Today began as a depressing Saturday filled with homework that I must get done today in order to focus whole-heartedly tomorrow on studying for a Biblical Literature test that I will be taking on Monday. That thing is gunna kick my butt and stand over me and insult me in English, Hebrew, and Greek. Studying with this very-real outcome imminent is not going to be fun tomorrow, but I’ll make due!
This is going to be a very long post I imagine, as I am sitting in the Student Union here at Taylor University with nothing in particular to write about, but simply the purpose of writing for writing’s sake. There will most likely be nothing profound, but simply thoughts or ideas that come to my head as I write. Feel free to stop reading whenever you’d like!
This “writing fever” began today when I was doing the assigned reading for my Intro. to Creative Writing class. I was assigned to read about the impact image and voice have on the art of creative writing. I think this creative writing class is the only class in which I have ever enjoyed the textbook reading. I am most definitely keeping that textbook. I almost enjoy reading about writing as I enjoy writing itself. But anyway, reading all of that about image and voice really inspired me to write today, not to incorporate those two things necessarily, but just to write in general. (It didn’t help that I was listening to Michael Bublé while I was reading about writing. And Michael Bublé’s relationship with my writing goes alllllllll the way back to my first ever blog post on any site, seen here. Apparently I was listening to his cover of “Can’t Buy Me Love.”
While I was reading about writing, I was thinking (how about all of those -INGs there?), “Maybe I should back up all of my blog posts in case either of the web sites they are hosted on get shut down one day…” So, this afternoon, I decided to start all the way back at that first blog post back in my sophomore year of high school on LiveJournal, and copy and paste every blog post I have ever written into many, many Microsoft Word documents and keep them all in a nifty little folder called, “Writings.” So now, after browsing through all of my old blog posts, starting over three years ago, I now I have all of them on file, should anything happen to the sites they are hosted on.
This venture through time was incredible. I loved going back through and reading all of my blog posts starting on December 29, 2006. As much as I love writing here for Fall Write in Love (thanks again Ross and Scotty), and as much as it has done for me, nothing I write will ever top my old posts from my ChefSnackyCakes days. I love reading those posts and the comments attached to them more than anything I have ever written. I was spiritually young, and physically young, but I love the random thoughts, and the analogies in particular, I used to post for a max of three readers and now seeing that, at last check, the FWIL Facebook group is up to 1,044 members is crazy. Reading all of those old posts, up to the present, made me remember, wonder, and chuckle about the things I have experienced the past three years. It allowed me to see how much I have learned and how much I have changed both in knowledge and writing style. It was really cool. The days when I wrote of comparing Jesus to a meningitis shot and choosing him in kickball were good ones, and I miss them dearly.
When I sat down here, about 10 minutes ago, to write about this fun time I had today, one phrase came to mind as the title, “Oh, the places you’ll go!” I wasn’t sure why that thought first came to mind, but it actually works quite well with my thoughts on this journey through time I have had today. Reading those old posts allowed me to see the places I’ve went, and what I’ve done with my time here spent! (Sorry, getting in that Dr. Seuss mode… I think I’m going to start writing some Seuss-esque stuff, it’s a real joy). I noticed something very extraordinary (meaning odd, not awesome) in looking through my blogs. The last post I posted to LiveJournal was October 20, 2007, and my first post on FWIL was on June 5, 2008. That means, that after October 20th, I didn’t blog at all my junior year of high school. I found that very interesting, and I’m not quite sure why I never did. I was probably so busy with work and school. But it was surprising to say the least.
I think I’m going to start writing my first lengthy work. I love all of this blog posting and will most certainly continue, but I want to start writing a story. A really long, drawn out story in which I can use vivid images, unique voice, and of course, my favorite, a lot of analogies. This story will be told from the first person point of view of the main character. I already have the content of the story in my head, in my memories. I will take these experiences and memories and retell them in a creative way with characters and a lot of creativity. I’m really excited to begin thinking of the ways I can present this narrative. I’m not sure when I will start writing it, but it will be my summer project. I will probably start it before then, and I am already beginning to assign characters and think of writing styles.
