The Dresden Bombing and Aftermath

[RZehr]

I don’t know of anywhere in the Bible that suggests that followers of God head into hot, active, war zones and try to get the killing to stop. Nor does anything come to mind of Christians doing that in deed.
Frankly, it seems to be something that wealthy, misguided, attention seeking hippies would come up with.
Is there something I’m not thinking of?

[joshuabgood]

I don’t know of anywhere in the Bible that suggests that followers of God head into hot, active, war zones and try to get the killing to stop. Nor does anything come to mind of Christians doing that in deed.
Frankly, it seems to be something that wealthy, misguided, attention seeking hippies would come up with.
Is there something I’m not thinking of?

Isn't that what Jesus did by his incarnation and sacrifice?

[Josh]

Christianity is not pragmatic, but rather requires divine faith.

Of course, it may end up being more practical than lobbing bombs at one another. As documented elsewhere, plain people are winning the demographic “war” with modern society (much as the real “war” in the Middle East is the demographic growth between Haredim vs Palestinians). The rest of people are essentially dead men walking; the sight of dead men walking with no demographic future who then take some time out of their busy day of being sterile to throw bombs at each other is quite gruesome indeed.

[RZehr]

I don’t know of anywhere in the Bible that suggests that followers of God head into hot, active, war zones and try to get the killing to stop. Nor does anything come to mind of Christians doing that in deed.
Frankly, it seems to be something that wealthy, misguided, attention seeking hippies would come up with.
Is there something I’m not thinking of?

Isn't that what Jesus did by his incarnation and sacrifice?

I don’t think so. A spiritual warfare was, yes. But that is going on at every point of the earth, not just in Eastern Europe and the Middle East. It is going on here in Oregon too.
Also, when Jesus was in Israel, the was at then there was between the Jews and Romans. What did Jesus have to say about the Roman occupation? Did he tell his followers to mass protest? Go the the Roman frontiers and peacefully demonstrate? Or go demonstrate in Rome and Jerusalem? I’m sure that the disciples would have welcomed more direct confrontation with the Romans. Surely Peter would have.

Jesus said to spread the Gospel, and in Matthew 10, if they persecute you in one town, flee to the next. Also, he told the disciples to shake the dust off their sandals and leave towns. What is notably missing in His instructions, is to intentionally go into a war zone and try to stop in with love.
Jesus also prophesied in Mark 13 that there would be wars, and when these things come to pass, to flee to the mountains. And I doubt that is because the war would be in the mountains, and we were to protest in the mountains either.

Is there anywhere in Christian history where Christians promoted and practiced that idea? We have cases where war came to Christians and they individually responded with love. But where do we see them heading across an ocean and a continent to insert themselves into a battle field?
Again, seems like a notion that naive people, who perhaps have become very used to the American right to assemble, and who are generations removed from war, think is a good idea. Not something that really has any basis in historical faith and practice, or the Bible.

[MaxPC]

I don’t know of anywhere in the Bible that suggests that followers of God head into hot, active, war zones and try to get the killing to stop. Nor does anything come to mind of Christians doing that in deed.
Frankly, it seems to be something that wealthy, misguided, attention seeking hippies would come up with.
Is there something I’m not thinking of?

Isn't that what Jesus did by his incarnation and sacrifice?

I don’t think so. A spiritual warfare was, yes. But that is going on at every point of the earth, not just in Eastern Europe and the Middle East. It is going on here in Oregon too.
Also, when Jesus was in Israel, the was at then there was between the Jews and Romans. What did Jesus have to say about the Roman occupation? Did he tell his followers to mass protest? Go the the Roman frontiers and peacefully demonstrate? Or go demonstrate in Rome and Jerusalem? I’m sure that the disciples would have welcomed more direct confrontation with the Romans. Surely Peter would have.

Jesus said to spread the Gospel, and in Matthew 10, if they persecute you in one town, flee to the next. Also, he told the disciples to shake the dust off their sandals and leave towns. What is notably missing in His instructions, is to intentionally go into a war zone and try to stop in with love.
Jesus also prophesied in Mark 13 that there would be wars, and when these things come to pass, to flee to the mountains. And I doubt that is because the war would be in the mountains, and we were to protest in the mountains either.

Is there anywhere in Christian history where Christians promoted and practiced that idea? We have cases where war came to Christians and they individually responded with love. But where do we see them heading across an ocean and a continent to insert themselves into a battle field?
Again, seems like a notion that naive people, who perhaps have become very used to the American right to assemble, and who are generations removed from war, think is a good idea. Not something that really has any basis in historical faith and practice, or the Bible.

Spot on and agreed.