This subject is difficult to address. I’m writing this to encourage Christians to take their rightful place as peacemakers in this world, but I also understand that I’m writing into a nuanced and complex context that has proven to be a puzzle that no world-leader has ever been able to resolve. Regardless, I don’t believe that it should be controversial to say that Christians are obligated, in all circumstances, no matter how complicated or difficult they might be, to advocate for the cessation of all hostilities and work towards the reconciliation of all peoples. There’s no authentic version of the Christian faith that permits Christians to either look the other way, or worse, encourage the perpetuation of war.
Since Hamas’ attack on Israel that took ~1,100+ lives on October 7th, 2023, and the subsequent outbreak of war in Gaza that has so far taken ~62,000 lives by U.N. estimates, I have been watching how the narratives surrounding this conflict have been developing, and what stands out to me is the absence of any distinctly Christian vision for peace. The narratives that shape how people think about this conflict are seemingly all wrapped up in the political interests of the various powers involved. In other words, there’s no voice dispassionately advocating for peace without respect to their own political interests. Please don’t misunderstand me. I’m not about to suggest that I have all the answers. In fact, I’m not even attempting to articulate a political or diplomatic path towards peace right now. I’m neither qualified to do so, nor do I have the kind of influence that would justify the time required to write such a proposal. Rather, my point is that I believe such a voice is absent precisely because Christians have lost their vision for peace! And, in view of such an absence, I believe it’s incumbent upon us to ask why our voice is absent from the world’s conflicts and seek to restore our vision for peace.
To begin, I recently watched an interview with people on the ground who were reporting on recent strikes and the condition in Gaza. They describe Israel’s stranglehold on food, water, and medical supplies, how women and children are unable to find the basics necessary to sustain life, and how Israel’s indiscriminate bombings have resulted in an extremely high number of civilian casualties. The U.N. estimates that of the ~62,000 Palestinian casualties reported in Gaza, around 70% are women and children. Again I will say that it’s neither political, nor should it be controversial for Christians to say that we cannot support this style of warfare.
One might say that Israel faces an unparalleled and impossible challenge being surrounded on all sides by hostile nations who openly seek her destruction.
Let me say that to the extent someone like me can know, I recognize that Israel faces difficult and complex challenges. But I don’t believe it’s accurate to say that “there’s no situation in the world that one can compare to Israel’s“. Many nations throughout history have faced similar situations: Armenia, both in times past and now, has faced hostilities being surrounded by nations like Azerbaijan, Turkey, and the Ottoman Empire; South Korea historically faced threats from China and Japan, and now faces a delusional, megalomaniacal dictator who enjoys the full backing of their other enemy, China; Carthage was surrounded by the Roman Republic, Numidian tribes, and Greek city-states; and Tibet was surrounded by China and British India. If we are going to advocate for peace, we have to remove the rhetoric that impedes our ability to be truthful about the realities we face. Israel faces difficult challenges, but they’re far from being singular.
One might say that Israel is innocent because of the 1,100 lives lost at the hands of Hamas on October 7th, 2023.
I know this will be difficult for some to hear, but a vision of peace that is based on lies will not last, so I must be honest: I believe what Israel is doing now constitutes a genocide. And the definition of genocide makes no reference to the conflict being unprovoked, nor to the victim’s innocence. Hamas is guilty of all 1,100+ deaths on October 7th, but Israel’s response has crossed over from mere warfare into genocide. And, if Israel doesn’t stop, she will completely annihilate all life in Gaza. So for peace to be established it’s necessary that we deal with the realities of the war in Gaza as they really are, and not simply by the narratives that make us look best, or which best suit our political interests.