I won’t let you-who-has-courageously-read-this-post-all-the-way-down-to-here walk away empty-handed after reading all of this! I am willing to share an interesting thing I learned in my Biblical Literature class on Friday!
On Friday, in Bib Lit, we were learning about various geographical and archeological themes in the Old Testament that all deal with the idea of literary competency. Literary competency is basically knowing the context (time, geography, culture, language, etc) in which the literature you are studying was written. So, Dr. Smith got on the topic of YHWH (Yahweh). Dr. Smith taught us that יהוה (YHWH) was written in the OT as God’s name, as my name is Chris. However, the Hebrew scribes didn’t use vowels, so that Hebrew is YHWH. Well, the folks reading this OT in Hebrew were taught to not say YHWH or יהוה at all because they were not to say it in vain, so they figure they may as well just cut it out completely. So they started using the word “Adonai” (אֲדֹנָי) which means “lord” or “master.” This word did not exclusively mean God, but any lord or master. So, because YHWH (יהוה) was too sacred, and because Adonai (אֲדֹנָי) was too vague, they took consonants from the word YHWH and the vowels from the word Adonai, and combined them to make the word “Jehovah” (יְהֹוָה). This word was to be meant for reading purposes only, so that the readers of the OT knew what was being written. It was never meant to be vocalized as Jehovah. So really, the word Jehovah, is a non-sensical term. Now, obviously, we aren’t going to rip our clothes and pray for forgiveness anytime we sing some old hymn with the word Jehovah in it — it’s not heretical or anything. It just wasn’t meant to be used in the vocalized form. I found that rather interesting!
Oh, the places you’ll go! :) It’s amazing where God takes us, how he gets us there, and what we do about it. I really hate ending this post, but I leave you with one of my favorite excerpts of the great Dr. Seuss in his poem/story, “Oh, the places you’ll go!”
Have a good day. Be well. Pursue Christ.
-Chris
Wherever you fly, you’ll be best of the best. Wherever you go, you will top all the rest.
Except when you don’t.
Because, sometimes, you won’t.
I’m sorry to say so but, sadly, it’s true that Bang-ups and Hang-ups can happen to you.
You can get all hung up in a prickle-ly perch. And your gang will fly on. You’ll be left in a Lurch.
You’ll come down from the Lurch with an unpleasant bump. And the chances are, then, that you’ll be in a Slump.
And when you’re in a Slump, you’re not in for much fun. Un-slumping yourself is not easily done.
You will come to a place where the streets are not marked. Some windows are lighted. But mostly they’re darked. A place you could sprain both your elbow and chin! Do you dare to stay out? Do you dare to go in? How much can you lose? How much can you win?
And if you go in, should you turn left or right…or right-and-three-quarters? Or, maybe, not quite? Or go around back and sneak in from behind? Simple it’s not, I’m afraid you will find, for a mind-maker-upper to make up his mind.
You can get so confused that you’ll start in to race down long wiggled roads at a break-necking pace and grind on for miles across weirdish wild space, headed, I fear, toward a most useless place.
Leave a Reply
Hi Mike,
Sorry to hear you are in pain with your wisdom teeth. I hope you recover soon.
I was thinking about our debate today as I was reading with my daughter. She is 12 and still homeschooled, and we are reading a series written in the 1860’s called Elsie Dinsmore. We are in book 5 and the focus is the Ku Klux Klan and how the “negroes” and plantation owners are defending themselves (after the war) and the torture, etc. I was wondering if you had explored this area yet. Even though it boils down to spiritual, I wondered about the hate they faced and how they are handling it in this series.
I also wanted to recommend you read Uncle Tom’s Cabin, if you haven’t already. Uncle Tom’s response to his abusers was Christlike rather than warlike…I think you would really like reading it. It is an AMAZING story!! Maybe something to do while you recover…:)
And I thought of you the other day when I was reading James 4, about where do wars come from…the quarrels and fights among you.
