JMJ: All Christian warriors, be they medieval knights to modern policemen or military men, to those of us committed to warfare in the spiritual realm have wrestled with the same question: How do we reconcile the seemingly contradictory teachings of Christ and the Old Testament which call us to arms for the Lord's sake, and the compassionate teachings of "love thy neighbor". Where do we draw the line between a disdain for evil and love for our fellow man? These are murky and muddy waters that perhaps have no perfect answer, it is one of those questions that Christians are probably destined to wrestle with until the end of time. I won't pretend that I have an answer that is any better than that, but I'm going to try to give my own take on the matter...I guess you could say this is how I sleep at night...
I hate war in any form, this is includes spiritual warfare that I actively participate in. I wish that it weren't necessary but it has been shown throughout history that it is more often than any of us would like to admit. I believe that this is due to the presence of evil in this world. If it weren't for this presence than war would not exist. Everytime a pray the rosary I see it in three parts, the first and the most important is the adoration of the mysteries of Christ, and the honor of Mary His mother and ours. The second is in reparation for our sins, both mine as an individual and those of the world along with any petitions I may have at the time. The third is an assault on the demonic realm and it's associates both human and spiritual in nature. In this way we can see how the war is for the greater good, the adoration of mysteries of Christ and the honor of Mary, but it's cause is evil; that is, our own sins and the sins of the world and the influence of the demonic realm. This is true of physical warfare as well, they are generally fought for the greater good with sins being present on all sides, and the demonic realm being the major cause because of the turmoil it creates.
It is my opinion that warfare is only justified when it becomes a threat to the Church, the body of Christ on earth. As such, warfare will always be present because of the presence of evil in this world. But it should be tempered with compassion, that is, it should always be a last resort in the physical realm because human beings are essentially good and peace can often be achieved through non-violent means. However, if evil and embedded itself in the heart of an enemy that peace cannot be achieved through non-violent means (as with ISIS for example) than war, though not desirable, becomes necessary. Unfortunately, in the spiritual realm there is no option for peace as there can be no negotiation with pure evil which is the enemy we face.
In the end the bottom line is that spiritual warfare will always be necessary because of the presence of pure evil in this world, but we should ALWAYS temper our instincts for physical warfare with love and compassion if and when it is possible. When it is proven impossible we should not hesitate to take up the sword if that is what we really and truly feel is necessary in order to live in accordance with the teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ. Now yourself again, do you REALLY feel it is necessary?
In Christ,
Matthew Stephen Abraham
