The Highway Forums General Discussion Open Forum Just war question

With GREAT reluctance I am going to add my 2-cents here. What I find most disturbing is the idea that the lives of Christians are being elevated above that of non-Christians. What I cannot help but see is a Pharisaical attitude in all this. HOW? Wasn't it this type of mentality which the Lord Christ took offense to when the Jewish "upper crust" walked by an injured man just because he wasn't a Jew? Why is the life of a Christian more valuable than one who is not? The slaughter of hundreds of thousands of those "pagans" in Africa through genocide, moves my soul to the point of tears. Are these people not my neighbors? Am I to turn a blind eye and a deaf ear to the atrocities committed by Saddam Hussein because the people that were slaughtered were Muslims? The end question to the parable of the Good Samaritan was not "who is my neighbor?". That was what the Pharisees asked of Jesus. But the real question was asked in return in this way, "Whose neighbor are you?"

As to a "just war".. methinks that Augustine, being far from infallible and all-wise, offered some very salient and truthful suggestions. However, I find his "just war" proposal to be less than adequate, if for no other reason than he was living in another era. Today, the world has become and is becoming increasingly smaller. Military threat is no longer something which is done on horseback. An imminent threat can be launched in a matter of minutes and by someone thousands of miles away. The devastation that can be inflicted is beyond my comprehension. I do think that the "domino theory" is no less relevant as any "just war" idea and poses a certain and imminent danger, especially when it is ignored.

The question that I would like to ask is if we were to consider the following analogy, how should one act? If the entire world was to be represented by a solitary street. And on that street are found 12 homes. In those homes are families; husbands, wives and children. So, let's say in the #12 house there is a family whose most intimate desire is to possess the entire street; all the 12 homes and to make the families living in those homes servants. And so, on one bright sunny day this one family attacks their immediate neighbor; house #11. They barge in and at gunpoint demand that the residents there submit to their wishes or be killed. The women and girls are raped and the men brutally beaten. They also demand that either they assist them in their desire for domination or die. The family, not wanting to die, submits and joins them in their next attack, which is on house #10.

Now, a rumour has come to the ears of the residents of the other 10 homes that a terrible thing has occurred on their street. Someone proposes that they all band together and put and end to these vicious individuals. But the majority of the people object and say that it is "none of our business". Besides, if the rumour is accurate, these things are happening "way down at the far end of the street and thus they pose no threat to us." And so the scenario goes .....!!

The question is this, "When should one concern himself/herself with such a threat and take action against it?" Would you say when the first house was attacked? How about when house #8 is overtaken? house #5?

Oh yeh.... one other item which must not be ignored. Sin is a reality. It is that element which controls and drives every single man, woman and child that is born into this world. There IS such a thing as "evil" and it is the fruit of "wicked people". Thus there is always going to be war, murder, famine, and all manner of atrocities committed by individuals and/or groups upon others. It will never be eradicated on this earth before Christ comes; that much we can be sure of. But how much is to be tolerated? If you profess to be a Christian and are privy to even a small degree to what is happening on this earth, does not your very soul cry out, "Maranatha!!! Lord..... come quickly!"??

Okay.. I'm done! Will the ushers now pass around the collection plate! <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

In His Grace,