I’m looking forward to meeting you…after getting to know each other through this debate…:)
Lora
Thanks for declaring the truth, brother Mike!
Dear Lora,
It is mine goal! haha it’s a good thing to keep us on our toes and to challenge each other to keep our faith alive and on fire! keep burning and staying awake!
-mike
Mike,
The situation you portrayed in your last comment about your brother’s life is seriously messing with my mind. I will be thinking about that one for awhile and digging into the question more about what would Jesus do or think about that. Thanks a lot for the challenge (sarcasm)…now I will be wrestling for awhile, but I have a sneaky suspicion that’s your goal…haha. Have a good day!
Lora
Dear Lora
I understand where you are coming from with the paternal instinct. When my dad and i were having this conversation, he asked me “If someone came into our house, and put a gun to your little brother and you had a chance to stop them by killing them, what would you do?” It was a trick question for me, because he knows my stance on war and killing, he wanted to see what i would say.
to be honest, i didn’t have an answer for him. because i love my family so much and my convictions are strong.. i was torn. I asked myself that simple corny question “What would Jesus do?” now because he is Jesus, i’m sure he would have a very good explanation for that answer, he is pretty good at trick questions! haha but i also think of all the criticism i would get if i let that man or woman kill my brother and think of how i would feel if i killed him. i would have never had the chance to witness to him then, i couldn’t go to him in prison if he got caught and forgive him for what he did because i ended his life.
and actually while writing this response i found my answer.. literally like one minute ago. haha
i know where my seven year old brother would go if he died today, i know where my family is going after death. They have accepted this glorious amazing grace Jesus bled for. they have eternal life! my choice, as harsh as it sounds would be to let that man pull the trigger if it came to it, i would examine every option i have! pleading with them to not do it, finding a way to subdue him, i would try everything… and i guarantee you, it would tear deep into my soul, into my heart to watch a horrific thing as that. but after all is said and done, we answer to the Lord. And God see’s our every sacrifice we make for him and and remembers them.
I know that many would not agree with me on this and that i would never hear the end of it. but again, in the end, i answer to God himself. and my conviction is to let that man live so that i or someone else can plant that seed into him. i will be with my family in heaven, if i can add one more soul to that family, i will do my best to! as every Christian should to show these broken and tore souls God’s AMAZING grace!
Thank you so much for this good conversation! and for challenging me as well!
God Bless!
-mike
one last thought that you have brought to my attention and has challegened me is Romans 14. it speaks directly about other fellow believers convictions. I, myself, as do all believers need to respect each others convictions and be careful not to be bitter and condemn them for their convictions. we are to be building each other up and not discouraging each other! i believe this conversation has been a very healthy way to share opinions and hasn’t led to discouragement! and i just want to thank you for it! i am glad we get to share our opinions with each other!
-mike
Mike, you have peaked my interest to follow the war more than I have. Here is a site I saw on the news this morning…http://www.facebook.com/amanpourcnn. It reports how the war is being reported throughout the world.
Also, your point about love is right. There is no other way to convert but to love. My life wouldn’t be the same without God’s love for me or those who have loved me with Christ’s love.
Lora
Hi Mike,
Your views are understood in your last comment. I love the passion. I am sure my views are influenced by my background, experiences, society and my relationship with the Lord. We are all different and have different opinions. You did well in portraying what you think God’s view is now for bringing the world to salvation, and I’m not going to say it’s wrong. In some ways, I am probably viewing things from a parent’s perspective. If I were on my own and didn’t have a family depending on me, I might not be so quick to protect myself and their future freedoms. But, maybe that is not putting God first. It is a challenging thought, but also goes against my basic instincts. I feel like to do what you are saying we are asked to do goes against those internal instincts, and I am not too sure what to do with that. I think both can be done by being sensitive to what God would be asking of us in the moment and still yielding to him each moment of the day.
