Ft. Hood, Again

Pfc. Naser Jason Abdo, 21, of Garland, Texas, will be behind bars for many, many years for being in possession of firearms and incendiary devices which were meant to kill and injure members of the United States military stationed at Fort Hood, Texas. Now this deceived young man was under two main delusions. One was that an entity named Allah was the Creator and Redeemer. But the second delusion was that violence was a method to both promote the kingdom which he espoused, and that violence was a viable method to combat those who did not agree with his belief system.

We, as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, are aghast as such a deception, but even though we espouse a kingdom over which the Lord Jesus Christ presides, many of us still agree with violence as a viable method to protect and promote His kingdom. We seem to have little problem with killing lost sinners in order to defend a definable piece of land so that we can maintain a way of life that is agreeable to our natural existence. If we were caught in a totalitarian system that persecuted us and imprisoned believers for their faith in Christ, we would not lift a finger to defend it.

But since we live in a system which affords us many luxuries and natural accoutrements, we support violence to maintain our “way of life”. And how do we justify such violence, especially in light of the overwhelming contradictions written in the New Testament? We suspend such commandments and principles as it pertains to our loyalties to a particular nation. So in essence we lift our loyalty to our nation above our loyalty to Christ and His teachings. And many “orthodox” teachers who loudly defend the doctrine of Scriptural inerrancy, refuse to see the hypocrisy that surrounds such nationalistic behavior.

If we can suspend the commandments of Christ when they are in conflict with what a nation does, then we can suspend any and all the teachings of Christ and the New Testament when they come in conflict with other loyalties, whether they be to a nation, a family, or a way of life. In fact, we must then support a Muslim sinner in Iran who becomes a believer in Christ when he stores up weapons designed to kill Muslim soldiers in Iran.

Violence cannot be parsed out and categorized into “good and bad”. All violence is counter to the teachings of the Kingdom of Christ, and even though the Scriptures clearly tell us that governments use such violence to exact their brand of justice, nowhere is that method of justice supposed to be practiced in the body of Jesus Christ. “But what about” this or that scenario, you ask. I know, there are many, many, many scenarios that appear perplexing and illogical if we are to eschew all forms of violence toward our fellow man.

But we cannot manipulate the teachings of Christ and His written revelation if they seem to be at odds with the course of normal, civilized life, or even if they seem at odds with what we have been taught by godly believers, our parents, or any other human being. We must begin and end with His teachings, and let the confounding consequences of our obedience be what they may as we trust His Words instead of what seems natural and right in the eyes of men, including what seems right with the majority of the western evangelical community. There are many believers who love Christ and are born again who either support a nation’s violence or even some who have courageously given their very lives in defending this, or any other, nation. But again, that does not make anything right or wrong.

I admire the courageousness of believers who place their lives in harm’s way to defend what they believe is God’s will for their lives, but according to the overwhelming teachings of the New Testament they are misguided. And there is a growing number of believers who have served faithfully in the armed services with honor and distinction who are now reconsidering their position as it pertains to nationalism and violence. I admit, it is easy for those of us who have never served to judge those who have, but I reiterate that I do not judge anyone.

I am attempting to adhere to the admonitions of Christ and His Word, and believe it when I tell you, that elicits much persecution within the church itself. By God’s matchless grace, may His Spirit open all of our eyes, and if He does free us from the deception of nationalism and violence, may we reject strongly the temptation to judge others and to feel a sense of self righteousness about ourselves.