On War and Governments

[John Bunyan]

Can a christian be a mercenary? Is it permitted/forbidden in all possible cases? What about joining a foreign legion or fighting against your country in a war?

Is desertion a sin? What if you're a soldier because of conscription? Can one fight in a war without being a soldier? If no, is it a sin to protect one's community against an invading army by joining the civil-led resistance?

When is killing justified?

Are all means of warfare ok? What about mustard gas, biological weapons, EMP's (they mess up entire countries, and non-combatents will also suffer; think of hospitals, for example, they need electricity), nuclear weapons and landmines?

Can one wage war against it's own government (in nazy germany, for example)?

Can one wage war against an invading army? What if one's country has been under foreign rule for many years? Is the new government the legitimate one, or is it still an aggressor - if X is ruling B for 120 years, is X the legitimate government of B?

 

[Alan D. Strange]

Brother John, you ask many important questions here. But it seems too much for one thread.

I am new to this board so I don't know what all the protocols are. It seems to me that this is too unwieldy to be one thread. There are serious questions here which will take some effort to answer and I don't think that they should properly be asked all at once.

I suppose this is an appeal for moderation of this thread.

Peace,
Alan

 

[NaphtaliPress]

Agreed. Start again with one question on a thread and move from there. Do not start a lot of threads at once.

 

[NaphtaliPress]

Also, please put the new thread in the right forum.