War’s Problematic Moral Core
I claim no expertise on the topic of a “just war” or a “just resistance,” but I do know a little bit about the God I love and trust. In biblical times, God commanded warriors to defend or battle against the merciless who failed to esteem the sacredness of life. God’s divine wrath against evil balances mercy and justice along with His high value for life, which made it impossible for His character to order an immoral war.
God waged war to wipe out evil tribes, pillagers who attacked the old, the young, or the weak, or despoilers who railed against honoring the high-value God places upon life. And there comes the moral conundrum — the moral and cognitive dissonance: When called to violence against nefarious, hard-hearted predators — abolishers of the divine — a warrior’s cultural or religious convictions respecting the sacredness of life conflicts with the realities of fighting to preserve the sacredness of life.
Context. Context. Context.
Have you ever dug into the history of the habitual, malignant, and ritualistic behaviors of cultures that repel or ignore a loving, merciful God … Who gives, maintains, and respects life … Who offers peace and despises evil? Jehovah Tsaba, the LORD of hosts, THE Commander and Chief of the Armies of Heaven and Earth, called human and angelic warriors to battle, defeat, and wipe out marauders filled with hatred, rage, and contempt against the Imago Dei, the soul part of every human on earth — who Jehovah Elohim, the LORD God, values — regardless of their race, tribe, religion, competency, or disability. Like a laser, the coherent light of the Imago Dei targets our spiritual and moral DNA. That moral and spiritual red dot impregnates the soul with an innate sense of the value of life.
In the beginning, by the power of the Creator and Judge of the Universe, Elohim’s words “spoke” the universe, vegetation, and animals into existence. Jehovah Elohim, The Perfect Balancer of Mercy and Justice, blew his breath and the Imago Dei into man giving him life and differentiating man’s spirit from the world, plants, and animals. The name Jehovah discloses the mercy of Almighty God and His close relationship with man. Our very life breath inhales and exhales the oxygen of the soul — the aptitude to love God and the ability to understand rational, moral characteristics capable to effect great good.
A.W. Tozer quipped, “We are the glory and the rubbish of the universe.” The inner and outer war for dominance reflects the paradox of our soul’s combative, intense impulses — the dualism of choice between good and untamed evil. The theological doctrines of the soul for all three Abrahamic religions — Judaism, Christianity, and Islam — acknowledge being created or formed in the image of God.
In the book of beginnings, “God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness.’” Genesis 1:26
“God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” Genesis 1:27
“Allah created Adam in His own image.” Sahih Muslim, book 032, number 6325.
In another saying of the Prophet: “The son of Adam was created in the form of the Merciful.” Bukhari, Isti’dhan, 1; Muslim, Birr, 115.
False Ideas about God
When scriptural cherry pickers liken Jehovah Milchamah, Jehovah Is a Warrior (Exodus 15:3; Isaiah 42:13), to pagan gods or to acts by mere mortals, they ignore that Almighty God cannot act outside the totality of His character or principles. Yes, God commanded man to war against wickedness and violent men. No, God’s rules of engagement did not throw aside his other moral principles that value the sacredness of life or protect vulnerable women and children.
For example, in Deuteronomy 22:25-28, God’s precepts focus on victims, making clear God’s value and protection for women — in or out of war. Regarding rapists who lay waste to a woman? Kill the rapist, not the woman who God says is guilty of nothing. Regarding an unmarried guy who fails to keep his missile in the silo and seduces a girl of her virginity? Take responsibility. Marry the girl and never divorce her.
God sanctioned the killing of evil men and barbaric tribes who placed their children to burn alive in the arms of their idolatrous fire god, Molech as a sacrifice for economic gain — a good crop. God condemns inhumane war crimes — the consequences of profound evil, as evidenced in Amos 1:13, where greedy men desirous of more land, more resources, and more people to diktat rip open pregnant women’s wombs with swords.
Instead of clay or alabaster, vicious kidnappers and bloodthirsty, serial be-headers imprint their bloody, criminal sacrifices on global social networks. No matter their theological gymnastics, their words make it difficult for me to believe they honor the wisdom of any moral code, whether it be Christian, Islamic, or Jewish.
“…take not life, which God hath made sacred, except by way of justice and law: thus doth He commands you, that ye may learn wisdom.” Al-Quran 6:151
“Do not let your hatred of a people incite you to aggression.” Al-Quran 5:2
“You shall not murder.” Exodus 20:13 (NASB)
“You know the commandments, ‘Do not murder.’” Mark 10:19; Luke 18:20 (NASB)
Interestingly enough, the Mosaic code — the Judeo-Christian merciful precept — “Do not murder,” differentiates between murder, manslaughter, death by misadventure, and justifiable homicide.
Buy Me A Coffee
The Havok Journal seeks to serve as a voice of the Veteran and First Responder communities through a focus on current affairs and articles of interest to the public in general, and the veteran community in particular. We strive to offer timely, current, and informative content, with the occasional piece focused on entertainment. We are continually expanding and striving to improve the readers’ experience.
© 2024 The Havok Journal
The Havok Journal welcomes re-posting of our original content as long as it is done in compliance with our Terms of Use.