War

I've written about just war before. And, there are a lot of peaceniks out there that spin their view, as we all do. But, I do not believe in peace at all costs. It didn't work for Chamberlain, and it's not a safe practice. But anyway, there is a conception in popular culture that war is hate. We all know that hate is wrong, right? Right. However, this association, believed by many (between war and hate) is just not true. Granted, in war soldiers often come to hate their enemy. However, I do not have to hate to kill. Does a pilot who drops a bomb hate the workers in the nuclear weapons facility that the bomb kills? I doubt it. The pilot just pushed a button. They don't even know the people the bomb may kill. How can he hate them? Sure, he or she may hate the people or hate the enemy. But, I can kill a person without hating them. I would kill a person I love to prevent the taking of the lives of my wife or daughter. So, where is this kill/hate relationship? It's a psychological association that serves the peaceniks. When we see violence in the news, it can be scary. Fear is good, it's what protects us from danger. However, we should not make a decision based on emotion. We should not let fear cloud our judgment. Decisions about security and safety should be made based in logic. In the NIV version of the Bible, it doesn't say not to kill (as it does in most modern versions), it says do not murder. Murder is very different. Murder is for hate, revenge, gain, etc. Killing in war (just war) is for defence or for protection of self or others. It is not the same thing at all. When St. Peter cut off the slave's ear, Jesus told him to put away his sword; Jesus knew that He had to die for us. He didn't say, "Peter! What the hell are you doing with a sword!" Jesus even said at one point in the Gospel that a time would come when we would have to take up a sword. When the soldier asked Jesus what he had to do to be saved, Jesus told him to not extort money from others and be happy with what he had. Jesus did not say, "Well, you can't be a soldier." God told the Israelites to kill all the people that lived in the land that He was giving His people. Kill? So the NIV version says murder, eh? I wonder what the most direct translation of the Hebrew says. People and nations have a right to defend themselves. When are people going to realize that man can not bring world peace? Only God can do that.