This piece came to me last week indirectly from Scott Horton, host of the AntiWar.com podcast and now the Scott Horton Show for, well, nearly forever! Scott is a great guy and well worth listening to if you’re interested in Middle East foreign policy. To be clear, LCI didn’t write the following but we certainly agree with it!
—
Ron Paul made it ok for Christian conservatives to be anti-war.
Scott discussed this on the Bad Roman podcast, which deals with the relationship between Christianity and the state.
Here are three reasons why Christians can be anti-war, taken from that interview.
1. Christians can be anti-war without being commies
Look at Ron Paul. A pro-life Texas Republican who married his high school sweetheart. He served in the military, worked as a doctor, and delivered thousands of babies. He is anti-war because he is a Christian. He thinks the Golden Rule applies to foreign policy. Scott paints the contrast:
“If somebody had given you the impression that you have to sign up with Jane Fonda and Michael Moore and become a communist and hate America in order to be anti-war, then that was misinformation.”
The host of the Bad Roman podcast, Craig Harguess, booed Ron Paul back in 2008 and 2012, but has since been won over to the anti-war side. He could no longer reconcile his Christian faith with U.S. foreign policy.
Who could?
2. U.S. foreign policy often intentionally harms women and children
The United States has helped Saudi Arabia target the civilian infrastructure of Yemen. They bomb irrigation, water treatment, hospitals, grain silos, wheat fields, and even flocks of sheep. At the same time the U.S. has blockaded Yemeni ports, preventing food from reaching the starving population. As a direct result, men, women, and children are starving to death on a massive scale. And the worst cholera outbreak in modern history has killed thousands of children under the age of five.
How can Christians go along with this? Scott points out the obvious hypocrisy:
“If Jesus was here, Jesus would be a tough guy Republican who doesn’t care who the Air Force helps to murder, because AMERICA? I know enough about the New Testament to know that that’s just not true. People have got to decide where their true priorities lie.”
Why is the U.S. involved in Yemen? Trump aided Saudi because it created jobs. Obama got involved to “placate the Saudis.” In other words, because the U.S. is involved in the “entangling alliances” that George Washington warned against.
3. Endless war is bad for our country
Christians who love their country can hate war. In fact, it might be the only way to save it.
“How are you going to keep that Bill of Rights, how are you going to keep a Constitution that describes a limited federal republic, when America is a world empire?”
Christians and libertarians can agree—there is a standard higher than congressional law.
The post 3 Reasons Christians Can Be Anti-War appeared first on Libertarian Christian Institute.
Related Stories
- Weekend Insights – Craig Cesal released!
- Weekend Insights – Let speech be free!
- Weekend Insights – Of Philosophers and Pasta Shortages
The Libertarian Christian Institute is an educational and religious nonprofit organization that promotes libertarianism from a Christian point of view. LCI is convinced that libertarianism is the most consistent expression of Christian political thought. LCI is ecumenical in nature, welcoming all those who confess the traditional creeds of the universal church. Visit https://libertarianchristians.com