On War

From "In the Spirit of Transparency" - October 12, 2001

How should we as a community of Christ’s disciples conduct ourselves during these days of heightened alarm and concern brought about the September 11th terrorist attacks against America? What role should we play in our country’s quest for justice and security and in the war our country has declared against terrorism? As always, we look to God’s Word in Scripture for the answers to these questions.

Revelation 12 describes John’s vision of a horrific war that started in the heavens, a vision with eerie parallels to recent and current events. “A woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and a crown of twelve stars on her head. She was with child and wailed aloud in pain as she labored to give birth. Then appeared a huge red dragon. Its tail swept away a third of the stars in the sky and hurled them down to the earth. Then the dragon stood before the woman about to give birth, to devour her child when she gave birth.”

Setting aside but fully respecting the Church’s understanding of these symbols, the woman in the vision could have very well been our country or people. The sun could have symbolized God’s abundant blessings, the moon under her feet America’s economic, political and military preeminence among nations, and the crown of twelve stars America’s union. The child she bore is freedom. The red dragon represents the evil of terrorism, its tail the airplane hijackers. A third of the skies hurled down to the earth the three buildings destroyed by the hijackers.

Revelation 12 continues: “Her child was caught up to God and His throne.” God originally gave us our freedom. He won our freedom back for us when we lost it to sin. We can be certain that even in the midst of the devil’s attack, God will safeguard our freedom for us. Here we find our first direction from the Word: true freedom is possible only when we are united to the will of God, when our faith resides fully in God our Father and Sovereign Lord. When we are “caught up to God”, the enemy can not catch up with us.

“The woman herself fled into the desert where she had a place prepared by God, that there she might be taken care of for twelve hundred and sixty days.” Here we find our second direction: we are not to trust in ourselves to do battle alone with the enemy. Rather, we must flee to the protecting arms of God, where, emptied of our worldly power and wisdom, He relieves our fears, removes our confusion, heals our hurts, strengthens our droopy arms and legs, and fills us with courageous resolve.

Does the verse, “The woman herself fled into the desert where she had a place prepared by God, that there she might be taken care of for twelve hundred and sixty days” suggest that we should avoid war? Yes, it does. This supports the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) statement that, “the fifth commandment forbids the intentional destruction of human life. Because of the evils and injustices that accompany all war, the Church insistently urges everyone to prayer and to action so that the divine Goodness may free us from the ancient bondage of war. All citizens and all governments are obliged to work for the avoidance of war” (2307-08).

But how can we reconcile this Church teaching with Rev 12:7: “Then war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels battled against the dragon”? Could we infer from this that the Lord authorized Michael and his angels to fight the dragon, which symbolized Satan and the fallen angels? If so, doesn’t this verse suggest that there are certain circumstances under which a “just war” may be waged?

The war in heaven started when Satan, wanting to be like God, rejected the Lord and His reign. Driven away from God’s kingdom- “I have observed Satan fall like lightning from the sky” (Lk 10:18), Satan waged his rebellious war on earth. By successfully seducing Adam and Eve, the devil introduced sin and death to man. Thus, Jesus said of Satan in John 8:44, “He was a murderer from the beginning.” To save mankind from eternal destruction, God declared war on the devil: “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; He will strike at your head, while you strike at His heel” Gen 3:15. Early on, God sent His prophets to lead man back to Him and away from sin (Heb 1:1). When His prophets went unheeded, God sent His only Son to destroy the works of the devil (1 Jn 3:8), to free us from sin and death.

From these verses, we can conclude that there are certain conditions that may warrant the waging of a “just war”. CCC 2309 lists down several conditions for “legitimate defense by military force: a lasting, grave and certain damage inflicted by the aggressor (sin and death); impractical or ineffective alternative means of ending aggression (prophets); serious prospects of success (Son of God); the use of arms must not produce evils and disorders graver than the evil to be eliminated (what is produced is freedom). These conditions are present in America’s war against terrorism.

In a just war, the battle is the Lord’s, because it is a battle between good and evil. In a just war, we as citizens of this country and as Christian disciples have an obligation to assume responsibilities necessary for national defense. If we are for the good, then we must fight evil. There is no middle ground.