Ethics Week 11 – the Sixth Commandment Continued – Just War, Suicide, Abortion

The sixth commandment and War
- Little about the ethics of war in scripture
- Consummation of history is peace not war
o Isa 2:4
o Isa 9:6-7
- Special honor to those who seek peace
o Ps 46:9
o Matt 5:9
o Even David could not build the temple because he was a man of war
 I Chron 22:18-19, 28:3
- The Kingdom of God is not to be advanced by war under the New Covenant
o Matt 26:52
o John 18: 1-11
o Spiritual Warfare alone
 Ephh 6:10-20
- Warfare is sometimes necessary in a world where sin is a reality
o Sword given to the civil magistrate
 Acts 25:11
 Rom 13:4
o It is God who allows the warrior to prevail
 Ps 144:1
 Abraham and lot
• Gen 14:13-16
o Destruction of the Canaanite tribes
 Deut 20:16-18
 Deut 7:1-5
 These are difficult verses for many
• This was a specific situation because of the promise of the land and was never repeated and should not be
o War against other nations
 Duet 20: 12-14
 Deut 21:1-14
 This is a holy war
• Involved ritual cleansing – Deut 21:10-14
o No other specific ethical categories for entering and waging a war in scripture besides these commanded by God
Two views of War by Christians : Pacifism and Just War theory
- Christianity and Pacifism
o Denies war is ever legitimate or justifiable
 John Howard Yoder, Ronald Sider,
 Contrary to the law of love
 Romans 13
• Gives the civil ruler a legitimate authority to wield the sword against wickedness
• Oppose attacks to peace from within and without the nation
o Weak in its understanding of War in the OT
 Claims that God permitted war because of their hardness of heart as he then permitted divorce (Mark 10:2-9)
 Ignores the fact that God commanded war
• Judges 2:1-5
• ! Sam 15
 Soldiers in NT never told to leave their occupation
• Luke 3:14
• Matt 27:54
• Luke 7:9
• Acts 10, 2, 22, 35
o Appeal to church fathers
 Lactanbtius – war violated the law of love
 Justin Martyr, Origin
• Opposed Christian joining the army
• But prayed for national armies to be victorious
 Tertullian –
• Problem with subjection to pagan oaths and ceremonies in the military
 Hardly a definitive pacifistic bent
o What about killing a fellow Christian in War
 Soldiers are part of the civil government 0 instrument for justice
- Just war Theory
o Deals with issues of war using natural law
 A roman Catholic theory to begin with
 We should understand this concept but make scripture the final authority not natural law
o Just War rules
 Just cause – all aggression is condemned, only defensive war is legitimate
 Just intention – only legitimate intention is peace for all involved, not conquest or economic gain, or ideological supremacy
• No wars against communism in other words
 Last resort – only when all negotiations and com[promise failed
 Formal declaration- state of war must be declared by the highest authorities of a nation
 Limited Objectives – unconditional surrender, or destruction of nation’s economic to political institutions is an unwarranted objective
 Proportionate means – only what is needed to repel aggression and deter future attacks, secure peace
 Noncombatant immunity – only official agents of the government may be targets, civilians POW’s and casualties free from attack since they cannot actively contribute
 Comparative justice – ware should not be waged unless the evils that are fought are grave enough o justify killing
 Probability of success – must be reasonable likelihood that the war will achieve its aims
 Good faith in treaties and agreements
o Really a series of questions that must be asked about war
o Analysis
 Just Cause – disagreement about current threats and seeking justice for past wrongs
• Deut 30
o Israel is the aggressor
 Just intention
• High priority ins scripture on achieving peace
o Ps 34:14
o I Peter 3:11
o Rom 14:19
• Israel’s wars in Canaan
o Involved retributive justice, conquest, ideological supremacy
• Almost all revolutions are over ideology
• War against Nazis was ideology
 Last resort – When is it a last resort – very complicated
 Formal declarations – complications of modern governments
 Limited Objectives – Nazis – could we have accepted less?
• Israel’s wars all demanded unconditional surrender
 Proportionate means –
• Unnecessary killing should be avoided
o Deut 20:10-11
o Amos 1: 3, 11, 13
• Overwhelming force can often shorten wears and thus save lives in the long run
• How can we judge before the battle how much force will be needed
 Noncombatant immunity – terrorism, and other operations make it hard to distinguish
 Comparative justice – difficult to apply
 Probability of success – how?
