War or Peace?

I can honestly say that for my entire life my country’s default setting has had us on a perpetual war footing.

The same is true for my children and my grandchildren and this deeply concerns me as a parent and as a grandparent. It concerns me because of its effects on our nation’s future—their future more specifically.

Neither my children or grandchildren or me for that matter has ever lived one day of our lives in which our nation hasn’t been at war. Think about this for a moment. Our nation’s warlike default setting has become unconsciously normative for all living Americans under the age of 75. In fact if one were to challenge this default setting one would be considered unpatriotic.

Actually America has been on a perpetual war footing since December 7, 1941. There has not been one hour of one day in which America has not been on a war footing and this should be deeply disturbing to us all. 

Most Americans simply assume that being at war is normative for our nation—it was for me for many years. I served as a Navy Chaplain and also attended the USMC’s Command Staff College to study the Operational level of War. 

I was a staunch supporter of the so-called “Just War” theory. I believed that the only way America could be kept safe was by strength. This not only was my nation’s default position but also my personal position as well, even though I was considered a “non-combatant” by declaration of Congress.

I saw no conflict between my faith in Jesus and my commitment to use whatever force necessary to protect American interests abroad. I was in effect a non-combatant warrior for Jesus and as long as I had the Just War theory to fall back on there was no conflict between my faith and my unquestioned patriotic duty to support my nation’s wars.

All of this just felt normal to me until I began to challenge my nation’s warlike default setting in light of my readings of the New testament, especially the Gospels, and in particular the Sermon on the Mount.

I also began reading books authored not so much by Christian apologists but by former military officers and military historians who believed that our perpetual war footing has become a dangerous default setting that must be changed. 

I also began reading theologians whose views on war I once considered too liberal or suspicious, even bordering on treasonous. Yet their views began to make sense to me in light of Jesus and Saint Paul’s dispositions toward peace (a real eye opener for me).

This shift in my own thinking has led me to the sad conclusion that if America doesn’t shift its default setting away from war and move towards a more sustainable trajectory of peace we are doomed as a nation. 

In fact, former president Dwight D. Eisenhower warned prior to leaving office in 1960 against a permanent “military-industrial complex” becoming an integral part of the American ethos. Unfortunately America did not take Ike’s advice and instead built a massive military and security apparatus, one of the largest the world has ever seen. 

So where has it gotten us today?

Now many will claim that we must be strong militarily in order to face the dangerous realities of today’s world. Most Americans have been conditioned to believe that it is only by military strength can we survive in an increasingly dangerous and hostile world. 

My children and grandchildren know of no other option for dealing with international conflict: Call out the military and engage the enemy with mighty force! 

So how are those of us who have committed to following Jesus into this dangerous world to respond to this national default setting? Well I believe we can make a good start by simply asking ourselves some hard questions, but asked in light of the New Testament, the Gospels, and the Sermon on the Mount (this assumes that you have done your Bible reading):

First, is maintaining a huge military apparatus such as we have today really necessary (if nothing else, think economics)? 

Second, would a smaller national defense force be more appropriate were we to shift our default setting from war to making peace?

Third, as a follower of Jesus how do I align Jesus’s nonviolent teachings with my nation’s warlike default setting? Is it really possible to harmonize the two?

Fourth, how does my reading of the Sermon on the Mount square with my nation’s current position on the use of military might as a foreign policy tool for expanding American interests around the world?

Fifth, as a follower of Jesus how might I shift my thinking from Just War theory to a more non-violent approach to foreign policy (which appears to be Jesus’s default setting)? 

Six, are there other accessible options in order to achieve and maintain peace in the world other than violence (which seems to me to be what Jesus taught)?

Finally, what would our world look like if the strongest nation on earth decided to reset its default setting to making peace rather than war?

Think about that for a minute.

These are questions I believe every American follower of Jesus should ask himself or herself. If enough people who follow Jesus today actually began resisting our nation’s use of the military as the only viable solution to solving international conflicts I wonder what impact that might have on our future?

Not challenging our nation’s current warlike default setting is in effect a dangerous compliance to the eventual demise of our nation. If the people of Christ can’t see this based on their honest reading of the New Testament then I am afraid there isn’t much hope left for us as a nation.

We would be wise to reset our default setting to making peace rather than war. 

Our very survival may very well depend on it, at least for the sake of our children and grandchildren.