Myths about War

    A vital form of reading the Bible has always been straightforward engagement, disagreement not excluded, with the substance of a biblical text. After all, if it is not possible to challenge the truth claims of a biblical text, honest engagement with the text is precluded.

    If what we all need most is a loyal critic, how would that apply to a text that is foundational to the faith and practice of billions of people? Few people address the question directly. Regardless, the benchmarks and horizons by which war and peace are evaluated in the Bible have often been set aside since the Enlightenment; before that, lip service at most was commonly paid to them.

    In place of the vision of a millennium and a new heavens and a new earth found in texts like Isaiah 65-66 and Revelation 20-22, our age has been dominated by visions of secular philosophers. As a result no period of history has been darker and more blood-soaked than ours. The list of modern regimes who have freed themselves and continue to free themselves from a metaphysical framework and a rule of law within which they could be held accountable for their actions; the list of regimes who have made themselves the arbiter of truth and goodness; that list is very long. If that is the reality, if our own governments act and fail to act on the flimsiest of grounds, it is at least the case that the blood-soaked pages of the Bible may turn out to be a mirror of our own contradictions.

    The Bible is so many things at once that no single description can do it justice. Among other things, it can be described as an ancient compendium of critical theory. For example, Psalm 82 is a global critique of heaven and earth. It “reveals” the world of politics, “lays bare” the falsehood of its metaphysical underpinnings, and announces its demise. Isaiah 2:2-5 is a utopia and a call to action that views world history, as does Daniel 5:25-28, as an unmitigated disaster.  

    There are myths about war which biblical literature serves to unmask. There are lessons about war we might derive from its blood-soaked pages. Whether we read the Bible with the grain or against it, there are few texts which touch on questions of war and peace with greater obsessiveness.

    Here are ten theses about war and peace in the Bible, with links to the discussion of the first four:

Thesis 1: Violent and non-violent responses to violence are held up as models of faithfulness in the Bible.
Thesis 2: For the sake of a third party, or in the common interest, the use of violence is commanded in the Bible.
Thesis 3: We cannot live responsibly in our era without coming to grips with the problem of war. This fact makes the Hebrew Bible more relevant, not less, to the tasks which hang over us.
Thesis 4: It pleases God, to judge from the biblical narrative, for the needs of just one person to trump the logic of war.
(5) The state is expected to be a servant of God, but the Bible is critical of all instances of human authority. Varieties of anarchism grace its pages in more than one place.
(6) Defeat in war, not victory, is the turning point in the history of Israel which leads to renewal.
(7) The Bible knows full well that the one who lives by the sword will perish by the sword.
(8) Peace is not something that can be wished into existence. There is a time for peace, but there is also a time for war.
(9) Peace is God’s ultimate will. It is not only an end. It is a means to an end.
(10) Peace is inseparable from justice, truth, and reconciliation. Peace in the absence of the others is meaningless.

    Here is a session outline for a class on “The Bible and Current Events” on the topic of “War and Peace in the Bible.”

War and Peace in the Bible

Review and Q&A on Previous Sessions

Myths about war
Non-violent responses to violence
War as the Will of God
Wars of Liberation

Clips: Thinking about the War in Iraq
Assigned Texts: Isaiah 65-66; Daniel 5; Revelation 20-22
                        1 Maccabees 1:51-64; 2 Maccabees 7:25-41; 1 Maccabees 2:29-41, 49-70
                         Daniel 3:16-18                   
                         Proverbs 21:1; 2 Kings 13:14-19
                         Isaiah 40-48; Isaiah 10:5-11:1-9                  

Essay topic: Thinking about War in Light of Biblical Literature

Comments

[C. Stirling Bartholomew]

I have read this more than once. Your framework isn’t transparent. Some sort of dialectic, a little like reading European theologians from half a century ago.

Been a pacifist most of my life. In the late 80's I was reading everything apocalyptic in Greek and Hebrew with a particular focus on the Christology of John’s Apocalypse and then reading the Gospels in light of that Christology.

