Christianity and Acceptance of Conventional and Nuclear War
Conventional war and nuclear war are different from others, but some
Christians believe that both can take place while other Christians
find nuclear war unacceptable but Conventional war is, I will explore
this in detail.
Some Christians think Conventional and nuclear war is acceptable
because they are similar to each other in certain ways, although
conventional wars do not consist of use of nuclear weapons while
nuclear wars do, both kinds of wars can cause death of innocent
people, both are more of government's decision rather than the
citizen's, and they do not always solve the problem. An example of the
similar effects of both wars can be found with the nuclear war in city
of Hiroshima in Japan in August 1945 and the conventional wars in
World War I and II. The nuclear war in Japan had caused 80,000 to
140,000 people dead with 100,000 people injured, while in World War I
about 10 million people were dead from 1914 to 1918. While in World
War II estimate of 34 million people were dead over the 7 years. These
figures shows how if conventional wars are acceptable to Christians
then nuclear war is no different since both produce the same results
on lives of people. Another reason why both wars are acceptable to
Christians because it's the government's decision and according to
Romans 13:1-7 from the bible, we must obey all authorities that came
from God, which includes the government. Christians may also interpret
the idea from Mark 11:15-18 that violence is acceptable, as Jesus
drove the traders out of the temple with violence, meaning any wars
that cause deaths and ...
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as they are against chances of nuclear wars. Unilateral disarmament
and militarily disarmament can be done to reduce threats of war from
each nation to another reducing risk of using violence to solve
problems, especially nuclear weapons, which can cause deaths as well
as damage to nations. This is related to Micah 4:3 where it says that
a prophet will stop all chances of war and every nation will not need
to prepare for battle.
In conclusion, I think that if conventional war is acceptable or not
acceptable nuclear war should never be allowed anyways, this is
because it causes innocent deaths and too much damage to the victims,
however, if nuclear war is a possibility of ending a conflict
conventional war or any other solution should be considered and used
first, it should be considered like a just war.
2) The cause must be just. This is jus ad bellum because you decide if
Harry Stout points out in the lead article, How Preachers Incited Revolution, "it was Protestant clergy who propelled colonists toward independence and who theologically justified war with Britain" (n.pag). According to Cassandra Niemczyk in her article in this issue of Christian History "(the Protestant Clergy) were known as "the Black Regiment" (n.pag). Furthermore, as the article Holy Passion for Liberty shows, "Americans were quick to discern the hand of God in the tumultuous events of the times" (n.pag).
When it comes to nuclear war, most people will have mixed feelings on it. Nuclear war is a difficult area to touch on. Whether or not someone sees it as ethically right or wrong, all depends on the person and their moral values. The reason I chose this was because I don’t think it is necessarily right to engage in nuclear warfare even if it is the only means to end war. Just-war theory, utilitarianism, and Virtue ethics all help show a different perspective on nuclear warfare. There are many solutions to it, however. Some solutions are getting other nations to place embargos on the country and forcing peace talks without resorting to military action. Significantly, it is important that nuclear war is addressed in the world so that nations
Does such a combination of words as "a war in the name of God" make sense? The main principles, which underlie Christianity and Islam, are those of goodness, kindness, lack of aggression and respecting certain moral laws. Christianity and Islam provide human society with a code of ethics, which totally rejects war because it is something violent, inhumane and cruel. Still, over the course of human history many wars have been justified with religion and with imposing the "right faith". Because of misunderstanding of certain parts of religion or deliberate misuse of it European and Islamic states have often used violence to fulfill their goals.
The development of the atomic bomb and chemical warfare forever changed the way people saw the world. It was a landmark in time for which there was no turning back. The constant balancing of the nuclear super powers kept the whole of humankind on the brink of atomic Armageddon. Fear of nuclear winter and the uncertainty of radiation created its own form of a cultural epidemic in the United States. During these tense times in human history officials made controversial decisions such as the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Dangerous biological experiments and bombs tests were carried out in the name of the greater good and national defense. Some historians and scientists argue that the decisions and acts carried out by the U.S. during World War II and the Cold War were unethical because of the direct damage they did. The United States' decisions were moral because it can be proven their actions were aimed at achieving a greater good and those that were put in potential danger volunteered and were informed of the risk.
