The bloodthirsty nature of the evangelical political right wing

[Josh]

I have been watching with dismay the missives from the political right wing that identifies also as evangelical and the full throwted enthusiasm they seem to have for warfare and bloodshed.

Of course, this has been a longstanding problem - going back to the original situation in 2001 and 2002 when many declared the Islamic world to be our “enemy” and fully supported invading Iraq and Afghanistan in the name of freedom and democracy.

Jumping forward to 2022, we saw the majority of the evangelical right express strong support for arming Ukraine and fighting Russia - and then even more disturbingly, a minority express they thought Russia was in the right and hoping they actually won the military conflict. The hundreds of thousands of dead bodies we now have seemed unimportant to them. Just cheerleading for more weapons to be shipped over. Prayer requests sent out for soldiers to be victorious in battle.

And now in the present era, I see the evangelical right claiming it’s OK to bomb hospitals, ambulances, and churches because Hamas digs tunnels under churches. Claiming Hamas is conducting military operations from inside an ambulance. Sending out prayer requests for the IDF to be victorious in battle.

They seem very far off from Jesus’ message of peace, which notably never called for one side or another to be victorious in battle. Jesus told his soldiers to lay down their swords, not swing them mightily. How must he feel when his followers are busy praying for soldiers to win - on both sides of a conflict?

[Soloist]

Honestly Josh, you can trace the American evangelical beliefs all the way back to the revolution.
Every single war the “church” basically has picked the side they like and preached for it.

[Praxis+Theodicy]

Similar sentiments are what pushed me out of the evangelical movement entirely and seeking a peace church. Digging into the doctrines of nonviolence, hearing the arguments in favor of christians using violence, I became convinced that every argument in favor of the sword inevitably boils down to saying "this violence is good, all other violence is bad". But Christians on both sides say that, while they kill each other.

Violence is always a solution to problems that is pulled out by brutal, sadistic people quickly, and by unimaginative, lazy people eventually. I am firmly convinced that Jesus' message in this regard was essentially "That solution is no longer available to those who choose to follow me."

[Judas Maccabeus]

I brought this in front of my eight grade American history class as we finished World War I:

Pile the bodies high at Austerlitz and Waterloo.
Shovel them under and let me work—
I am the grass; I cover all.

And pile them high at Gettysburg
And pile them high at Ypres and Verdun.
Shovel them under and let me work.
Two years, ten years, and passengers ask the conductor:
What place is this?
Where are we now?

I am the grass.
Let me work.

Carl Sandburg

Violence is never the solution, only the cause of more violence.

[Ernie]

Honestly Josh, you can trace the American evangelical beliefs all the way back to the revolution.
Every single war the “church” basically has picked the side they like and preached for it.

And I think this can be traced all the way back to Constantine. There was only about a 283 year period in all of Judeo/Christian history in which God's people did not sanction war.

[HondurasKeiser]

Yet, oftentimes unavoidable. As Christians we are called to respond in faith and non-violently. That doesn't mean nonviolence/nonresistance always "works" in a material way; rather and simply it means we've won spiritually and have remained faithful to Jesus.

[barnhart]

Yet, oftentimes unavoidable. As Christians we are called to respond in faith and non-violently. That doesn't mean nonviolence/nonresistance always "works" in a material way; rather and simply it means we've won spiritually and have remained faithful to Jesus.

True, but I might rephrase and say faithfulness to Jesus is winning in every single battle that is truly important.

[Praxis+Theodicy]

Honestly Josh, you can trace the American evangelical beliefs all the way back to the revolution.
Every single war the “church” basically has picked the side they like and preached for it.

And I think this can be traced all the way back to Constantine. There was only about a 283 year period in all of Judeo/Christian history in which God's people did not sanction war.

It was certainly longer than 283 years. Constantine is often cited as the catalyst for the change that occured in the church Jesus founded, but those changes weren't immediate.

[joshuabgood]

Yet, oftentimes unavoidable. As Christians we are called to respond in faith and non-violently. That doesn't mean nonviolence/nonresistance always "works" in a material way; rather and simply it means we've won spiritually and have remained faithful to Jesus.

True, but I might rephrase and say faithfulness to Jesus is winning in every single battle that is truly important.

I am more and more convinced it works better in every single way than does retributive violence...which is why Jesus used it.

[barnhart]

Yet, oftentimes unavoidable. As Christians we are called to respond in faith and non-violently. That doesn't mean nonviolence/nonresistance always "works" in a material way; rather and simply it means we've won spiritually and have remained faithful to Jesus.

True, but I might rephrase and say faithfulness to Jesus is winning in every single battle that is truly important.

I am more and more convinced it works better in every single way than does retributive violence...which is why Jesus used it.

This is true without reservation as long as the scope is expanded long enough.