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Roots of Christian pacifism can be found in the scriptures of the Old Testament.[1] Millard C. Lind explains the theology of warfare in ancient Israel as God directing the people of Israel to trust in Him, not in the warring way of the nations, and to seek peace not coercive power. The Old Testament describes God's divine intervention, not human power politics, or the warring king, as the key to biblical history. Millard C. Lind asserts the Old Testament reflects that God occasionally sanctions, even commands, wars to the point of God actually fighting utilizing the forces of nature, miraculous acts or other nations.[2] God fights so that Israel doesn't have to fight wars like other nations because God delivers them.[2] God promised to fight for Israel, to be an enemy to their enemies and oppose all that oppose them (Exodus 23:22). God sustained and directed his community not by power politics but by the creative power of God's word, of speaking through the law and the prophets.[5] The scriptures in the Old Testament provide background of God's great victory over evil, sin and death. Dr. Stephen Vantassel contends the Old Testament exists to put the issue of war and killing in historical and situational context.[3]
Throughout the Old Testament, there is a movement in the role of war. At first, God uses war to conquer and provide the Promised Land to Israel, and then to defend that land. The Old Testament explains that Israel does not have to fight wars like other nations because God delivers them. Starting with the Exodus out of Egypt, God is fighting for Israel as a warrior rescuing His people from the oppressive Egyptians (Exodus 15:3). In Exodus 14:13 Moses instructs the Israelites, "The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still." The miraculous parting of the Red Sea is God being a warrior for Israel through acts of nature and not human armies.[2] God's promise to fight on behalf of His chosen people is affirmed in the scriptures of the Old Testament.[4] During the military conquests of the Promised Land, the Israelites fought in real wars against real human enemies, however it was God who granted them victory in their battles.[4] God determined the outcome of human events with His participation through those humans and their activity; essentially God fought through the fighting of His people.[4] Once the Promised Land was secured, and the nation of Israel progressed, God uses war to protect or punish the nation of Israel with his sovereign control of the nations to achieve His purposes. As long as Israel trusted and followed God, God would work His power through Israel to drive occupants from lands God willed them to occupy.[5] The future of Israel was dependent solely on its faith and obedience to God as mediated through the Law and prophets, and not on military strength.[1] God made a covenant with His people of Israel, placing conditions on them that they were to worship only Him, and be obedient to the laws of life in the Ten Commandments.[6] When Israel trusts and obeys God, the nation prospered; when they rebelled, God spoke through prophets such as Ezekiel and Isaiah, telling Israel that God would wage war against Israel to punish her.[7] War was used in God's ultimate purpose of restoring peace and harmony for the whole earth with the intention towards salvation of all the nations with the coming of the Messiah and a new covenant. Jacob J. Enz describes God's plan was to use the nation of Israel for a higher purpose, and that purpose was to be the mediator between all the peoples and God.[6] The Old Testament reflects how God helped His people of Israel, even after Israel's repeated lapses of faith, demonstrating God's grace, not violence.[6]
The Old Testament explains God is the only giver of life and God is sovereign over human life. Man's role is to be a steward who should take care of all of God's creation, and that includes protecting human life. Peter C. Craige explains God's self-revelation through His participating in human history is referred to as "Salvation History."[4] The main objective of God's participation is man's salvation. God participates in human history by acting through people and in the world that is both in need of salvation, and is thus imperfect. God participates in the human activity of war through sinful human beings for His purpose of bringing salvation to the world.[4] Studies conducted by Friedrich Schwally, Johannes Pedersen and Gerhard von Rad maintain the wars of Israel in the Old Testament were by God's divine command. This divine activity took place in a world of sinful men and activities, such as war. War is considered evil. God's participation through evil human activity such as war, was for the sole purposes of both redemption and judgment.[4] God's presence in these Old Testament wars does not justify or deem them holy, it serves to provide hope in a situation of hopelessness.[4] The sixth commandment, "Thou shalt not kill" (Exodus 20:13) and the fundamental principle it holds true is that reverence for human life must be given the highest importance. The Old Testament points to a time when weapons of war shall be transformed into the instruments of peace, and the hope for the consummation of the Kingdom of God when there will be no more war.[4]
- ^ a b Wood, John A. (1998). Perspectives on War in the Bible. Mercer University Press. p. 13. ISBN 9780865545649.
- ^ a b c Lind, Millard C. (1980). Yahweh is a Warrior: The Theology of Warfare in the Old Testament. Scottdale, PA: Herald Press. p. 168. ISBN 978-0836112337.
- ^ Vantassel, Stephen M. (2009). "Pacifism and the Bible: Some Unresolved Questions". Academia.edu. Retrieved October 25, 2016.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Craige, Peter C. (2002). The Problem of War in the Old Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. p. 112.
- ^ Yoder, John Howard (1972). The Politics of Jesus. Grand Rapids, MI: Erdmans. pp. 81–82. ISBN 978-0802807342.
- ^ a b c Enz, Jacob (2001). The Christian and Warfare: The Roots of Pacifism in the Old Testament. Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock Publishers. p. 46. ISBN 1-57910-706-0.
- ^ Lind, Millard C. (2015). Monotheism, Power, Justice: Collected Old Testament Essays. Wipf & Stock. p. 143. ISBN 978-1498232654.