----- Original Message -----
From: Terry Clifton
Sent: Sunday, January 26, 2003 4:30 PM
Subject: [TruthTalk] God and war
My grand son is in the army, just volunteered to go to Kuwait. To him it is a great adventure. Got me to wondering; how Christian is it to participate in a war where you are the agressor? The Bible is chock full of wars in the Old Testament, but Christ never taught that to His followers. It was "Go the extra mile, give the shirt off your back, and turn the other cheek. Don't go for all you can get here. Lay up treasures in Heaven. The things of the world are just stuff, and stuff rots and rusts, and goes out of style."
I don't want to appear unpatriotic, but It is far more important to me to please my Lord than to please my government, and it appears impossible from my view to please both.
Will someone who has thought this through please give me your findings?
Terry
Michael D:
I have observed a phenomenon over the last decade or so, that I find very curious. Whenever the U.S. engages other nations in war, or gets into war manouvres (minor or major) Many natural disasters seem to follow in the U.S.
I have seen this in the form of megastorm damage, major fires, severe blizzards, major floodings from the giant rivers, earthquake(California) etc.
Unfortunately, I haven't documented the instances, but I have observed that pattern over time. I suspect that if we could itemize the major natural disasters in that time period, we would see a significant correlation (I know correlation does not prove causation, but I believe there is causation).
I am not trying to be critical, here, especially since I tend to side with the U.S. on many of the troubling issues, myself.
I have made a similar observation about Australia. Since the major refugee crisis, and the hardline stance of the Prime Minister in the issue (which to many seemed heartless and callous) Australia has been suffering severely from fire disasters. I remember that God told the Israelites that they must be careful about the treatment of strangers in the land, since they were once strangers in Egypt. Probably, the Aussies would do well to be guided in their treatment of the refugees in this light. I believe that the believers in Australia need to repent on behalf of their Government and seek God's mercy for their country and a solution to the troubling issue of the refugees, so that they can be delivered from the fire disasters that have plagued them recently.
Be sure, folks, that I am not pronouncing judgementon others, nor rejoicing in their calamities, but God's principles govern everything that occurs in our lives and the lives of our respective nations. Jesus said, blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.
Again, in our nation, we have problems with illegal immigrants, and it often bothers me. It can bring so much ill (strain on the economy, erosion of values, etc.) But God sees two sides of that coin. I think God is after Lawful practices, as well as compassionate solutions. I believe it takes much wisdom and a will to act to find those solutions.
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