What do you make of presidents who go to war because they don’t like the way some crackpot dictator is treating minorities? A recipe for endless war. How may millions of people should we kill to impose democracy on a nation which has never had it, doesn’t want it? Freedom as the song goes; “Well that's just some people talking”.

but i digress …

[JohnFH]

Hi C. Stirling,

As my theses demonstrate, I'm not interested in taking sides in the just war/ pacifist debate. I think the history of effects of both positions is full of darkness as well as light.

Pacifism often amounts to a live and let die attitude. The opposite, as you note, amounts to a recipe for endless war.

I happen to feel the full force of the old socialist slogan, "Fascism means war." That is an argument in favor of intervention. Still, prudence needs to play a strong role, and that makes one vulnerable to the accusation of playing favorites.

[Nell 1]

Although war today is different from the violence that was in the Bible, this aggression is a result of sin. Whether or not the Bible mentions a lot of war, there was violence and fighting mentioned. God does not like to see people fighting and killing each other but because of sin, this will always be in the world. Peace is the ultimate goal between two opposing sides but without conflict and war, sometimes peace cannot be achieved. Even for the Israelites, there had to have been fighting, conflict, and struggle, for them to be renewed, as stated in thesis 6. God recognizes that there may be a need for war and conflict, even if He does not agree with the terms. Because of sin, people back in the Bible’s time, our current society, and future generations will always see time of war and conflict. There does not seem to be a happy medium. War and peace go hand in hand together, how little the war may be.

[Breaker Morant 5]

I found the Ten Theses of war to be very interesting. My favorite is number 4: “It pleases God, to judge from the biblical narrative, for the needs of just one person to trump the logic of war.” I like this because of the way it puts a large emphasis on peace. I found it interesting that a few of the Theses acknowledge that war is a part of life and should be accepted. Number 8 says: “Peace is not something that can be wished into existence. There is a time for peace, but there is also a time for war.” I feel that if peace is the goal, then there should never be any time for war.

[Dead Man Walking 5]

I thought that this was a very interesting post. I especially liked Thesis number 9: "Peace is God’s ultimate will. It is not only an end. It is a means to an end." I think that this line can be understood by believers, as well as non believers. The way I interpret this is, if there could be a time where there was no violence in the world and only peace, there would be no reason for the world to go on and it would be heaven on earth. I think this says a lot for the world today. If we could all just learn to cooperate, work together, and stop the fighting there would be no war and only peace, which, as Breaker Morant 5 said, is the goal of the world today.

[Shawshank Redemption 4]

I found this post to be very fulfilling. The links that are attached are very helpful and the sangs that are on there are very truthful. The one that says, "Defeat in war, not victory, is the turning point in the history of Israel which leads to renewal." I like this sang so much because there is so much truth to it. If you always win, you never become a well rounded person. Losing once in a while reminds you of what it takes to win and that in turn makes you a stronger person inside and out.

[Shawshank Redemption 3]

I think it is impossible to have a world without war. I agree with Dead Man Walking 5 that if there is a time where there violence does not exist in the world and there was only peace, then there would be no reason for the world to go on because it would be like heaven. There is no way this could happen though. Violence is in everyones nature whether they like it or not. Some people are just better at controlling it than others. Without politics and religion, people would be like animals and constantly picking sides and finding reasons and ways to kill one another. This is hard to believe and I didn't believe it myself until I read Lord of the Flies and Stephen King's The MIst. Even though these stories are both fictional, they are great representations of how people would act without politics or religion and how people would do crazy things you would never dream of under extreme situations.

[Nell 5]

Thesis 7 caught my attention because it is a familiar phrase that almost everyone has heard. “He who lives by the sword, perishes by the sword,” comes from Matthew 26:52. When Jesus said this, he was speaking to one of his followers who was going to attack the men that were taking Jesus away. Jesus did not want to him to cause violence. The verse stated above, is simply saying that he who causes violence, or participates in it, will die as a result of it. This pertains to war because those who participate in war may die as a result of it.

