The Early Church 1

Running Head: The Early Church

The Early Churchs View on War David Cook

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In Western Christianity, the common view regarding war is that there are occasionally "just wars" which we as Christians must fight for our government. The majority of Christians in America believe in this to some extent or another. We can look at the United States invasion of Iraq, which has been one of the most controversial "wars" over the last 100 years. This invasion was supported by 69% of conservative Christians in the United States (commondreams.org) months before. This support was based on the case which the United States government made that invasion was needed to stop imminent danger to our country and the world. That this rationale was accepted by so many Christians points to the deeply held view in American Christianity that some wars are necessary and are supported by God. Four years later, as the conflict has become unsuccessful and the claims originally made by the Bush Administration have been found to be unsupported, that number has dropped to roughly 60% (cbn.com) and has continued to drop. After the rationale for war was found lacking, support by Christians believing that only just wars must be fought has dropped. While there is great debate among American Christians as to whether the invasion of Iraq was justified, there is one major point that Christians in the first 280 years after Jesus' resurrection would have brought up that is almost unheard of in todays America-- is there ever such a thing as a just war? It is evident by examining the opinions of early Christian writers that passages such as Luke 3:14 (where John the Baptist tells soldiers to do violence to no man), John 18:36 (in which Jesus says His followers do not fight), and Matthew 5:44-46 (in which Jesus tells us to love our enemies, bless those who curse us, and do good to them which hate us) were considered to speak against Christians which viewed any peoples as enemies, as well as admonishing Christians from fighting others, even with the best of intentions. Athenagoras in 177 A.D. wrote that if Christians could not support abortion, as they considered the fetus to be a human being, it would be hypocritical for them to support putting people to death (Athenagoras, Chapter 35). The Christian view was that their prayers for the emperor and for the empire, commanded in 1 Timothy 2:1-4, would do more service to the state than their taking up arms ever could. For instance, Origen, writing in 248 A.D. in response to pagan scholar Celsus' claim that "If all men were to do as you [take up pacifism], there would be nothing to prevent the Emperor from

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being left in utter solitude, and with the desertion of his forces, the Empire would fall into the hands of the most lawless barbarians," explained his view this way: "Christians have been taught not to defend themselves against their enemies; and because they have kept the laws that command gentleness and love of man, they have received from God that which they would not have achieved if they were permitted to make war, though they might have been quite able to do so... The more devout the individual, the more effective he is in helping the Emperor, more so than the soldiers who go into the lines and kill all the enemy troops they can The greatest warfare, in other words, is not with human enemies but with those spiritual forces which make men into enemies (Origen, 3, 8). Origen was not simply giving his own opinion. As early as 150 A.D. we have testimony in an epistle attached to Justin Martyr's 1st Apology, supposedly from Emperor Marcus Aurelius, about a battle he was engaged in where Christians were under his command: I quickly betook myself to prayer to the gods of my country. But being disregarded by them, I summoned those who among us go by the name of Christians. And having made inquiry, I discovered a great number and vast host of them, and raged against them, which was by no means becoming; for afterwards I learned their power. Wherefore they began the battle, not by preparing weapons, nor arms, nor bugles; for such preparation is hateful to them, on account of the God they bear about in their conscience. Therefore it is probable that those whom we suppose to be atheists, have God as their ruling power entrenched in their conscience. For having cast themselves on the ground, they prayed not only for me, but also for the whole army as it stood, that they might be delivered from the present thirst and famine. For during five days we had got no water, because there was none; for we were in the heart of Germany, and in the enemy's territory. And simultaneously with their casting themselves on the ground, and praying to God (a God of whom I am ignorant), water poured from heaven, upon us most refreshingly cool, but upon the enemies of Rome a withering hail. And immediately we recognized the presence of God following on the prayer a God unconquerable and indestructible (Justin Martyr, Epistle of Marcus Aurelius to the Senate).

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Not only did early Christians believe that they must trade in fighting for praying for their leaders based on their understanding of words of Jesus and Paul, they also believed the beautiful prophesy in Isaiah 2:4 about turning spears into pruning hooks had been fulfilled in the lives of Christians in much of the same way as Jeremiah 31:33 had found partial fulfillment after Pentecost. Justin Martyr wrote of this in his 1st Apology saying Isaiah's prophecy, "did so come to pass, we can convince you. For from Jerusalem there went out into the world, men, twelve in number, and these illiterate, of no ability in speaking: but by the power of God they proclaimed to every race of men that they were sent by Christ to teach to all the word of God; and we who formerly used to murder one another do not only now refrain from making war upon our enemies, but also, that we may not lie nor deceive our examiners, willingly die confessing Christ... But if the soldiers enrolled by you, and who have taken the military oath, prefer their allegiance to their own life, and parents, and country, and all kindred, though you can offer them nothing incorruptible, it were verily ridiculous if we, who earnestly long for incorruption, should not endure all things, in order to obtain what we desire from Him who is able to grant it (Justin Martyr, Chapter 39). Justin clearly believed that Isaiah 2:4 had come to pass in the lives of the Early Christians who now refused to fight, but preferred being put to death in order to obey what they felt was a calling for all Christians.