• American revolution
 Good faith in treaties and agreements –
• Amos 1:9
- Scriptural
o Natural law sounds good, but as we see from our analysis solves nothing in real world applications, just war theorists have been on both sides of entering almost every war
o Conscientious objections should be available to Christians who cannot support a particular war
o Preemptive strikes – may be necessary for protections
 Wars of Israel show this
o Sanctity of Life should always apply – sixth commandment
 Noncombatants – minimize loss of life
o Deterrents are viable means to minimize life
Sixth Commandment to protect life
- Abortion
o Overall Value of Life ion scripture despite no explicit command against abortion
o Exodus 22:22-25
 Case 1 – no harm – “came out” – most naturally describes premature birth
• Since there is no harm, issues is with pain and induced birth, not murder – so punishment determined by husband and judges
 Case 2 – there is harm – mother of child punishment is the same – life for life
 There is no concern for intent to harm the child
o Psalm 139: 13-16
 Reference to unborn life as fully personal
 General biblical usage
• Jon 31:15-18
o Psalm 51:5
 Unborn David referred to as a sinner
o Judges 13:3-5
 Samson’s mother had to keep nazarite prescriptions while she was pregnant with him – so as not to defile the living person
o Luke 1:35
 Was Jesus less than a person at any time?
o Carefulness
 We are to care for all human life, even if people only see that there may be a chance a fetus is a person – Matt 5:22-23
o Scientific Evidence
 Ultrasound, physical characteristics
o Can abortion ever be justified
 The father may be guilty but the baby is innocent (rape etc.)
 Except for mothers defense – aggression principle
o We are obligated to defend the weak and powerless
 Ps 72:12-14
 Ps 82: 3-4
 Principled but flexible
• Support any limits while seeking to rid the world of abortion
- Death
o Scripture defines death by breath
 Job 9:18
 Ps 104:29
 John 19:30
o Medicine denies it by irreversible cessation so circulatory and respiratory functions or brain functions
o Killing and Letting Die
 No guilt from letting someone die when we cannot help, or choosing to save one life over another
• Wrong to let someone die when we have the ability to help
 Death is inevitable
• The attempt to prolong life indefinitely is not a Christian duty
• Often it is right for one to give his life for another
o John 10:11
o ! John 3:16
 Care for the Sick and Wounded
• Ordinary care v. extraordinary care
o Expensive, difficult and scarce
• Reasons for withholding care
o Prolonging life v. relieving suffering
 Prolonging life my just be prolonging dying
o Expense and burdens to family members
 Phil 1:2-24
o Scarcity
 Who is best served by receiving the care – transplants
 Euthanasia
• Different from not providing scarce and expensive care or prolonging suffering
• God’s special care for disabled
• Very dangerous slippery slope without the patient’s wishes being heard
- Suicide
o Suicide is a violation of the sixth commandment
 Judg 9: 52-54
 I Sam 31:3-5
 2 Sam 17:23
 I Kings 16:18-19
 Matt 27:3-5
o Frustrations with life
 Num 11:12-15
 I Kings 19:4
 Jonha 4:1-11
o People who contemplate suicide are in need of special care by the church and fellow Christians
 Not judging
 A sin but not unforgiveable
 Not the same as those who lay down their lives for others
• Judges 16:28-31
 Not wrong to refuse treatment when we know the burden it would be on others, but different from killing ourselves
- Health and Safety
o Alcohol
 Prov 20:1
 Isa 5:11
 Ps 104:15
 John 2:3-11
 1 Tim 5:23
 Scripture does approve of using alcohol to improve our mood and for medicine
 When alcohol affects our health, endangers others, or affects our caring for others it is sin
o Tobacco
 Dangerous on many levels
 Hard to reconcile freedom with health in this area
o Drugs
 Medicinal use of all substances is not against biblical principles
 Allowing drugs to control or damage us or others is sin
o Food Drink and exercise
 Gluttony is sinful
 Consistent biblical examples to take care of our physical and mental well-bring
- The Environment
o God cares for all life one earth
 Job 39-40
 Os 104:11-30
 Jonha 4:11
 Matt 6:26
o Kindness to animals
 Ex 0:10
 Ex 23:5,12
 Deut 22:4
 Prov 12:10
 John 10:11
o Preserving nature
 DEeut 20:19
 Is 11:6-8
 Rev 22:2
o The cultural mandate does not justify the destruction of the environment
 Man cannot fill and subdue the earth if he destroys its resources
 Not all forms of life are equal so human life has priority
• But the planet is our responsibility as well
• stewardship
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