[Nell 3]

Much of what is said in the theses I would agree with, but the one theses that spoke to me the most was number 8. “Peace is not something that can be wished into existence. There is a time for peace, but there is also a time for war.” This is part of Ecclesiastes 3, which is a popular eulogy reading at funerals. I think I liked this thesis because it supports my feelings as being someone who believes that killing, war, and violence is wrong, but I also believe there are times when it is needed and there is simply no other alternative. I also think it is interesting because it is God saying in his own words, that sometimes war is needed. That is not something many people would expect to read in the Bible because God is a merciful, forgiving and loving God.

[Chariots of Fire 5]

Thesis 9 confuses me a bit, “Peace is God’s ultimate will. It is not only an end. It is a means to end.” Does that mean that if the world was filled with peace then it would be the end of the world? All there would be is heaven, or what is this saying?

[Chariots of Fire 5]

To me, thesis 1, “violent and non-violent responses to violence are held up as models of faithfulness in the Bible,” condones violence in certain times. In the world today sometimes violence or war is inevitable because of all the sins that occur.

It is needed on certain occasions such as defense, but in others it is more important to abstain from violence. One example of when war should not occur is when one country is trying to change a way another country’s government works if they do not want change. It is completely unnecessary in that case and many others.

[Pulp Fiction 4]

The one thesis that really stuck out to me was Thesis 8: "Peace is not something that can be wished into existence. There is a time for peace, but there is also a time for war." I feel very strong about this thesis because it speaks the truth! I think when it is saying that peace is not something that can be wished into existence, that means that we need to have war in order to have peace. If we didn't have war in this world, we would have nothing to look forward to when we die and go up into heaven. I think this thesis is also stating that this is God's way of saying that it is OK to have war sometimes, because with war we then can achieve the peace we want out of life.

[Shawshank Redemption 4]

Everyone is making good points. I keep reading this blog post over and over again and I still am going back to Thesis 3, "We cannot live responsibly in our era without coming to grips with the problem of war. This fact makes the Hebrew Bible more relevant, not less, to the tasks which hang over us." There is never going to be a world with no war. War is apart of our world and people need to accept it whether they like it or not. It is correct in saying that war dates all the way back to Jesus' time and it does absolutely connect current events to the bible in the sense that some of the same things are going on in both.

[True Grit 1]

Thesis 1 struck my attention immediately and brought up many thoughts, ideas, and questions. This thesis talks about violent and nonviolent responses to violence. I understand what a violent response would be such as an attack back or creating war. But what would be an example of nonviolence back in Jesus’ era, and what would be an example of a nonviolence response today? In my personal opinion, protesting might be what you call nonviolent action today. It is still sticking up for what you believe in and making people aware of you opinion, but only voice and text is usually used. Not any forms of violence what so ever. Maybe you could even call marches or public speaking (rallies) similar to this as well. Voicing an opinion on a strong topic and getting followers is a way to stand up for what you believe in without hurt or harm.

If we think of the war we are currently involved with, I would call this a violent response to terrorism. Which according to the Bible, is perfectly acceptable. Many people disagree with war. Maybe that is why I find it so confusing that Thesis 1 would state that both violence and nonviolence are appropriate responses to violence.

[The Truman Show 5]

I found this post to be pretty interesting. Especially thesis # 9 "Peace is God’s ultimate will." While this can't be denied, it is hard to imagine a world that is totally at peace, especially in the age we live in. With all the wars and disagreements in the world, it's a wonder that people still look to the lord for help. People need to come together in hopes that they can change the world, while highly unlikely should occur in order to abide by thesis # 9.

[chariots of fire 3]

I found the article to be informational and well written, but I really enjoyed the ten thesis’ about war and peace in the bible. I found them all to be very interesting but my favorite was number three “We cannot live responsibly in our era without coming to grips with the problem of war. This fact makes the Hebrew Bible more relevant, not less, to the tasks which hang over us.” I thought that the first part of this was really interesting. I feel like it is saying that we cannot ignore that in there is war and there always will, it is something that we are going to have to deal with.

