By Captain Sam Tomlin (Corps officer, Liverpool Stoneycroft Corps)
War has once again come to Europe. The tangible shock and horror is evident across the world. Writing but a few weeks after Russia invaded Ukraine, all major news outlet leads with updates, and almost every other news item is pushed well aside.
What ought followers of Jesus to make of this war, and war more generally? Specifically for the purpose of this article, how should Salvationists respond? Is it possible to love your enemy and kill them, as just war theory suggests, or is a pacifist approach a more faithful route for discipleship, where lethal violence is off the table? We have been here before, of course, and in order to answer this question, it will be important to briefly reflect on how our predecessors have responded.
Continue reading “Can you love someone and kill them? A reflection on war, pacifism and the Salvation Army”