Christianity and military service?

Question

some christians like JW and christadelphians never join the armed forces stating that its against the teachings of christ. but as a catholic i believe that its not wrong to join the army of a nation that wants to bring peace to the world.
am i right?

Answer 1

Ya you are rite. Catholics have had no problem with the idea of self defense. Thou shalt not kill is understood as thou shalt not murder.
If you are a serious about learning then you should read Dorothy Day and anything from the Catholic Worker newspaper.
They have a long history of promoting peace in the USA and opposing killing as the first way to resolve a problem.

Answer 2

To the person who said that "Most branches of the military are based on Christianity"

That is absolute nonsense. Perhaps if you served you'd already know that.

This Army is based upon the protection of the US Constitution. If you READ the Constitution nowhere does it state that the "god" mentioned in ANY US document only refers to the "god" of the Bible.

I, as a soldier, am sworn to uphold the Constitution of the United States. This means the protection of your rights to believe in whichever god* you so choose. Remember: Christianity is NOT the only religion of the USA. It doesn't matter whether or not YOU or anyone else thinks that the USA was founded on Christianity. The Constitution was written in a way to represent the majority while protecting the minority for majority persecution. Please don't imply that the US Army is only an Army which represents Christians. We represent AMERICA, which includes EVERY minority.

To the Asker: Sorry I went off on a tangent. :-)
Remember: The term "Peace" is relative. If you come into the military expecting to evangelize I wouldn't expect things to be peaceful. We aren't that kind of Army. Our job (according to our CiC) is to aid in the spread of Democracy and defend our country from all enemies, foreign or domestic.

It is pointless to get into an argument about whether it is "Christian" to join the military. YOU have to make that determination for yourself. The Bible is MEANT to be interpreted. Use your head...use common sense. Your god gave you a brain to think with for a REASON. Use it.

Good Luck!
V/R,
~C

Answer 3

There is nothing in the Scripture that says that a Christian should not defend his country or become a soldier. One thing however, you are not to do anything that is contrary to the commands of God while you are a soldier. If you receive orders to do something is contrary then you have to disobey those orders for the higher command of Christ.
Also, if you feel that a war that you will be fighting in is unjust. You better pray about participating in such a war. If all the "Christians" fighting for Hitler had just said no then maybe that war could have been shorted.

Answer 4

I enjoyed the military looking back on it. Smile. I am just kidding. I didn't enjoy it, but it made a man out of me. If you can stay out of the military, do so. However saying that, we ex veterans definitely have a kinship and a mindset the civilian population have no knowledge of. We are fiercely loyal to the troops and speak doom on politicians both in the Service and in Government who send our guys to their deaths needlessly. Puke on them. Trust me, after you get out of the service you will have a wholly different perspective on who the bad guys are. However you do learn some pretty good skills. I was on my way to a job where guns are not allowed. My car broke down. I called ahead and was promised they'd come and get me. A group of men were loitering near by. One of them started to talk to me. Then they all gathered around. I casually put my back against the building to eliminate enemies behind. My hands were in my jacket pocket. I flipped open my folder which was a wicked knife. Then we chatted. Everything was friendly. While we chatted I mapped out my course. I would slit the carotid arteries of two of the closest and stab anyone I needed to in the neck in order to escape. That was my mindset as I chatted with these guys. I was all prepared. There was no fear, just cold blooded determination. Well, nothing happened. My ride came and I told everyone goodbye. I got in the car and folded my knife. Like I said, the military does impart some skills. If you want to be truly tough and unafraid, you must be trained for that. Not easy my friend. However saying that, fear will always be present normally. One crisis I feel no fear; another I feel terror. You have to learn to act despite the fear. That takes training. Psychological training. Don't worry, they can do it easily. Of course I am not sure anymore. This is not the Viet Nam era. Everything now is so soft. DI's can no longer curse their troops. Now we have a kinder gentler army or so they would like to make it. Go to school and get a good job. That is my advice to you.

Answer 5

Thou shall not kill.

(We are brainwashed to think killing by them is terrorism, but killing by us is supposed to be considered an act of War. Use your head.)

The military is the strong arm of the Illuminati which is a Satanic Cult bent on dominating and controlling the world and making everyone convert to Lucifer. So if 'Catholocism' says its allright to join forces with the military than the catholic church supports Lucifer.

Oh, and P.S. If you believe War is to bring about peace than you're an IDIOT.

Answer 6

Armies are not made for peace. They're made for war. The job of a soldier is not to distribute candy and blankets. His job is to kill.

You can send in the troops under the banner of peace; it won't work. Look at Iraq if you need proof. Those poor young men can't bring peace to that backward, sectarian, tribal society; they can't even maintain a semblance of order. And they're being dragged down with it.

Answer 7

we are children of the universe,we are all G@d creation we should not destroy each other . We all have equal right to the world if we follow these principles we would not need war and that would solve our problem so I agree with JW and others who believe that we are one no matter where we are in the world .

Answer 8

I agree. Sometimes war is necessary. People say thou shalt not kill, but the purpose of war isnt to go out and kill as many people as possible, but to bring peace to your nation as quickly as possible and sometimes death is a part of that. Would it be a sin to kill terrorists before they blew up the world? I think not.

Answer 9

Yes, you are right.

As a Catholic myself, I served 6 years in the military. Never had a conflict of interest with my military service and faith

Answer 10

What better cause for warfare than defending Jesus Christ, yet what did Jesus say about the idea?

(Matthew 26:52) Jesus said to him: “Return your sword to its place, for all those who take the sword will perish by the sword

(Isaiah 2:2-4) And it must occur in the final part of the days that the mountain of the house of Jehovah will become firmly established... and to it all the nations must stream. 3 And many peoples will certainly go and say: “Come, YOU people, and let us go up to the mountain of Jehovah... For out of Zion law will go forth, and the word of Jehovah out of Jerusalem. And he will certainly render judgment among the nations and set matters straight respecting many peoples. And they will have to beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning shears. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, neither will they learn war anymore.

(2 Corinthians 10:3-4) For though we walk in the flesh, we do not wage warfare according to what we are in the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not fleshly, but powerful by God for overturning strongly entrenched things.

(Luke 6:27-28) Continue to love YOUR enemies, to do good to those hating YOU, to bless those cursing YOU, to pray for those who are insulting YOU.