Path: utzoo!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!aramis.rutgers.edu!athos.rutgers.edu!christian From: JMS111@psuvm.psu.edu (Jenni Sheehey) Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian Subject: Re: Christianity and war Message-ID: Date: 14 Mar 91 08:49:02 GMT Sender: hedrick@athos.rutgers.edu Organization: Penn State University Lines: 29 Approved: christian@aramis.rutgers.edu In article , johnw@stew.ssl.berkeley.edu (John Warren) says: > >A warlike Jesus?? What about "Blessed are the peacemakers"? Well, >Jesus also told his disciples, toward the end of his mortal ministry, >to carry a sword. Life has tragic choices that must be made, and if >lives must be lost to prevent a greater evil -- large-scale tyranny, which >would have occurred had we let Saddam go unchecked -- then so be it. >This whole standoff has been a test of our stewardship. I agree. I think it is not as difficult to reconcile with the beatitude quoted as one might think, either. When I look at "Blessed are the peacemakers" I see the word "blessed". To me this means that these people have been blessed by God by the circumstances which allow them to be peacemakers. As in, "Blessed am I, for I have been blessed by God." Now, this may or may not have been what Jesus meant, but it seems to make sense to me. As for the "turn the other cheek" idea... Jesus didn't say anything (at that time) about what we were to do if we saw someone striking someone *else* (someone weaker) on the cheek, so it seems to apply in this case more as a warning about selfish motives... i.e. we have to make sure that we are not fighting a war because of national pride or what have you, but instead because of the injustices that our opponent is committing against some weak group of people (be they a racial group, a nation, etc.) --Jenni