I know there’ll be a lot of push back on calling this war a genocide, so let me explain why I believe it is just that: a genocide refers to “acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, or religious group“, which is the definition established by the 1948 UN “Genocide” Convention. For example, in light of the facts that were uncovered in the wake of World War II, this convention concluded that not only can traditional military actions cause genocide, but actions that deliberately inflict conditions of life that are calculated to eradicate, or which impose measures intended to destroy groups like those designed to prevent births also constitute genocide. In other words, the 1948 UN “Genocide” Convention found that “total war” was not permissible. So, when we look at the reports on the ground in Gaza, which describe military campaigns and conditions that are designed to effect the total destruction of all life in Gaza, we must conclude that Israel is, in fact, engaging in genocide. The only way to say otherwise is to say that those reporting from the ground in Gaza are not only inaccurate in their reports, but that they are completely fabricating everything, which is how the Western powers are responding. But, for me, such a claim requires overwhelming proof showing that the eye-witness accounts are not simply inaccurate in their details, but that they are, in fact, actually lying. When we have eye-witness reports from multiple directions, it’s irresponsible to simply write them off as misinformation.
My point is that Christians must advocate for the cessation of all hostilities, but the idea that Israel is justified by the 1,100 casualties she suffered on October 7th is one of the narratives being used to promote the continuation of this war with no end in sight. So, we cannot advocate for peace if we believe that Israel is justified in on-going war.
So, is Israel justified in on-going war?
While I believe this war has crossed over into genocide, which is not justified, let me offer two reasons why on-going war would not be justified even if this war were not a genocide. First, no war is justified if there is no reasonable chance for success, which, in turn, cannot be established if there are no clear military objectives to establish what constitutes victory. This is the fourth principle in what’s known as the Just War Theory. But Israel’s military command has not set forward clear and achievable mission-objectives. Second, no war is justified unless it’s fought with some measure of proportionality. This is the sixth principle of the Just War theory. But, while Israel suffered ~1,100 casualties, it has, in turn, inflicted ~62,000 casualties. These numbers aren’t “proportional”, they’re “exponential.” Even adjusting for inaccuracies, let’s say the casualties in Gaza are “only” 43,000. The point remains unchanged. And all this only accounts for loss in life. It doesn’t even take into account how Gaza has been reduced to almost complete rubble, leaving all people – men, women, children, Christian, Muslim – without home, shelter, or access to food and medical care. Christians cannot pretend like on-going war in Israel is acceptable. We must call for peace because the cost inflicted upon Gaza by Israel is astronomically higher than anything Israel suffered from Hamas.
So, what is the Christian vision for peace?
Christians must be firmly committed to calling for both the cessation of all hostilities and the reconciliation of all peoples. To do this we must believe that war, while inevitable, is wrong because God created all people in his image and fashioned one race upon this earth. And because we live in this fallen world, we have to understand that we are called to be agents of God’s grace and reconciliation, and, if necessary, we must be willing to lay our lives down even before our enemies for that cause. Then we will be prepared to deal with the realities of this broken world. We must recognize the practical realities of our time. Nations will fight wars. Some wars will be fought in particularly ruthless manners, while others will be fought with some regard for innocent life. So, we must use wisdom to limit and constrain the worst effects of warfare while we seek peace.
I see value for Christian peacemaking in the principles of the Just War theory while simultaneously rejecting them as a suitable guide for Christian involvement in war because I believe the Christian voice can only be an advocate for peace when it denounces war from the outset. The moment we as Christians affirms a war, we lose our capacity to seek that war’s end. This is why were the Just War has been embraced as a guide for Christian involvement in war it has never once, to my knowledge, effected any opposition to the war being fought by the nation in which the Christians lived. For example, the only Christians in Nazi Germany who opposed Germany’s war were those who opposed all war. However, when applied as principles to limit war by those who oppose war, these principles can be useful to the process of peacemaking as they can provide a framework to limit the scope of war in nations who do not share our essential convictions. So, Christians should demand Israel’s military leadership set clear military objectives with reasonable chances of success so that we can at least impose some reasonable limitations upon the conflict. Again, Christians should hold Israel accountable to fight this war in proportional measure, which would ensure this war doesn’t spill over into genocide, as I believe it has done now. But, even more than this, Christians should be the first ones in with relief for everyone. We should be the ones who stay long after the bullets have stopped flying to teach peoples how to reconcile. We have to be the ones who simultaneously demand that people deal truthfully with reality and extend every grace necessary to bring about forgiveness, restoration, reconciliation, and healing. And lastly, we have to realize that this vision for peace is not going to be cast from within the nations, who rage against the LORD, but that it will only be cast from within the Kingdom of God by those who walk according to the commandments of Jesus.
A Dedicated Faith 