Keep studying and I pray you win many souls for the Lord with your passion and love for them.
It was nice talking to you.
Lora
Dear Lora
Maybe i haven’t made myself clear on the point I am trying to make and that is my fault.
What i am trying to say is that, as Gentiles.. we were given grace, Gods people(Jews) did not accept God’s grace and because of that the Gentiles were given an equal opportunity for it. God waged so much war in the Old Testament because the grace for Gentiles was not given to us yet.. so really either way, we were going to hell and we were in the way of Gods chosen people. We should be thanking the Jews for screwing up.. if they would have done what God asked of them and accepted his grace, i don’t think we would have the chance we have now.
Now because of this grace, we should not be waging any war on any human, “instead if they are hungry feed them, if they are thirsty, give them something to drink”(Romans 12:20) I believe Christians of many nations have misread the old testament especially Americans.. we are not Jews, we are not the original choosen people, we are Gentiles. Jesus came for the Jews as well as the Gentiles. Jesus fillfuled the law, and the new commandment is to love.(1 John 2:7-8)
To me it is as clear as day in the New Testament that love is the answer to everything, but to Americans, to British, to any person love isn’t realistic to fight all evil.. the only way to rid of it is to kill it, take its power away. i don’t see how if someone reads the New Testament, they can fight in war. heck the reason i use to be pro-war was because i didn’t read the New Testament, i didn’t read period.
Jesus brought change, a new standard to living to the Jew and Gentile alike… (Galatians 5, 1 John 2,)
Over and over again in the New Testament Paul speaks of freedom in Christ, Christ came, bought us all our freedom and the law is no longer subject to us.. love, love, love.. no longer worry about your physical desires we are no longer non-believers but instead are called to bring people to the kingdom of God.. i don’t see how a Christian solider man or woman is bringing the kindom of God by protecting their freedom of religon, their freedom of speech, their freedom of buying gas, clothes or even tooth paste with a gun. their freedom, my freedom, me, me, me…
We should be giving up these freedoms to bring others to Christ by running to them, giving them our food, our clothes.. we are so comfortable in our American country.. if we have picked to live for Christ, a huuuge sacrafice is made, we are no longer a normal people!!! the whole point of Jesus’ coming to earth and dying was to buy our freedom.. we are here on earth for a speck of time, why should we spend it fighting wars to protect our earthly freedom? shouldn’t we be more concerened with the Muslim, the Hindi, the Atheist, the Agnostic who doesn’t know the Good News?
If in a war, we kill “evil people”, do you think that their relative likes that and suddenly understands that Jesus brought us salvation? The US dollar bill says, “In God We Trust”… what does that say about our God if we are killing people? Were we ever really a nation under God? I don’t believe it is possible to call us a Christian nation if not all are Christian.. The people who started the nation may have been Christian, and put Christian morals and values into the goverenment but our teachers don’t preach in our public schools, our courts no longer carry the 10 commandments, our leaders are all not
Christian.. We are a group inside a nation, not a Christian nation. we are blessed by God yes, but i feel God is about to lift that blessing from this “christian nation”.
We are a different people, (Romans 12:1-2), we are called to not behave or follow customs of this world. Is war of God? is killing of God? if Gods will for us is good, pleasing and perfect, why do we kill? killing does not sound good to me! In Galations 5:16-26 its speaks of fruits of sinful nature and fruits of the Holy Spirit, the fruits of the Holy Spirit are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Gentleness, love, peace, patience, kindness, goodness or self-control do not support a reason for me to go to war.
The point i want to make here is, Christians shouldn’t be fighting a war to give them their 5 bedroom homes, or private school to send their children too, or even killing to protect their (me, my, mine) freedom to go to church. There is a much greater freedom we should be spreading by our mouths, by the way we live!! killing is not furthering the Kingdom of God! i dont see how anyone in their right mind can say “by killing this radical, i’m spreading the word! i’m telling the world about Jesus!”
