{"id":11368,"date":"2007-08-18T21:57:10","date_gmt":"2007-08-19T02:57:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/?p=11368"},"modified":"2019-10-02T22:01:48","modified_gmt":"2019-10-03T03:01:48","slug":"is-it-right-for-a-soldier-to-kill-in-war","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-it-right-for-a-soldier-to-kill-in-war\/","title":{"rendered":"Is it right for a soldier to kill in war?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\t

Question:<\/h2>\n

Shortly after my fiance and I get married I will deploy to Iraq for the first time. I, being an infantry soldier, am trained to kill. It has always been a major concern of mine to kill in war, and I wonder if this is a sin recognized by God. I figured since and before the biblical times, there has always been war. God was with David when he\u00a0killed\u00a0<\/em>Goliath. I’m not much on Bible smarts, but I know there were many other occasions God was with someone, or other peoples when killing. So my question is, is it ok to kill others while at war? Thank you for your time, sir.<\/p>\n\t

Answer:<\/h2>\n

You seem to be making a habit of committing yourself to a course of action and only afterward wondering if you made the right decision. The appropriate thing is to know in advance that your chosen course of action is correct because you did your homework, then you can move forward with confidence. Though talking about food, the principle remains the same: “Do you have faith? Have it to yourself before God. Happy is he who doesn’t judge himself in that which he approves. But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because it isn’t of faith; and whatever is not of faith is sin<\/em>” (Romans 14:22-23).<\/p>\n

In regards to your question, I addressed a broader question earlier that also touches on your question: “May a Christian serve in government?<\/a>” The questioner was particularly concerned about the functions of a government that might involve killing, such as a police officer or a soldier. Rather than repeat it here, I will ask that you read it. I was also asked, “Should a Christian serve in the military?<\/a>” I happen to have a neighbor and fellow Christian who serves in the Air Force, who kindly offered to address the question directly. To understand all that is being presented, you will need to read all the verses he cited and not just the article, but it is well worth the study time.<\/p>\n

Finally, you raised a good point in noting that God obviously made use of killing in the past. Again there is a prior question, “How can God command us not to murder when God murdered people in the Old Testament?<\/a>” which addresses this issue. By reading the verses involved you will be able to stand on your moral decision because of facts and not just your personal opinion.<\/p>\n

To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven:
\nA time to be born, and a time to die;
\nA time to plant, and a time to pluck what is planted;
\nA time to kill, and a time to heal;
\nA time to break down, and a time to build up;
\nA time to weep, and a time to laugh;
\nA time to mourn, and a time to dance;
\nA time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones;
\nA time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
\nA time to gain, and a time to lose;
\nA time to keep, and a time to throw away;
\nA time to tear, and a time to sew;
\nA time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
\nA time to love, and a time to hate;
\nA time of war, and a time of peace.<\/em>
\n(Ecclesiastes 3:1-8)<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Question: Shortly after my fiance and I get married I will deploy to Iraq for the first time. I, being an infantry soldier, am trained to kill. It has always been a major concern of mine to kill in war, and I wonder if this is a sin recognized by God. I figured since and…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[310,368,406,931],"class_list":["post-11368","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-government","tag-military","tag-murder","tag-war"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":17499,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/will-christians-go-to-heaven-after-killing-other-christians\/","url_meta":{"origin":11368,"position":0},"title":"Will Christians go to heaven after killing other Christians?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 20, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: My wife and I had a discussion about Christians who participate in a war against another country that may have Christians in their army. The question is, will Christians go to heaven after killing other Christians? My wife asked me this many years ago, and I still don't have\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":51232,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-it-wrong-to-want-to-join-the-military-to-kill-terrorists\/","url_meta":{"origin":11368,"position":1},"title":"Is it wrong to want to join the military to kill terrorists?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 30, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: If you join the military with the intent to kill terrorists, is it a sin? I know killing in a war is not. But what about having the intent to bring safety to the world, or revenge against what the terrorists have done, or someone who just wants to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":42878,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-killing-an-abortionist-right\/","url_meta":{"origin":11368,"position":2},"title":"Is killing an abortionist right?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 4, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: What do you think of Paul Jennings Hill and the Army of God movement? Paul Hill shot a baby-killing abortionist in 1994 and was executed in 2003. I believe that because Paul Hill prevented babies from being murdered that day he acted rightly. Many Christians I know, \"pro-life\" leaders\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":9619,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-there-any-biblical-support-for-war\/","url_meta":{"origin":11368,"position":3},"title":"Is there any biblical support for war?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 29, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Is there any biblical support for any country or human being to be in all-out war or conflict? Answer: Actually there are hundreds of passages that support the concept of war.\u00a0 War is one of those topics that pacifists have to work hard to try to get it out\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":28621,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-did-god-kill-the-amalekites\/","url_meta":{"origin":11368,"position":4},"title":"Why did God kill the Amalekites?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 27, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I was wondering, for example, when the Israelites were attacked or they attacked someone else, Moses held up his staff and it helped Joshua's army, but if the staff was held down then the war went for the enemy. Obviously, the power of the staff came from God, so\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":56497,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/god-needs-more-foot-soldiers\/","url_meta":{"origin":11368,"position":5},"title":"God Needs More Foot Soldiers","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 1, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"by Thomas Thornhill At this time our nation is in a conflict taking place mainly in Iraq and Afghanistan. Our uniformed personnel are daily placed in harm's way, facing an enemy which in many cases is often unseen until they strike. This is of course a physical confrontation in which\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/12\/soldiers.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11368","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11368"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11368\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11368"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11368"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11368"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}