Can Christians form militias against ISIL? April 9th, 2015 Kris Cadogan April 7 at 4:01pm Is it biblically okay for Christians in Iraq and Syria to form militias to fight against ISIL? Is it biblically okay for Christians in the west to donate money to such groups? Like · Comment Seen by 31 Ed Chait, Marc Weiss and Carol Coleman like this. Fred Apelquist Can’t wait to read the responses. We know that violence begets violence and certainly in the Middle East blood feuds last for generations, if not in perpetuity. April 7 at 7:43pm · Like Carol Coleman I’m certainly not the theologian of the group. But God sent Joshua and David to fight in the Old Testament. There are battles talked about in Revelation as well. It will be interesting to hear what some of our Bible scholars say. April 8 at 11:27am · Like Steve Ray Webb Along the same lines as the question above, is it okay for a Christian to join the military and partake of combat duty? And in this case, combat duty in Iraq and Syria? I would expect there to be an alignment in answers between the two cases. April 8 at 10:22pm · Like Fred Apelquist I think Jesus’ “turn the other cheek” must be addressed. If we are not to answer violence with violence, the answer is no. Yet that could lead (theoretically) to Christian extinction, which is ISIS’ Mission. Then the question is would the logical extension of Jesus’ literal words be logical if our demise would be the result of the enemy’s actions. This would not happen – and would cease – if such events prompted Christ’s return & the End Times. Yet, God often uses us on Earth to serve His purpose, which would lead to fighting back via the ‘Just’ war concept. As I said earlier, I look forward to seeing the answer. April 9 at 9:15am · Like Sarah Van Baale The Bible doesn’t promote pacifism nor the concept of jihad (as I can’t figure out what an appropriate antonym is for pacifism). Love doesn’t always mean sitting back and watching your neighbor get slaughtered, but it also doesn’t mean returning hate for hate. Stealing a coat and slapping a cheek are hardly comparable to genocide. The Bible doesn’t forbid war. On the other hand, it doesn’t promote war as an answer to all forms of violence. I’d answer somewhere along the lines of showing both concepts in the Bible. In this case, the Bible is silent on this particular issue – neither promoting it nor condemning it. April 9 at 9:42am · Like · 1 Fred Apelquist Great insights, Sarah. Again, I look forward to seeing ‘our’ answer. April 9 at 9:57am · Like · 1 Steve Ray Webb To postulate a situation, if a gunman were in a school in the process of shooting school children, and you had access to a gun, would you shoot him to stop the carnage? Hopefully all of us would answer yes to this question. In other words we find it acceptable to use force to stop the greater use of force. This principle has application on both a personal level and a national level. Unfortunately, the situation is not always so clear cut. Using force against Hitler in World War II was the right thing to do. Fighting in the Viet Nam war was not so clear cut. Life sometimes presents us with difficult situations that cause us to choose between the lesser of two evils. We must prayerfully seek wisdom in such cases. With respect to the Middle East, is using force against ISIS justified? In my opinion, the answer is yes. Isis is using violence against huge numbers of people, not just Christians, in their drive for power, and it is violence that they would like to extend to our country. I personally would not enjoy being a combatant against ISIS but I would do it if called upon to do so. They are a true evil that need to be defeated. April 9 at 11:22am · Edited · Like Fred Apelquist Amen, Steve. Points very well stated & developed. April 9 at 12:35pm · Like Byron Earnheart Steve did a great job in framing the problem…and it’s worth considering. I think about David and Joshua…taking up the sword in the name of the Lord. I don’t know if I could blame a militaristic Christian resistance to ISIS. I also couldn’t blame someone who flees the area. In this case, given the depths of evil that ISIS is, I tend to lean towards supporting a resistance. I think there is a line that must be crossed before resistance is ok. Where is that line? I have no idea. But when I see it…I know it. April 9 at 10:51pm · Like