Ephesians 6:10-12 “11 A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his might power. Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. 12 For we are not fighting against flesh and blood enemies, but against the evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.”
These wars the US fights is not to further the kingdom, it has no intention to. its purpose is to bring democracy, to protect its borders and to keep its foothold in strategic places. Which just like every nation, it wants to promote its ways. Who are we fighting for in these wars? ourselves? good morals and values? we are told to die to self, to die to our phyiscal desires.. i believe freedom to choose where to work is a physical desire, freedom to walk down the street is a physical desire, freedom to purchase whatever clothing i want to wear and wear it whenever i please is a physical desire. Who are we really fighting for? the US or God? God is a jealous God remember. lets not get ourselves caught up in these wars when there is a much greater war to be fought. i love my freedom, i’m thankful for the people who died to give it to me, but i don’t need it. we need to be pursuing God in everything we do! we need to be fighting for souls! not fighting to kill them!
I do want to thank you for this discussion! i am grateful for your opinions! I know we all agree that there is a good fight to be fought in advancing Gods Kingdom! im sorry if i have come off bitter or discouraging.. that is not my intention! forgive me if i have! i am a young person and still have many, many things to learn! i just want to give something for us to think about, what are we really fighting for? who are we really fighting for, ourselves or God?
Feel free to add to this discussion! i’m trying not stopping it here!
love and God Bless
-mike
Mike,
I can see your point and argument. I read into it a lot of disdain for the American government, which can be understandablel but is also sad at the same time. Some of your opinions don’t seem based on unbiased facts.
You mentioned that this current war was started out of revenge. I can see why you would say that. Others would say that this war was started because we were threatened (and still are). We are protecting our borders. If we weren’t, we could have terrorists walking our neighborhoods as we speak. You said God can still protect us then. Yes, He could. But should we be unwise enough to not be proactive.
You mention America only gives aid in an emergency. Please, that is showing your disdain again. Find out your facts. America provides aid in all kinds of situations. And even if it were just in emergencies or war, so what. It is still a good thing.
Are you a pacifist? It seems like it. There are many pacifist countries. When Germany invaded the smaller pacifist countries during WWII, who saved them? The American military. And the American military will save any pacifist American when ordered to, even though they are disdained. Talk about loving your enemies…I think the military does a pretty good job, as well as laying down their lives for friends…you and me.
Let’s not forget that when Paul’s life was threatened, he ran for safety. When missionaries are threatened in other countries, they leave, and it is the American soldier that is rescuing them.
Let’s remember that God ordains and puts into power our leaders, whether we like them or not. He turns the hearts of kings and we are told to pray for them.
I like reading your points and can appreciate your opinions and views. They challenge me, and I like to be challenged. But, please be careful of your somewhat apparent bitterness toward the past and current government. War and governments are terrible, that’s for sure. Our nation has done some awful things and isn’t always headed in the right direction. Stay passionate for Christ and keep challenging others, but leave bitterness and disdain out of it, that doesn’t do anyone any good.
And although I am challenged by your words and the scripture you have listed, I will still run for safety in the arms of a soldier, than stand on a hill to be shot. I will be ready to shoot if someone threatens my family’s safety. And this can be done and still regarding what the Lord would ask me to do. He could be calling me to do differently in a certain situation. I will always be ready to tell someone of Him if faced with life or death and to minister, BUT we cannot be unwise either. EVIL is real and when faced with it, it doesn’t back down because I put myself willingly within its range. That may appear faithless, but we can’t take every situation and make it fit a mold. My passion and beliefs may or may not affect someone, BUT if called to die for my faith and the salvation of another…that still being considered.
In the past God has wiped out entire nations and cities for godlessness and sin. It could be argued for the current war as well, but I am not going there. That is a far stretch, and I certainly wouldn’t pass that judgment, but someone could argue that if they believed it.
Let’s keep in mind, God’s character does not change, He is still judge over all nations and if he so chooses to wipe out a nation or people, even America, He will by whatever means he chooses.
