Christian and Libertarian challenges #3: War and the military

“...They would want a Mercenary Military vs a Standing Military. Also no military bases anywhere across the globe. Supporting their “live and let live” philosophy so that our enemy’s would never want to attack us, because we no longer are an imposing threat to them….”

War and the Military

Ah, foreign affairs and national security. This is going to be deep water. Our approach to this should be in line with our morality, otherwise we have no high ground. I'm game. Let's warm up with a few relevant quotes:

[Jesus] said to them, “But now let the one who has a moneybag take it, and likewise a knapsack. And let the one who has no sword sell his cloak and buy one.” -Luke 22:36

Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back into its place. For all who take the sword will perish by the sword….” -Matthew 26:52

“War. Huh. Good God, why'all. What is it good for?” -Edwin Starr

What do Christians believe about war? There's no one answer. At one end of the spectrum, some are believers in the Catholic jus bellum justum, or Just War Theory. On the other, some Christians are total pacifists. The one thing that Christians seem to agree on across the board is that war is sometimes necessary, but it is never good. It is to be expected, it is never to be desired.

When you look at libertarian principles, it is not all that different. Libertarians ascribe to the Non-Aggression Principle, or NAP. As applied to war, non-aggression means that we don’t start fights, and we avoid forceful intervention in the affairs of other countries. It's not pacifism, we should absolutely be able to defend ourselves. And it's not isolationism, we should welcome opportunities to engage with other countries peacefully. We can send voluntary aid to help innocents whose homes have been torn apart by war without adding to the destruction. (Or as my wife said: “Don’t start none, won’t be none!”)

As it is, we have been sending our forces into war to pursue things that our leaders deem to be national interests. We send troops and weapons to overthrow one dictator while selling arms to another. We claim to be fighting a “war on terror”, but some of our “allies” are known supporters of terrorists and have apparently used our bombs to commit genocide. We ought to be ashamed. This is not very Christian.

The point on whether we should have a “Mercenary” or a “Standing” military is an odd question. It seems to be an echo of the 1960’s debate on whether or not an all-volunteer military could be adequate to the task of national defense. Opponents to the push to end conscription claimed that an all-volunteer military would be a “mercenary” military. The Libertarian Party’s position is simply that conscription amounts to slavery. As many conscientious objections to the draft have been religious in nature, I think that this should not be objectionable to Christians.

As for having our military around the world: I would like to live in a world where we don’t need to worry about Kim Jong Un blowing up Seoul, Tokyo, and Guam. I am pragmatic enough to know that won’t happen overnight. We don’t want to trigger a renewal of hostilities, we don’t want to stay with the status quo, and simply appeasing North Korea has never worked either. As much as Trump’s tweets against Kim Jong Un have made me cringe, Pompeo’s efforts over there seem to have borne at least some fruit. I like the goal of South Korean safety without our troops being committed. I understand if the road to get there is slow.

The idea that enemies will never attack us if we are never a threat does seem rather optimistic. Our embrace of liberty as an ideal in America does not mean that other nations will do the same, and we have to be aware of that. The predominant Russian political idea, for example, is about as un-libertarian as it gets. I don’t believe that a sudden change in behavior on our part will stop them from carrying out assassinations on foreign soil, threatening interference in elections, swarming Twitter with anger-bots, or inciting wars in the middle east. We need to be able to respond to Putin’s atrocities, but we don’t want to be playing his game. In the Russian political mind, any time they get us fighting it is a victory for them. We can’t feed the chaos.

Foreign policy and warfare are complex issues, and we live in a world of rapid events and changes. We need to have solid grounding in our principles, or we will get swept up in a tide of chaos. If you are a soldier and a Christian, be a good soldier and a good Christian. Seek to serve justice and love kindness. That is the bottom line as I see it.

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