America’s War-Cult

We inhabit a time when life is cheap: abortions, genocides, perpetual wars, weapons of mass destruction. We could list countless ways in which human life has been devalued. While we might send out a medical plane to rescue one life that’s in peril, one plane can instantly incinerate a hundred thousand. Science has great power to heal, but this pails in comparison to its destructive power. Unfortunately, the current philosophies of this world are all equally mute when it comes to standing up to the destructive march of the war-cult. We deceive ourselves if we think we can build a civilized and peaceful world while we sacrifice human life to the war-cult! This is why I’ve devoted so much time to the issues of war and politics, because I believe these above all else are going to be the means by which humanity finally judges the Church and its witness. Where was our voice and witness in the face of such injustice and bloodshed?

Jean Lasserre described the war-cult in his book, “War and the Gospel“: he described the excessive veneration of soldiers, how the lives of soldiers were viewed as expendable, and how the State was deified as an entity worthy of self-sacrifice. And he connected this to the old Roman war-cult of Mars (i.e. the Roman God of War). He described how the war-cult would go into full-fervor whenever Rome had a war it wanted to fight, stirring up the people’s zeal and readiness to sacrifice their lives for Rome’s cause. And he reflected this upon his own time in the second World War. Now I think we would be wise to have the same awareness as our own war-cult propaganda machine works to prime us for war. We are being inundated by a steady stream of war movies, video games, social media posts, and news reports, all designed to rally the war-fervor of the American people through fear-mongering, outrage, and patriotism. And just who are we being primed for war against? Well, take your pick: our propaganda at least suggests Russia, Iran, China, and even civil-war as possible targets. I don’t know anyone who would argue that our political leaders aren’t moving us closer to World War 3. And part of moving our nation in that direction requires convincing the American people that war is both necessary and good.

So let’s ask some questions to challenge the war-cult (if you dare):

Is the State worthy of our self-sacrifice? No. “Ah!” you might say, “but we sacrifice our life for our family and loved ones, not the State!” This was the same rhetoric used by Rome’s war-cult, but, in reality, the wars people are being asked to fight are almost always for the cause of the State, not their family. Take 9/11 for example: how many countries did we invade as the result of that one attack? And in every case, though our soldiers were told they were fighting to protect their families, and the horrible tragedy of the twin-towers was the drumbeat of that propaganda, the reality is that those wars not only made the world less-safe from terrorism, but we could’ve used the resources of those wars to more effectively secure our own homeland. But America had other reasons why it wanted to fight these wars, and so our soldiers sacrificed their lives to the State under false pretenses, being told never to question the authority of the State. We are not obligated to offer ourselves in blind self-sacrifice to the State!

Are the lives of our men expendable? No! Each life is sacred as an image-bearer of God. Each life is someone for whom Jesus died. Each life means the world to someone else. The only way the State can justify its wars is to both devalue human life and glorify self-sacrifice, otherwise the calculus of war would be intolerable to the public and we would never put up with it. The State devalues human life by convincing people that it is glorious to sacrifice human life for ignoble causes. But Christians should always be the voice that defends human life. Wars that are fought merely of greed, to gain geopolitical advantage, or for ideological purposes must be exposed and rejected. We should refute every lie that would convince us that human life is expendable.

Are soldiers worthy of veneration? No, although soldiers do deserve our respect, both as those who possess authority, and as those whom God sometimes uses to excise his wrath, we should not venerate them. God has told us what attributes are honorable in his sight: he blessed the peacemakers, the meek, those who are just, the pure, and the gentle. Things like this are what God honors. But nowhere did God venerate the warrior! Again, we forget that the reason our war-cult venerates soldiers is because they serve the State’s cause. But look at what our soldiers have done. Take the Iraq war for example, where basic order was maintained under Saddam Hussein’s regime (despite his brutality) to such an extent that even the Christian community was well-established. But, after our war that killed between 185,000 and 654,000 civilians (depending on source and methodology), Iraq became unstable, struggling under the rise of insurgent groups like al-Qaeda and ISIS, resulting in severe violence, terrorism, and sectarian conflicts that have made daily life perilous. And the once established Christian community, which had over 1.5 million adherents, has been all but destroyed. We must not forget that the State is capable of acting wickedly, using its soldiers to accomplish terrible injustices. Would we ever dare venerate Nazi soldiers for their service? No! Even though the Nuremberg trials exonerated low-ranking soldiers from their responsibility for war-crimes, that ruling does not have any authority to relieve them of their responsibility to God’s judgment! Soldiers must judge the cause they serve in light of God’s judgments and be willing to stand up against an unjust cause, even if they must suffer court-martial or execution to do so!