[Lior 4]

"The Bible knows full well that the one who lives by the sword will perish by the sword." This one I agree with most. Time and again throughout history we see empires who forge themselves through the fires of war, getting destroy by war and violence themselves.

[Pulp Fiction 4]

The ten theses are interesting, but the part that really caught my attention was the third paragraph, which correlates the rise of secularism with an increase in war. I’ve always found people who balance religion and secularism in their lives to be much more enjoyable than those who take their religion very seriously. A lot of very religious people seem to view others’ lives as a problem that they need to fix, to the point of annoying those they’re trying to help. Extremely religious people sometimes resort to violence to uphold their beliefs. God commanding the Israelites to take over Canaan made it justifiable to start other battles on behalf of God, such as the Crusades and the constant fighting happening in Israel and Jordan today.

I’m not saying every believer is violent, or even annoying. All I’m saying is that taking a look at the world from non-religious viewpoints is really helping us move toward world peace, not hurting our progress.

[TheTrumanShow1]

This article is very fascinating to me, I like the way that the Bible is talked about in here because it is true that you cannot apply just one meaning or viewpoint to anything, especially when trying to understand everything when you don't believe anything within it. This therefore leads to various interpretations and in some instances many contradictions such as some of the ten theses. These number seven stood out to me the most because I was just talking to a friend about this the other day, and these words came directly from the mouth of Jesus when He was in the garden being betrayed and still did not give into violence or allow his disciples to either.

[Pulp Fiction 3]

This post was truthful and fulfilled a lot of my thoughts. It teaches you that you have to loose sometimes to win, or become a better person. I will say that though there are times the world lives without using war, we will never live in a world without war. The world is an imperfect place filled with imperfect people. God did not intend for Earth to be just like Heaven. We have a life full of possibilities and obstacles to get through before we can find a true peace. War is a hard subject for many people who have lost friends or family to it. We have to accept that they went into the wars fighting for what they believed in, and religion is highly used throughout the service. They have a strong faith that God will get them through safely, and if not, then that was God’s plan.

[Pulp Fiction 5]

This post was quite interesting to me for a few reasons. First off I had a misconception that the Bible was all about turning the other cheek and never fighting but instead using nonviolent tactics to defeat enemies. Now this is the case for most situations but as is apparent by the ten theses given above, the Bible can be interpreted different ways to show that war is good and bad. I think when it comes down to it war is not necessarily bad depending on the true reasons for starting or entering it. I think most people will agree that Hitler needed to be stopped during World War II. He was doing terrible things to the Jews and other people in Europe and we simply couldn’t let him continue. This would be an example of a war that really couldn’t be avoided. Other wars probably could have been avoided considering some wars have or will be started because of the lessening amount of fossil fuels.

[The Mission 3]

I had a totally different view on war until I read Pulp Fiction 3’s response to this article. I pray every night for an end to the war and world peace, but like Pulp Fiction 3 said – God would not want Earth to be as good as Heaven so there are always going to be some flaws in the way we live in this world today. There won’t be any people that follow Satan’s ways in Heaven. I believe that the really bad things that happen in today’s world are a result of people that listen to and follow the whispers of the Devil. I believe the Devil whispers to all of us but the ones who follow God know better and keep focused on the right path. Some people are sadly born not knowing who God or Jesus is and all that they have done for us. They don’t know what the genuine right thing is to do. I’m not saying that this is why war is created, but I just think if we all followed in Jesus’ footsteps we would have less war and more peace. This also brings us back to the fact that Earth cannot be as good as Heaven.

