ISIS attacked Paris, exploded a Russian aircraft, and declared that New York and Washington will be their next targets. What exactly does ISIS want to do? And should we have hostilities against ISIS? The war with ISIS has become the biggest threat that Europe have ever met since World War II. Should every young Christian arm ourselves and join the war against terrorism?
Some people think that they can find some scriptures from the Bible to support their revenge. ‘Exodus 21:23-25’ records very rigorous rules that God gave to the people of Israel. What's more, God had also warned the people of about the wiping out of all the Amalekites for they had been persecuted. In addition, people of Israel were also called “The army of Jehovah.” One third of the Psalms talks about cursing enemies. If we only take the Old Testament as a reference, we may believe that God is teaching us to use violence. However, when we turn to the New Testament, we can find a totally opposite answer. In ‘Matthew 5:38-39’, Jesus tells us “Do not resist the one who is evil.” In ‘Mathew 6:19’ : But if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. And in ‘Romans12:19’："Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord."
Whether you are an active war advocator or a blind pacifist, as Christians we can list our reasons from the Bible. But we should be careful that we should look for God’s will from the Bible rather then use the Bible desperately to support our opinions.
In addition to the extreme commitment to God, we must be careful of any other extremism.
It does not matter whether you are for or against any forms of war towards ISIS. We all should know that our inner motives should reflect God’s will.
Putting your own understanding into war and taking it as a part of your belief and then making use of the belief to speak for your will, that is the real danger in belief.
What matters most is that we should constantly pray to God for ISIS and the people who are suffering from ISIS’s violence. And then put your love to the people who surrounds you, such as your colleagues, friends, neighbors, and family. That is the real meaning of our belief.
