Words of Life by Adam Hamilton

Author:Adam Hamilton [Hamilton, Adam]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: The Crown Publishing Group
Published: 2020-12-29T00:00:00+00:00

Self-Defense and War?

What of self-defense? War? Are we permitted to kill in these situations?

In the field of ethics, there are moral obligations and responsibilities that humans are meant to follow. At times, there will be a conflict between competing duties. As we have just learned, one primary moral obligation is not to kill. But what if we see someone preparing to harm or kill another? Do we have a moral obligation to stop a killing if we can? Even if doing so requires the use of force? A verse that seems to speak to this, at least as it is translated in the CEB, is Leviticus 19:16b: “Do not stand by while your neighbor’s blood is shed; I am Yahweh.” The verse implies an obligation to intervene to rescue one who is being attacked.

Exodus 22:2 makes clear that protecting one’s family and property from a thief is a moral duty that could conflict with the command not to kill: “If the thief is caught breaking in and is beaten and dies, the one who killed him won’t be guilty of bloodshed.” This verse doesn’t encourage bloodshed in the course of self-protection, but it recognizes that if an attack occurs at night, when one can’t see the attacker or scare them away, the homeowner is not liable. But the very next verse states, “If this [the thief’s entry into the home to steal] happens in broad daylight, then the one who killed him is guilty of bloodshed.” In other words, if you are able to stop the thief by an action short of killing them, you must.

Christian just-war theory is based on the premise that there will be times when the command to love your neighbor as you love yourself (Leviticus 19:18) requires one nation or tribe to go to war to protect its own people, or other people, from a hostile attack. Under this theory, war is permitted if it is waged for just reasons and is justly waged.

Even here, war is a sign of human brokenness. It is clear in scripture that God yearns for a world without war. Both Isaiah and Micah draw from a common tradition, positing a longed-for day where there will be no more armed conflict:

Then they will beat their swords into iron plows

and their spears into pruning tools.

Nation will not take up sword against nation;

they will no longer learn how to make war. (Isaiah 2:4 and Micah 4:3)

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