[Shawshank 4]

Prior to taking an unbiased approach to this post and some of the responses that it has gathered I could argue for hours why war is-or at least needed to be-wrong in a general sense and in a biblical sense. I’ll admit my view was based predominantly on the fact that I’ve seen firsthand what it’s like to be in a soldier’s family and what it’s like to lose someone to war, but there were a handful of other reasons-such as the number of innocent lives lost, the land destroyed etc. -as to why I felt war was wrong, no questions asked. I’m not saying I suddenly approve of war; however, in reading some of the responses posted I understand why it can be seen as justifiable. We are only humans and we sin. As a people we are to protect ourselves from those that sin against us, just as God does. The Mission 3 said, “There won’t be any people that follow Satan’s ways in Heaven.” It has been touched on in many responses to this post that God would not intend for Earth to resemble Heaven, and why would he? If Earth were the most pleasant place to be we would have nothing more to look forward to or work towards. That being said, if there weren’t sinners-or those who “follow Satan’s ways”-on Earth there probably wouldn’t be war, and adding to that, wouldn’t Earth be too close to Heaven? So yes, in a sensible, biblical way I guess I can understand some slight justification of war after all; it doesn’t mean I hate it, or hate experiencing the ramifications any less, though.

[The Mission 5]

“Peace is not something that can be wished into existence. There is a time for peace, but there is also a time for war.”

Although I’m mostly against war, I found this quote very interesting. I think those against war, even myself; forget that we can’t expect peace to happen just because we want it. There are just some situations, like other commenters have mentioned above, where war is not preventable. So yes, in certain circumstances there is a time for war. But I think Americans in general, abuse war, when maybe other non-violent avenues could be explored first. The amount of money that goes to the military is just one example of how trigger happy we have become.

[Dead Man Walking 6]

I learned from philosophy class why God created this universe with chaos and suffering, not a “best world”. I think God wanted to do that because he wanted everyone has to challenge his/herself and by doing so can create a better world. So, without wars we are not having this world like right now. We would not have compassion or sympathy existence. Yes, the compassion and sympathy can arrive from seeing one’s suffering or one’s death. Violence seems to be an issue in any nature whether they like it or not. The important thing is how people know to control it. I agree that we all want peace, but it is impossible. As the thesis 8 pointed out “Peace is not something that can be wished into existence. There is a time for peace, but there is also a time for war.” Well, if we want peace for this world, we have to step in to do something like working together, helping each other, stopping unnecessary fights. One day, we will achieve the goal- a NO WAR existence.

[The Mission 2]

Dead Man Walking 6, sorry to say this but I completely disagree with you. First off God created a perfect world on Earth for the Bible says; "And God saw that it was good." (Gen 1:10b) Since God hates sin, "You (God) love righteousness and hate wickedness;" (Psalm 45:7a) why would He create a world with anything wrong with it? He wouldn't. Instead He creates a world that stays perfect until Adam and Eve eat from the forbidden tree (Gen 3). That's when sin entered the world along with hate, greed, and anger which leads to wars. There also will not be a time of total peace until Jesus returns again.

"Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven...There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea...At that time they will see the Son of Man (Jesus) coming in a cloud with power and great glory." (Luke 21:10,11,25,27)

Things will only get worse as time goes on. There will always be wars going on, and there will also be some time for peace. But there will never come a time when there are no wars, no hatred, no greed, and no anger. I promise you that.

[breaker Moran 4]

The Mission 2, I completely agree with you. There will always be a serpent in the world that wont let the world have peace. If the human race was going to live in peace and harmony they would have figured it out how to work with each other by now. I will always hope for a no war existence but there are to many different perspectives in the world. for example the war on drugs. I don't think that war will end any time soon there is a reason we don't live in the garden of Edina.

[True Grit 4]

I think your point is correct in many ways, The Mission 2, I agree that there is no way we're every going to see a day where there is no war or violence, but we are promised that "There will be a Day with no more tears, no more pain and no more Fears..." which will be when Jesus returns. You can dream of World Peace (even change your name to reflect your desire for it..See the whole Ron Artest/Metta World Peace fiasco) but is it feasible in the world we live in today? Probably not.