Dear Lora
Thank you for your response as well, please read what i wrote to Michael as well.
I agree that many have given great sacrifice for this nation, for our earthy freedoms.. but if i am correct, the British nation we fought to have America was not hendering us from having a faith in Jesus so the sacrifices made were for other reasons. What about the sacrifices our American troops made in the American Indian Wars when we “killed” and displaced millions of Native Americans because they weren’t Christian? or what about the bomb that dropped on a gym with Christian woman and children in Iraq? what is the cost of our “freedom”?
were we not made free in Christ already? how many more times do we need to “kill” until we understand we are already free..?
Dear Michael
Thank you very much for reading this and taking the time to respond! I once was a pro-war guy too… then I had some very loving friends show me what it really means to love..
First thought, what is your definition of a Jesus follower, as a disciple? We are called to be disciples of all nations, are we not? Read the instructions Jesus gives the 12 disciples in Matthew 10:16-42
Another thought.. do you know why Muslim Mujahideen (jihad) attacked the US in 2001? Was that not a religious attack because we don’t follow their god Allah? That would be considered persecution if I am correct, which Jesus told us would happen to us if we followed him. He also told us to lay down our swords.. he who lives by the sword dies by the sword.. Matthew 26:52 I would also like to see where you get God saying it was good about slaughtering wicked nations… is death good?
Something that really bothered about what you said, “If you act with aggression and he surrenders, then it’s a different story and then you should show mercy.” Does that mean shoot first ask questions later? Read what 1 Peter 4:8-12 says about peace and retaliating. Not only does God call us to love our neighbor, the stranger, the man or woman in prison, but our enemies.. the ones who kill us, call us names and make fun of us because of what we believe in..which is LOVE.. God is LOVE. (1 John 4:16b) its says “God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them.”
The ENTIRE New Testament is love… love you brother, love your sister, love your neighbor, love you enemy.. Read all of 1 John the whole book is about loving one another! Not once in the New Testament do I read Jesus telling us to take arms and kill anyone. I said kill, not murder. Our nation went to war on revenge, to get back at the ones that got us first.
We are slaves to Christ, and we are to respect Gods commands, we are to do what he tells us.. please read 1 Peter 2:18-23 & 3:11!! other verses telling us not to retaliate!
Mariano covered a lot of want I wanted to respond with, but please read those passages I have in this response!
Imagine yourself as a Muslim, since you were born you have been told to hate people who aren’t like you, to kill(to them it is killing, just like war to a majority of Christian Americans is killing) those who won’t follow Allah, and to extremely hate Jews. Lets say you grow up fed this your whole life, you know nothing else other than the Koran and its teaching. The US comes waging war, to “kill” people that believe the same thing you do because they were told to go blow them selves up and that they will be rewarded. You pick up arms because American soldiers are “killing” your Muslim brothers, sisters, mothers and fathers.. and you get shot and “killed” by a Christian American, a Christian man told to love his enemies, to go to the Muslim nation and share the love of Christ. A man told to be a Christian first and American second. 1 Peter 2:9-12
God has paid for the sin of the Muslim and God is the judge of him.. not me, not you.. we should know this especially has Christians. I am not writing about this because I want to start an argument for arguments sake.. this is a plea! To open our eyes to what we are doing!!! The name we are giving our God of love and ourselves as the followers of him. If you really desire your freedom, go to your enemy, preach the gospel and save him before someone else does with a bullet. Do you not realize you are already free? Your sins have been paid for and you have been saved so that you can run to places far and near to tell about your freedom in Christ..
I could go on for hours talking to you about how the US has started wars, put evil people in power to fight evil people, then had to go start a war with them. How they only seem to give aid when an earthquake hits or a tsunami wipes out hundreds of thousands of people..
