What should be the Christian attitude toward war? Is the taking of human life ever justified?
The Bible clearly teaches that the biblical ideal is for peace. Unfortunately, our world is not ideal. It is a world filled with greed, lust, hatred, jealousy, and self-interest. Where such sins abound, there will be war. Where there is world sin, there will be world war. This does not make war right, but it does make it inevitable.
Jesus told us to expect “wars and rumors of war” until the end of time. Plato wrote three centuries before the birth of Christ: “Only the dead have seen the end of war.”
War is wrong. It cannot be defended as Christian. There is nothing Christian about killing. Yet there are times when war is the lesser of two evils. There are times when alternatives to war are worse than the war itself. It is sometimes the only safeguard to the designs of evil humans. Those who oppose war, and especially a Christian fighting in one, often quote the sixth commandment: “Thou shalt not kill.” This commandment actually means “Thou shalt not commit murder.” All killing is not murder, any more than all sex is adultery.
Jesus recognized that there were times when force had to be used to restrain evil, so he drove moneychangers out of the temple. The apostles taught that one of the functions of government as ordained by God was to restrain and punish evildoers.
Since war is not ideal, but seemingly inevitable, what is the Christian to do about war? He should pray for peace. He should promote love and goodwill among all people. And he should help spread the gospel of the Prince of Peace to all.