Irenaeus in 180 A.D. wrote likewise: "But if the law of liberty, that is, the word of God, preached by the apostles (who went forth from Jerusalem) throughout all the earth, caused such a change in the state of things, that these [nations] did form the swords and war-lances into ploughshares, and changed them into pruninghooks for reaping the corn, [that is], into instruments used for peaceful purposes, and that they are now unaccustomed to fighting, but when smitten, offer also the other cheek, then the prophets have not spoken these things of any other person, but of Him who effected them" (Irenaeus, Book IV, Chapter 34). The fact that both Irenaeus and Justin Martyr believed this prophecy was fulfilled after Pentecost points to a general acceptance in the church that war was no longer permissible in the lives of converts to Christianity, partially in accordance with Isaiah 2:4. The view regarding war was so serious in the early church that many Christian thinkers

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took views which we today might view as extreme. Many might argue even disloyal to the state. A key example is Hippolytus in 215 A.D. He spoke seriously about war, saying, "A military man in authority must not execute men. If he is ordered, he must not carry it out," but he also went much further than that, stating, "The catechumen or faithful who wants to become a soldier is to be rejected, for he has despised God. A Christian must not become a soldier, unless he is compelled by a chief bearing the sword. He is not to burden himself with the sin of blood. But if he has shed blood, he is not to partake of the mysteries, unless he is purified by a punishment, tears, and wailing. He is not to come forward deceitfully but in the fear of God" (Hippolytus, 16:9-11). While many church historians point out that the soldiers at this time were made to offer a pagan sacrifice, thus soldiering was an occupation forbidden to Christians, this is not Hippolytus' chief concern in regard to his opposition to Christians in the military. As far as Hippolytus and the other Church Fathers were concerned, it was the shedding of blood which they viewed as abominable in the eyes of God. Hippolytus taught Christians things which, if were said in the United States in the late 1910s, could have brought him imprisonment according to the United States Sedition Act of 1918. One can only imagine the danger he was putting himself in to say such things during the Roman Empire. Although his view is extreme and, by saying that a Christian must never join the army (even if he does not kill others), goes further than what John the Baptist taught in Luke 3:14, it is significant in showing us how seriously the Early Church took the issue of even soldiers shedding blood. In the name of fairness, the other side of the Early Christian view on warfare must be examined. However, there doesnt seem to be any record before the 300s of any Christian writer considering the shedding of blood to be an option for any reason. On the contrary, we find many Church thinkers speaking in incredibly dramatic terms against Christians in military service. The concept of war being alright for Christians comes around the time that Emperor Constantine accepts Christianity. In fact, the Council of Arles in 314 A.D., a Council called by Constantine himself, stated that, Concerning those who throw away their arms in time of peace, it is fitting that they should not be admitted to communion (Council of Arles, Article 3). Curiously, at the Council of Nicea in 325 A.D, another Council Constantine called and

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presided over, we find strong terms against Christians in military service: "As many as were called by grace, and displayed the first zeal, having cast aside their military girdles, but afterwards returned, like dogs, to their own vomit, (so that some spent money and by means of gifts regained their military stations); let these, after they have passed the space of three years as hearers, be for ten years prostrators" (1st Council of Nicea, Canon XII). It appears that Constantines conversion to Christianity swayed many to support the empire unconditionally, even on the subject of war. However, many Christians did not immediately accept this change until later in the century. By the time Augustine began to write in favor of wars under certain conditions, pacifism was not a central doctrine to Christianity like it was before Constantine. It was Augustine who gave life and reason to the theory now known as the "Just War." Amy Orr-Ewing in her book Is the Bible Intolerant? explains, it is the great theologian Augustine who introduces the fledgling just war theory into Christian thinking He frames... a deontological or ethical argument: If God allows and orders war in the Old Testament, then the nature of God as just determines that there must be such a thing as a just war (Orr-Ewing, p.107). Augustine developed various concepts that he thought would help Christians to decide when a war was just. For instance, Augustine said, "The passion for inflicting harm, the cruel thirst for vengeance, an unpacific and relentless spirit, the fever of revolt, the lust of power, and such like things, all these are rightly condemned in war" (Augustine, 22, 74). Here, Augustine refers to war which is done for power, inflicting harm, or for vengeance is abominable to the Christian mind. These concepts were later developed even further into more of a system by Thomas Aquinas, who appealed to Augustine even more than Scripture (at a 3:1 ratio) in support of developing a just war code in his response to the question Whether it is always sinful to wage war? in the Summa Theologica. Despite the fact that many Christians today support war for any circumstances, this has not been the consistent Christian view. The most the Bible could possibly allow for is the Augustinian view of only fighting just wars. Sadly, many Christians today have lowered the bar for what they consider to be a just war, sometimes completely removing the bar. After examining how Gods Word and the ministry of the Apostles influenced the Early Church, the view of pacifism seems to be the most likely interpretation of the New Testament. That is not to say, of course, that Christians

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are forbidden from military servicefar from it. John the Baptist makes this clear in Luke 3:14. However, soldiers should hold themselves up to a godly standard of harming no one, so far as their conscience pushes them. Regardless of what the Scripture says to us who are living before the Second Coming on this subject, all Christians should look forward to and try to emulate what Isaiah the prophet had hoped for: [The Word of the Lord] shall judge between nations and rebuke many people. They shall break their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore. - Isaiah 2:4 (NKJV)

Works Cited:

Jim Lobe (10/10/02). Conservative Christians Biggest Backers of Iraq War. November 23, 2007 from http://www.commondreams.org/headlines02/1010-02.htm

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CBN News (10/30/06) Poll: Iraq War Losing Evangelical Support. November 23, 2007 from http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/48807.aspx

Athenagoras (177). A Plea for the Christians.

Origen (248). Contra Celsum.

Justin Martyr (150). 1st Apology.

Irenaeus (180). Against Heresies.

Hippolytus (215). The Apostolic Tradition of Hippolytus of Rome.

Council of Arles (314).

1st Council of Nicea (325).

Orr-Ewing, Amy (2005). Is the Bible Intolerant? Illinois: Downers Grove

Augustine (397-399). Contra Faust.