The point of this is that we are called to be different, we are called to stick out like a sore thumb. We are fighters of souls, our battle is that of the spiritual realm, the blood we shed should be our own by giving up our lives for Christ, not our freedom to go and buy the latest Miley Cyrus cd or wear the cool pair of jeans ever. If Islam takes over the US, does God not see you anymore.. Will God let us all die if we lay our weapons now and not fight? War is in our blood and we should choose to fight it, fight the urge to get back on the jihad who killed the innocent. Instead we should choose to love them, what will that say about our God of love? I’m sorry to tell you, but my faith is not about me or my physical freedoms, it is about my Savior, the one that saved me from death. If you have to force your hand of destruction on any one to show them love, to free them? then I don’t want to be a part of that faith. any human has a freedom to chose what or who they want to follow.
As I close, I want anyone who reads this to think hard about who is their king, in 1 Samuel 8, Israel asks for a king and Samuel tells them if they have a king they will be enlisted into his army and will fights that kings battles and wars and everything else the king asks for, they replied to Samuel vs. 20“We want to be like the nations around us. Our (earthly) king will judge us and lead us into battle” They choose an earthly king over God, the one who freed them from slavery, from death. Read this passages and meditate on them, pray and think hard about why we Christians are in armies killing people instead of running to their rescue
1 Samuel 8
Matthew 5:3-11
Matthew 5:38-48
Matthew 25:31-46
Matthew 26:52-54-put away your sword
Luke 6:27-38 Love for enemies and do not judge
John 8:7-if you have not sinned, you throw the first stone
1 Corinthians 13
1 Peter 2:9-12
1 Peter 2:18-25
1 John 4:7-20
Here’s my two cents:
QUOTING THE OLD TESTAMENT TO JUSTIFY WAR:
We commonly forget that Jesus came to fulfill the Law HIMSELF. No more sacrifices, no more exclusivity. The people massacred were pagans, which meant they weren’t Jewish and they were somehow in the way of God’s people. By the SAME LAW, we’re all violating fundamental rules such as eating certain meats, wearing clothes of different fabrics and shaving beards.
However, Jesus changed that. He reached out to the Samaritans, Gentiles and outcasts. Without JESUS, none of us [unless you're Jewish] would have ANY PART in His Kingdom.
When Jesus was rightfully angry about what was going on in the Temple, he turned tables and sure, he might have whipped a couple guys. But I don’t recall him killing anyone. So unless our idea of war is to go to that country and turn tables, this argument does not apply. We easily forget Matthew 26:52. Live by the sword and you’ll die by the sword.
END OF TIMES:
By saying that in the end there will be destruction doesn’t mean God is behind it. The Holy Spirit must FIRST abandon this world and leave it to The Prince of this World. So, the destruction and mass genocide comes as a result of the absence of God’s Spirit. Mass chaos breaks out and PEOPLE, not God, kill each other.
WAR AS A MEANS TO EVANGELISM:
I don’t deny that God can work miracles, but to say that the USA is fighting for Christianity is just as unrealistic as Bin Laden fighting for Islam. The US MILITARY HAS ABSOLUTELY NO INTENTION OF SPREADING THE GOSPEL. It never has and it never will. That’s the CHURCH’S responsibility, not the military, not the government.
You can’t force someone to fall in love with God, not with words and certainly not with a GUN. It’s a process you both choose and live out. My life belongs to God’s and I owe HIM for who and where I am, not the military. Whether I was born in the USA, China or Uganda, my life is HIS AND HIS ONLY. I would be thankful and joyful, even if I lived under and oppressive government. Don’t believe me? Look up what God is doing in Africa. See what God can do in countries where there are virtually no governments and the military destroy they very thing they’re supposed to protect.
But alas, WE LIVE IN THIS WORLD. A world with armies and horrifying realities. We can’t change it because we’re not God, but we can live with the purpose and commitment that Jesus set out for us. If that means you join the military, then I trust your relationship with GOD and HIM IN YOU that it’s a decision you feel lead to do.
Should we be thankful and loving and prayerful for our soldiers? Of course, regardless of what and how, they’re our brothers and sisters, fathers and mothers and who are we to deny them love?
