War and Christianity are not compatible.
War is one of the worst,
most terrible things in the world.

War in this world can be stopped
not by the ruling establishment,
but by those who suffer from the war.
They will do the most natural thing:
They will stop obeying orders.

The armed world, and the wars it wages,
will be destroyed one day, but not by the kings
or the rulers of this world. War is profitable for them.
War will stop the moment the people who suffer
for war fully understand that it is evil.

Count Leo Tolstoy
Cited from his Calendar of Wisdom

Yes, I certainly believe that the two are incompatible for 90% of the time… I have to be careful not to be absolutist, because there are rare yet substantial ethical times when a war can be justified.

Without getting into Catholic teachings about the ‘just war theory,” my own version of this has to do with the moral and ethical need to stand up to systemic evil, and to protect the rest of humankind from its violent exploitation, dehumanizing governments, and the perpetuation of policies and attitudes.

Sociopolitical aggression works today or robs us of our human dignity. In my mind, I might extend this to oligarchies that refuse to care for their people, and perpetuate famine, disease, etc.

I guess you can say I am of “two minds” about war. I would declare war to be necessary to rid the planet of systematic violence and injustice if all other diplomatic and economic sanctions failed to be effective.

Meher Baba, the Hindu saint or inspired teacher, spoke about war’s necessity, and I would support this by talking about the moral Scriptural responsibility we have to protect, care for, and be “keepers” of our brothers and sisters around the globe.

What I cannot discern or decipher are bellicose Christians who believe in a national defense that does not include the eradication of poverty, hunger, disease, and the ongoing glaring toxic disenfranchisement from basic human rights.

These “believers’ advocate strongly, and I would say, blindly for a strong military, and even extend this to the pernicious and unsupportable “right” to carry semiautomatic and other automatic weapons as civilians in the public!

What ever happened to following Jesus, as “The Prince of Peace?” and how he rebuked violence from the Beatitudes to Gethsemane?

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