After reading The Next Christendom by Philip Jenkins I found that this book reminded me of a memorable passage from the movie Apollo Thirteen: a military man in the tense Houston control shares with a political figure his forewarning that the tragedy before will be the catastrophic moment for the space program Mission control flight chief Gene Kranz overhears their conversation and addresses it: 'With all due respect, gentleman, I believe this will be our finest hour.' This summarizes the book quiet well as the apparent demise of the western church (when the day comes) is forecasting on its fate over against the perceived adversaries of secularism and post-modernism. Jenkins reminds us that when view through a wide-screen lens so to speak, the inherent threat often yields to a broad outlook of opportunity, painting a clear picture of the future of Christianity in colors unaccustomed to American thinking, outlining the characteristics of the fast growing Christian churches that are outside of Western Europe and US. Jenkins also shows the possibility of conflicts between Christianity and other major religions (such as Islam or Hinduism). Speculating what affects this will have on established churches of having a Christian majority outside the west. The basic premise of this book I think is simply: the heart of Christendom has moved from the northern hemisphere to the southern hemisphere, what is surprising about this premise is that the northern hemisphere did not see the move, and still deny that it is moving.
Christianity and Politics The descriptions of the Roman Empire and state authority offered in Christian texts seems to be one that is oppressive. Since the state often punished Christians for disturbing the peace, the Empire is often shown as merciless and callous. However, texts seem to suggest that the Empire did not treat Christians any differently from the other citizens of the state. Christianity in itself was not illegal under Roman law, so Christians were not targeted specifically as a group.
When a nuclear weapon is dropped on a certain area, it is not completely guaranteed that every person you bomb is bad. Therefore in Nuclear war many more innocent people die than in a war not containing nuclear warheads. This is a reason why Christians may feel differently about types of war. Although one of Jesus’ commandments, “Love thy neighbour”, tells us that no one should not kill another human being and this may justify going to war.
One thing that many Americans do not realize is how much religion plays a role in American lives, and how it has played a role in our presidents lives from the very beginning of our country to now
The American Christian Worldview All across the United States, Christians are talking about this term called Worldview. What is it, anyway? Many times, we release our guard and end up allowing society to change our thinking into what the rest of the “popular culture” thinks of our very being. As Christians, we should be giving scriptural backup for whatever conclusions one makes about this culture. Every society has a culture.
Religion’s place in causing war doesn’t lie solely in the fact it has essentially become a glorified competition, it is also caused by the incredibly strong influence it has over society. It plays a critical role in the lives of millions of people, and thus becomes deeply personal for the individual. There are several reasons for this. Theology falls under the category of social
Religion has its shares of promoting violence. Many will argue that a cause of religion wars is for economic and political reasons, but others argue that those who start wars are, by definition, not religious. In reality, separating religion out of economic and political motives can be involved in such a way finding religious motives innocent of much. Excuses for Christianity responsibilities cannot be accepted whether the person has misappropriated the message of Christ. The primarily set of doctrines is not Christianity, but by living through past background it personified the visible actions of Christians. In other words, Christianity, Islam or any other religion has no intention of excusing from survey. Given certain conditions, Christianity, Islam or any other religion can and do cause war.
Wells, H.G. 1925. The Outline of History vol.3. Fourth Edition Revised. U.S.A: Review of Reviews Company
Out of all the different beliefs in the world today, Hinduism is a religion that seems different and interesting. Hinduism is one of the oldest living religions in the world. The religion is over 4,000 years old. Hinduism was originated in India and the religion’s first known believers were known as the ancient people, the Aryans (Hinduism). Like most religions in the universe, Hinduism is unique in its own way. Hinduism is unique because it did not start off as a religion. Hinduism was actually a culture for people in India and then later turned into a religion (Hinduism on Fun Facts).
Nowadays, more so than ever before, religion plays a significant role in American presidential elections. As citizens, our job is to examine that role and decide how it will affect our vote. The Bush/Gore campaign has been very much influenced by religion. Joseph Lieberman, Gore’s running mate and the first Orthodox Jew to run for vice president on a major party ticket, has been extremely vocal about his faith. Both George W. Bush and Al Gore, a Methodist and Baptist, respectively, have also referred to their religious beliefs during this presidential campaign ("Anti-Defamation League Criticizes"), raising several questions about the part religious faith plays in presidential elections.