C. S. Lewis on how Christians justify their attitude of supporting war

    According to C. S. Lewis, Christian love is wishing for the loved one’s ultimate good, and Christians should not confuse love with affectionate feeling. So love everyone, even those you detest. If they become an unbearable threat to your beliefs or body, kill them. But love them as you do so, and forevermore. Hear C. S. Lewis:

You are told to love your neighbour as yourself. How do you love yourself? When I look into my own mind, I find that I do not love myself by thinking myself a dear old chap or having affectionate feelings. I do not think that I love myself because I am particularly good, but just because I am myself and quite apart from my character. I might detest something which I have done. Nevertheless, I do not cease to love myself. In other words, that definite distinction that Christians make between hating sin and loving the sinner is one that you have been making in your own case since you were born. You dislike what you have done, but you don’t cease to love yourself. You may even think that you ought to be hanged. You may even think that you ought to go to the Police and own up and be hanged. Love is not affectionate feeling, but a steady wish for the loved person’s ultimate good as far as it can be obtained. It seems to me, therefore, that when the worst comes to the worst, if you cannot restrain a man by any method except by trying to kill him, then a Christian must do that. That is my answer. But I may be wrong. It is very difficult to answer, of course. (Quoted from C. S. Lewis’ God in the Dock, p. 49.)
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    For a brief biography of C. S. Lewis, click here.

Comments

[Aaron Kelson]

Many Christians probably do justify their support for war as C.S. Lewis describes. I'm just glad that God doesn't love His children in quite the same manner! The opportunity to consider questions such as the one posed here would have passed long ago for all of us.

War, or destruction of the problem, is always an absolute last resort in God's expression of love for His children. We have to think of circumstances in terms of decades, centuries, and even millenia to comprehend the efforts God makes to avoid our destruction.

We, on the other hand, are quick to abandon patience, compassion, understanding, and gentle persuasion, in favor of the heavy correctional hand of conflict. Our "love" for our fellowmen is too often of the lazy and careless variety.