Should Christians fight (for what’s right)?
Martin Luther King Jr.’s Christian faith was the driving force behind his decision to lead peaceful protests during the Civil Rights movement. In his words, “We adopt the means of nonviolence because our end is a community at peace with itself.”
Peace, to him, was the presence of righteousness-- a society that treats everyone fairly-- rather than the absence of conflict. In his view, sometimes protesting, taking to the streets, blocking traffic, and disrupting businesses were justified because Christians are called to stand up for what’s right.
But many Christians at the time disagreed that the Bible endorses protesting and called on him to stop. In their view, protests could never really be peaceful in the way that Jesus intended because protesting promotes conflict and bad feelings. True peace, to them, meant the absence of conflict, and true righteousness could only exist if peace came first. “Fighting,” in other words, could never be right, even if it was technically “peaceful,” regardless of the cause.
Today, Christians continue to disagree about how we should politically engage with one another about issues that matter, especially when the stakes are human lives. When, if ever, should Christians argue about politics? At what point should Christians take to the streets to stand up for what’s right? Should Christians ever engage in violence or support going to war? In other words, when the stakes are high, should Christians fight for what’s right?
Your answer will depend on how you interpret Jesus’ calls for both peace and righteousness.
How Christians across the political spectrum have answered this question
“Yes, Jesus calls us to stand up for what’s right, and sometimes that requires ‘fighting’”
Jesus’ command to “love your neighbor as yourself” means that we should take a stand for our neighbors who are in need or who are facing oppression
Jesus calls us to be “the salt and the light” and to be both “hearers and doers.” This means that we should stand up for what’s right.
Jesus’ command to “turn the other cheek” was not meant to discourage conflict. We can only achieve true peace when everyone is treated equitably, and sometimes we need to fight to achieve that.
“No, Jesus calls us to be peaceful and to forgive in all circumstances”
Jesus’ command to “love your neighbor as yourself” means that we should empathize with people who disagree with us or act in ways we think are wrong-- not fight them.
Jesus said “Blessed are the peacemakers” and “judge not lest ye be judged“ because he valued peace more than righteousness.
Jesus’ command to “turn the other cheek” means that we should forgive one another rather than engage in political disagreements, protests, or wars.
Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount
Jesus delivered the Sermon on the Mount early in his career after successfully amassing a small following while preaching throughout Galilee. The sermon is widely considered to be the most comprehensive summary of his teachings– a survey of his greatest hits from the Golden Rule to “turn the other cheek” to “judge not lest ye be judged”-- and its meaning has been the subject of centuries of theological debate. Two core themes of the sermon that Jesus returns to repeatedly are the significance of peace and the importance of living righteously. But what about when standing up for what’s right makes people uncomfortable? Does living righteously sometimes mean making things feel a little less peaceful? Should Christians fight? As you read Jesus’ famous sermon, consider what peace and righteousness really mean and what that says about how we’re called to politically engage as Christians.
Read the New Testament passage
How this passage builds on the Old Testament
Jesus says in the Sermon on the Mount, ““Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished.” Here, he is referring to Jewish law as it is written in the Hebrew Bible. Jesus offered a new interpretation of Jewish law— one that he thought was more accurate than the interpretation put forward by the Pharisees and Sadducees. We can read the Sermon on the Mount as Jesus’ view of how we should live out the laws described in Exodus and Leviticus. These laws include the Ten Commandments, covenant codes (which lay out God’s civil and ethical commandments in more detail), and the Holiness code (guidelines for living purely).
While some religious leaders during Jesus’ lifetime attempted to enforce these laws legalistically, Jesus emphasized that following the law is more about changing your heart and understanding the intent of the law than it is about demonstrating specific outward behaviors. To really follow the law, Christians need to go above and beyond the letter of the law and embrace the spirit of it. As you read through these laws, consider how they add to our understanding of Jesus’ message about “the law” in the Sermon on the Mount. What’s important about the law, and what are the implications of the law for his messages about both peace and righteousness?
Read the Old Testament passages
Now that you’ve read the scripture…
Reflect
What are you thinking and feeling right now?
Request
Ask God to open your heart and your mind to a different perspective. Challenge yourself to see another point of view— even if you don’t agree with it.
Respond
Thank God for working through scripture and through the people around you. If you’re about to discuss this section with other people, pray for them and for your time together.
Questions for reflection & discussion
How does the idea of “fighting” make you feel? To what extent do you think your feelings should inform how you politically engage? If you don’t like the idea of fighting, do you think that fighting can ever be the right thing to do in spite of your feelings about it?
Think back to the previous section about “the enemy.” How does the Sermon on the Mount challenge your understanding of the enemy? What does Jesus mean when he says “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you”? How can we do this while also resisting the enemy?
Jesus says that he has not come to overturn the law but to fulfill it. What do you think he means by that? How should we interpret Mosaic law in light of Jesus’ teachings?
Where in the Sermon on the Mount do you see calls for righteousness and where do you see calls for peace? Do you think the Sermon primarily calls for one or the other?
To what extent do you think your view of whether Christians should “fight” depends on the issue? For example, do you think that Christians should “fight” for social or racial justice? What about “traditional” approaches to sex, gender, and marriage? Do you think that your opinion about whether/when Christians should fight is consistent?
Where do you see Jesus’ humanity in this sermon? Where do you see his divinity? Do you see this sermon as political? Why or why not?
Martin Luther King Jr., frustrated with many Christians’ opposition to his protests, at one point posed the question, “Is organized religion too inextricably bound to the status quo to save our nation and our world?” How would you answer that? Do you think the church should take a stand on controversial topics, and if so, how?
What does Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount tell us about whether and how Christians should engage politically?
The sermon instructs listeners to be the Salt and the Light, demonstrate love for enemies, live righteously like the prophets, and be peacemakers all at the same time. Do you think that’s possible, and if so, how?
When, if ever, should Christians argue, protest, fight, or go to war? How do you differentiate between these modes of political engagement and how do you determine when each is appropriate?
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