The so-called Jehovah’s
Witnesses teach that separation from the world means that Christians must not
vote or otherwise participate in politics or public affairs or serve in the
military (not even to defend their country against aggression). The separation
taught in the Bible is godly conduct, distinctions, and relationships within
society, separation from the sins of society, and is not isolation from society
or neutrality concerning politics, community affairs, or even war. (Matthew
22:21; Romans 13:1-7; Ephesians 5:3-11; I Timothy 2:1-2; I Peter 2:11-12)
Man is a natural-born
sinner, inherently depraved. It is not human government that is sinful or
wicked but rather those who comprise human government, which is why Christian
influence is essential. Christians are the salt of the earth and the light of
the world. Salt cleanses, purifies, preserves, and makes people thirsty, and
light dispels darkness. Christians are supposed to be a cleansing and
illuminating influence, impacting society and culture for righteousness.
(Matthew 5:13-16)
Should we interpret the
words of Christ in Matthew 6:9-11 to mean that He was promoting laziness and
idleness? No, a good job should be considered an answer to prayer for
necessities. The exhortation to pray for all men and for all that are in
authority does not imply neutrality regarding politics and community affairs;
opportunities to influence society and culture and participate in politics and
community affairs should be considered answers to such prayers. (I Timothy
2:1-2)
The Watchtower Society
forbids JWs from joining the armed forces for any reason, and they will not
baptize a member of the armed forces until he leaves the armed forces. (Anyone
remember Cornelius? -Acts 10) Where in the Bible is any soldier told to resign
from the armed forces? God ordained human government to protect the people and
punish criminals, including criminal nations, and having armed forces is part
of God's purpose for human government. A soldier merely doing his duty is not a
murderer; a soldier is a representative of the government and it is the
government that bears responsibility for the killing involved. (Romans 13:1-4;
I Peter 2:13-14) Granted, sometimes human governments (being composed of humans)
abuse or exceed their authority, but that is another issue. The same God who
said "Thou shalt not kill" also told His people to fight wars and
execute various criminals, and a passage must be understood or interpreted in
relation to its context and the whole Bible. In Exodus 20:13 the word rendered
"kill" (Hebrew: Ratsach) means illicit premeditated murder. In the
Old Testament different Hebrew words were used for killing in self-defense,
killing in the line of duty, etc... In the Old Testament, military service was
the duty of all able-bodied adult males (with the exception of Levites), and
the vast majority of them were what we refer to today as Reservists or National
Guardsmen; the words of Christ that are often used to promote pacifism were
initially spoken to people still living under the Old Law Covenant, and should
be understood or interpreted accordingly. (Numbers 1; consider II Timothy 2:15;
3:16)
What about Matthew 5:39?
“But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on
thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.” (Matthew 5:39) This is not
condemning self-defense or military service, Christ was using an idiom. Note
that the Greek word here rendered "smite" is Rhapizo, which means
"slap." This does not imply anything against left-handed people, but
most people are right-handed, and it is necessary to approach someone
from behind to slap the right cheek with the right hand; this is dealing with backbiting.
What about Matthew 26:52
(a favorite JW proof text)? “Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword
into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword.”
(Matthew 26:52) Again, the passage must be interpreted or understood in
relation to context. “And while he yet spake, lo, Judas, one of the twelve, came,
and with him a great multitude with swords and staves, from the chief priests
and elders of the people. Now he that betrayed him gave them a sign, saying,
Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is he: hold him fast. And forthwith he came
to Jesus, and said, Hail, master; and kissed him. And Jesus said unto him,
Friend, wherefore art thou come? Then came they, and laid hands on Jesus, and
took him. And, behold, one of them which were with Jesus stretched out his
hand, and drew his sword, and struck a servant of the high priest's, and smote
off his ear. Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place:
for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword. Thinkest thou
that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than
twelve legions of angels? But how then shall the scriptures be fulfilled, that
thus it must be? In that same hour said Jesus to the multitudes, Are ye come
out as against a thief with swords and staves for to take me? I sat daily with
you teaching in the temple, and ye laid no hold on me. But all this was done,
that the scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled. Then all the disciples
forsook him, and fled.” (Matthew 26:47-56)
What about Isaiah 2:4 and
similar passages? “And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many
people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into
pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they
learn war any more.” (Isaiah 2:4) Bible prophecies dealing with the actions of
nations that will be inevitable because of the complete absence of the threat
of war and the universality of righteousness or godliness obviously do not
relate to what we should be doing right now.
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