had warned the Republican Guard that if they launched biological or nuclear missiles the Allied Forces would retaliate. The Iraqis took them at their word. When Saddam ordered the missile launch, they wisely decided to surrender instead. 

   

  What horrible technique do you suppose the US forces used to extract information from these enemy combatants when they presented themselves? 

   

  They didn’t use any. They gave them food, water and medical attention. The Iraqi soldiers were grateful for what they received and they talked willingly. It was a natural response.

  More importantly, the aid was not given in order to get information. It was given regardless.

   

  Does that mean each US soldier acted on their orders with a heart of love for the enemies? Certainly not in every case. My point is that pacifists all too often define the military too narrowly. A bloody and distorted picture of military service is offered against a back drop of a “godly” Christian framework.  This is no more useful a presentation than those who offer a hyper Americanism form of Christianity. They’re both caricatures. 

   

  To assert that all followers of Christ must embrace the pacifist way of life is not biblical. However, it can be a sincerely held personal belief that is biblically based.  

  In which case, If you are convinced in your own mind, I support you 100%.

  But the moment it becomes a campaign rally to call all Christians to your side, I have a problem.   

   

   

   

   

  • 10:36 am
  • 19 Comments