I know that what I’ve just said is counted as blasphemy by the war-cult: “the American cause is always righteous”, “every war we fight is always noble”, and “our soldiers are always heroes“. But I reject this narrative. America has behaved wickedly at times, many of our wars have been demonstrably unjust, and our soldiers have been used to accomplish terrible things, although they are not always aware of this reality until much later (if ever). So the Church has a responsibility to expose these deceptions and oppose the devastation that is wrought upon this world through the wickedness of the nations.

Consider that I’m not making a pacifist case at this point.

Everything I’ve written above is universally applicable to both those who believe in the Just-War theory and pacifism or nonresistance. I’m not aware of anyone who has successfully made the case that our wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia, Libya, the Philippines, and the horn of Africa (i.e. our “Global Wars on Terrorism“) have been “just”.

Keep in mind, the Just War theory is determined on three factors: Jus ad Bellum (Justice of War), Jus in Bello (Justice in War), and Jus post Bellum (Justice after War). In theory, such wars must have a just cause, be waged by legitimate authority, possess right intentions, have a reasonable probability of success, be the means of last resort, be waged in proportion to the injury suffered, be free of discrimination, be militarily necessary, exercise fair treatment of PoW’s, be free of intrinsically evil tactics, have the restoration of peace in view, be capable of serving justice on war criminals, and provide for the compensation and rehabilitation of the victims of war.

Can anyone argue that our global war on terror reasonably meets these standards? No, these wars certainly do not! Our constitution does not provide legitimate authority for perpetual wars. Our intentions were undefined, and, therefore, cannot be stated as “right”, there was no reasonable probability of successfully ridding the world of undefined terrorism, it was not the means of last resort, it was not waged in proportion to the injury we suffered, it has not been free of discrimination since we ignore terrorism where we don’t have interests in fighting, it was not militarily necessary, we have tortured PoW’s, it did not have the restoration of peace in view, and we have not provided compensation and rehabilitation to the victims of these wars. Where is the Christian voice in all these things? Where are the Christians in America denouncing the injustice of our wars? Why have we not advocated more forcefully for peace? Why have we not taken up the cause of compensation and rehabilitation for the victims of these unjust wars? To our shame, we have left these things to others, who have done them poorly, and even dishonorably, leading even to these being denounced as covers for various toxic political agendas. We have been silent in the face of grave injustice, and we are answerable for our neglect of our responsibilities in this manner.

All of this is why I say that most Christians just hide behind the Just-War theory, but have not taken the time to understand the attributes that might make a just-war. Christians need to repent for defending wars that are indefensible. Even if my readers disagree with my peace-convictions, my hope is that I might inspire and challenge some to know their own view better!

So what am I saying?

Christians, we must be aware that we are dealing with the propaganda of a war-cult whose interest is rallying troops to sacrifice in its cause. We must exercise spiritual discernment in these matters. We cannot be led to war under false pretenses. Though I have my own convictions about war, I would rather Christians study and understand the Just-War theory so that they could truly restrain war to that which might reasonably be called “just-causes” than that we be so easily deceived by the war-cult! You might disagree with my pacifist convictions, but do you know your own convictions well enough to determine a just-war within Christian thought? If you think a just war is simply “the other side did wrong“, then you haven’t even begun to think through your own view. And I guarantee you that if you try to navigate the challenges of difficult times with such shallow thinking you will not succeed in following Jesus; you will be misled!

Are you ready to navigate the difficult times that come when war rises as a Christian?

What do you think? Am I wrong? Have I challenged your thinking?

Tell me down below in the comments!