-Caveat Lector-
http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig2/mckenzie2.html
Christian Enthusiasm for War
by Ron McKenzie
I have been surprised that a number of well-known Christian prophetic
voices are supporting war with Iraq. I am not a pacifist and I believe there
are situations where a nation is justified in going to war to defend its
people against an attack. However, these situations have always been very
rare and this is not one of them. Very few wars have ever met the biblical
criteria that justify war (these are explained in Defence and War). In the
modern world, the consequences of war are so terrible that very few wars
can ever be justified. Therefore, I am surprised at the current enthusiasm
for war among Christians.
The reasons for supporting the war are given in the following quotations.
The cup of judgment is full of Saddam Hussein. The battle is about
bringing down the strongman of Islam and breaking open the Middle East.
The spirit of Allah is working to form an Arab coalition to resist in the
battle. God will humiliate the spirit over Islam (Ps 83:16) (Apostolic Council
of Prophetic Elders).
The lawlessness that is growing throughout the world would result in such
chaos and destruction that things would be much worse if the United
States does not become more assertive in its leadership. Now there are
also major threats to us that in the United States that must be found and
dealt with (Rick Joyner).
The record is clear, the actions of Saddam Hussein are cruel, evasive and
ungodly. His actions cannot go unchecked (Bob Jones and Paul Keith
Davis).
Removing Saddam Hussein is necessary peacefully I hope, but if not, then
by military means. In order to fight terrorism, we must cut off terrorists
supplies and support. And Saddam Hussein represents both. So war against
Saddam is self-defense (Chuck Colsen).
These statements seem to be a variation on one theme: Saddam Hussein is
evil.
He is supporting and supplying terrorism
He has weapons of mass destruction
He is willing to use them against other nations
He is oppressing the people of Iraq.
There is no doubt that Saddam Hussein is an evil man, but these prophetic
voices all go a step further and argue that because Saddam Hussein is evil,
war to overthrow him is justified. They seem to believe that the United
States should attack Iraq to overthrow evil. The problem with this
argument is that evil is normal in the world until the gospel is victorious.
The existence of evil is never in itself a justification for war. If it were,
Christians would be permanently engaged in warfare all over the world.
Spiritual Reality
I could understand unbelievers wanting to use military force to destroy
evil. They fear evil and the only weapons they have to fight evil are
military, but we have a clearer understanding of the nature of evil.
Christians know that the real source of evil is not Saddam Hussein, but the
spiritual forces that are working through him.
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers,
against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against
the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms (Eph 6:12).
Our real struggle is not against evil men in positions of power, but against
the spiritual powers working through them. The enemy is not Saddam
Hussein, but the evil spiritual powers behind him. The same spiritual forces
that wrestled with Daniel are now at work in Iraq.
Military force cannot deal with evil in Iraq, because it is unable to deal
with these spiritual powers. Even if an invasion is successful and Saddam
Hussein is deposed, the same spiritual forces will remain in control of the
nation. The United States may be able conquer Iraq with overwhelming
military force, but it will not be able change the spiritual atmosphere. War
cannot remove evil from Iraq. This is why I am surprised at Christians
making the case for war against Iraq.
We should never wish the horror and devastation of war on any people.
The brutality of modern warfare and the pain of defeat often leaves a
nation even more vulnerable to evil. Overthrowing Saddam may even result
in even worse evil taking hold of the nation.
Christians praying in the West can influence the spiritual forces working in
Iraq, but they do not have the spiritual authority to remove them. There
will always be people with spiritual authority in Iraq inviting them back.
Real change will only come, when people in Iraq with spiritual authority
choose to stand in the power of the Holy Spirit against these evil spiritual
forces and force them out of the nation.
Evil
Although evil often seems to be victorious in the world, God has prepared
a solution. Evil came into the world through sin. Human sin allowed the
spiritual forces of evil to go to work in the world. As a result, evil rulers
like Saddam Hussein have been common throughout history. The purpose
of the cross was to destroy the powers of evil (Col 1:13). Therefore the
best way to deal
