[Peace-discuss] Christianity and War - Laurence Vance

[John W.]

The Bible can send seemingly conflicting messages.  I can still recall the
time when I, as a brand new Christian in 1970, was wrestling with what I
should think and do about the war in Viet Nam.  I asked the advice of some
people whom I regarded as more mature Christians.  Several of them quoted
Paul:  "Be subject to your rulers, for the powers that be are ordained by
God..."  But Jesus Himself told me to love my neighbor as myself, and even
to love my enemies - and the Vietnamese were not, as nearly as I could tell,
my enemies!  I decided that the government wasn't going to tell me who my
enemies were....and I've adhered to that basic philosophy ever since.

John


On Thu, Dec 25, 2008 at 3:44 AM, E. Wayne Johnson <ewj at pigs.ag> wrote:

 I just tonight "discovered" anti-war libertarian Christian author Laurence
> M. Vance ---
> I think that many of you will enjoy hearing or reading Vance, particularly
> those of you are professing Christians,
> and those of you who are not, or have aught against Christians,
> Republicans, Bushites, hypocrites, etc.
>
> I certainly enjoyed hearing and reading him.
> He is a von Mises scholar and is logical and very direct.
>
> I have posted video, audio and text links to Vance at my blog.
>
> http://www.liberty4urbana.com/drupal-6.8/node/42
>
> I believe that both the video and the audio are worth hearing.
>
> ____
> >From Vance interview with Angela Wittman of ChristianLibertyParty.com----
>
> Q:  Please give us a brief introduction of your latest book Christianity
> and War and Other Essays Against the Warfare State .
>
> Dr. Vance: My book contains seventy-nine essays, organized under the
> headings of Christianity and War,
> War and Peace, The Military, Christianity and the Military, The Iraq War,
> Other Wars, and The U.S. Global Empire. The essays span the four-year
> period from late 2003 to late 2007.
>
> Although many of them reference contemporary events, the principles
> discussed in all of them are timeless: war, militarism, empire,
> interventionism, the warfare state, and the Christian attitude toward these
> things. ... These essays have one underlying theme: opposition to the
> warfare state that robs us of our liberty, our money, and in some cases our
> life.
>
> *There is nothing "Christian" about the state's aggressive militarism, its
> senseless wars, its interventions into the affairs of other countries, and
> its expanding empire. Although war is a subject that needlessly divides and
> sidetracks Christians. It is my contention that Christian enthusiasm for the
> state, its wars, and its politicians is an affront to the Saviour, contrary
> to Scripture, and a demonstration of the profound ignorance many Christians
> have of history and their own Bible.*
>
> Q:  Do you agree that when discussing the issue of war with others we
> should frame the debate in terms of God's ideas rather than man's?
>
> Dr. Vance: When discussing the issue of war with religious people the
> answer is unequivocally yes. What man thinks about war is completely
> irrelevant. However, some Christians are so blinded by the Republican Party,
> the conservative movement, government propaganda, and the military that they
> reject the clear teaching of Scripture. The case against war and militarism
> must often be presented to these Christians like it would to the irreligious
> that reject the authority of Scripture.
>
> ***
> I think that many of you will enjoy hearing or reading Vance.
> I certainly enjoyed hearing and reading him.  He is very direct.
> I have posted video, audio and text links to Vance at my blog.
>
>  Vance discusses Christianity and War...<http://www.liberty4urbana.com/drupal-6.8/node/42>
>
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