Never mistake violence for evangelism.
where to even begin with my disagreements. If you feel that you are not cut out for the military or can’t see yourself taking life, that much I can respect. Not everyone can or should be in it. HOWEVER, that is about where our common ground ends.
Just to get this out of the way, I am very pro-military, my best friends have all gone active and reserve in the military, I plan to become an officer and go Infantry, but I’m not pro-mindless slaughter, and you seem to look narrow mindedly at things to see only what you want. No Christian is called to go to war? Read the bible sometime. The Old Testament is riddled with Israelites being called by God to join armies, slaughtering entire nations (wicked), and God said it was good. Man, woman, child, and animal, none were spared. If you don’t feel the Old Testament is relavent in today’s age, read the New Testament’s Revelation. God plans to bring utter destruction and war to the earth. That’s a lot more dead women and children then any soldier could ever manage. You are correct, we are not called to be of the world, but there are more reasons to join the army then mass slaughter of innocent civilians and children as you say. The US military is involved in humanitarian missions, engineering, medical, and of course national defense. The US military can’t just go off and bomb anyone who disagrees with them. Personally I’d prefer that in many cases, would take care of many problems without having to deal with stupid politicians, but there are things such as the League of Nations, Geneva Convention, and military ethics, which all control and dictate how a soldier must act and how the military will operate.
As for the Muslim, as long as there is sin on earth, people will kill each other over religion. You can decide to love that Jihad all you want, but you will still be killed if you don’t decide to defend yourself. He won’t think twice about lighting you up and everyone you care about. It at that point is self defense. If you act with aggression and he surrenders, then it’s a different story and then you should show mercy.
Yes Jesus said to love your neighbor, but he also raised hell at the temple when he saw wrong doings and sin, he grabbed a whip and went to town on them.
As for the US setting up crap governments, yes this occurs, but that’s politics. No nation or human is perfect. Had another country done it, I’m willing to bet the end result would have been even worse, so if you can find a “perfect” country, feel free to move there and let me know so I can join.
As Jesus followers if we laid down our weapons against Al-Qaida, we would be shot on sight and killed ourselves, and they would continue to spread the false religion of Islam to the world, and no one would know of God, because we would all be dead. The Christian needs to be alive to be able to share the news.
And lastly, while yes there are times when troops are sent to fight in other countries, generally we didn’t start it. Another country attacks or threatens to attack us, and we decide to take the fight over there instead of having civilians in our country die. It’s not a soldier’s goal to kill innocent, it’s his goal to stop the enemy with minimal casualties and to get their leaders to stop. War is hell and things happen. If we threw down all weapons and spoke peace, our country would be overrun and destroyed/conquered in a heartbeat. The military is the thing that protects you and has allowed you to have a safe life.
Mike,
Your point of view is well expressed, and I wish it were more of a reality. And whether we agree with it or not, no one knows sacrifice more than a soldier, especially an American soldier, (and their families maybe more so). And without their sacrifice and the horrible reality of war, there may not have been an America. There may not have been a “free” country at all. Maybe that doesn’t matter and could be argued as well. But my generation and your generation can’t grasp the sacrifices of previous generations that fought for this country and what it stands for…FREEDOM, not just politically, but spiritually. The wars of previous generations have given you the “right” to speak freely today, otherwise, you may not have had it.
I would disagree with your statement of our purpose of war right now in another country. It is not for our nation’s purpose, but the purpose of the other nations (and tortured individuals) and the world at large in the long run. And you say America is a worldly nation…but has it always been? I might disagree with that, too.
What is the answer…Prayer. Prayer for our government and this world. Prayer for what your point is, that we would be more Christ-like toward others that disagree and ARE evil, because when met face to face in their evil state, would give you and your family no mercy. Evil and spiritual forces don’t change…the individual might change when met with Christ-likeness, but not the evil itself. But prayer also, that there would not be war, and my prayer especially is that we would not come to a time again where we “draft” our young men and women. That is worse that voluntary war!
Lora