[Dead man walking 4]

The mission 2,
I am going to have to disagree with you and your thoughts on God creating a perfect world. If he did create a perfect world how can bad things happen at all? In a perfect world we wouldn’t have evil at all, ever. To blame everything negative thing that has ever happen on Adam and Eve is a bit farfetched. It is just a sin, and I think earth is just a test to us just like ones encountered in the Bible to see if you belong in Heaven or Hell. Also, if I find no conflict, hatred, greed, or anger in my life and understand who I am and become at ease, will I find peace? Wars/ battles could be also look at an individual level just not a whole society.

[PrayingWithLior1]

I took an ethic class here at Oshkosh a couple years ago. We discussed if it was morally just to intervene in places like Iraq. It was there that I started to think about the third party intervention. Just because we as Americans are well off enough to have a strong military and many resources does that mean we should intervene in every conflict? I don’t believe that is the case. I feel as though if a nation that cannot defend itself or protect its freedoms leaves us with a moral decision. As an adult would you sit and watch a helpless child get beat up on a playground? God doesn’t want Americans to over flex their military muscle, but also God wouldn’t want us to sit back and let evil prevail. Looking back on history I feel as though we as Americans are guilty of doing both. Most situations today are very grey and need more thought as if it is our moral responsibility to intervene. I also struggle with the thoughts of preemptive attacks and what’s considered defense. I believe one should turn the other cheek, but I also believe God gave us the free will to defend others and ourselves and stand up for what is just.

[Breaker Morant 3]

Regarding previous comments I have to agree with the fact that God created a perfect world. He said it was good, and as a Christian, I feel strongly that was true. I wouldn't go as far as to "blame" Adam and Eve, obviously sin is the tendency of all man kind. They just happened to be the first of man kind. I feel that we are only human, and only have the capabilities of a human mind, that God has given us. Just because we can't wrap our heads around an idea, such as a perfect world, sin, God's word, doesn't mean we should discount it. I believe that modern war has gone so far from Biblical interpretations and commands that we cannot even compare it anymore. It seems to me that often battles are just a way for nations to get what they want and showing power over other nations. Weapons of mass destruction, dropping bombs, playing video games that entail war scenes... these just can't be the kind of war the Bible spoke of. To me, our idea of war seems so muddled compared to the ideas they had thousands of years ago.

[Shawshank 1]

Those who live by the sword die by the sword has reigned true since the day that it was written. We can also look at this in regards to those who rule over their people with an iron fist, they to will collapse and fall. If a person honestly looks at what the Bible says would have to agree with the book of Ecclesiastes with regards to war, and say nothing is new. The same love of power that comes through blood shed, as well as the same revolutions by a people, still reign true to this day as it did during the biblical days. It may be argued that the weapons that are used are more deadly, but I would response with that the results and the reasoning behind using the deadly weapons have not changed.

[Shawshank Redemption3]

The Mission 2 hit it right on the nose! God did not create a world in chaos! He created a wonderful world that people could live in and it wasn’t until Adam and Eve Sinned did the world “fall apart”. But when I personally think about this it is that everything happens for a reason! Like to look at thesis (6) Defeat in war, not victory, is the turning point in the history of Israel which leads to renewal! How true is this for many situations in our lives? Not just in huge wars but in daily conflicts! You could argue with your parents and loose and feel upset by it, and in the end you parents could save your life. That is a drastic example, but with Israel the people fell away from God and had to learn a lesson, that they did learn eventually, because God was the only one who could save them!
The other thesis that really stuck out to me was, (8) Peace is not something that can be wished into existence. There is a time for peace, but there is also a time for war, this thesis applies to everyday life! Every struggle you face you have the choice to walk away or to stand and fight. If you always choose to stand and fight you will get wore done and begin to loose, if you choose to always be at Peace and walk away you will not defend what you should! You have to pick and choose your battles wisely! I have been taught that there is a time when you will be persecuted and made fun of! People will tell you to prove that “your God” exists and with that there is a time to get upset and defensive and there is a time to walk away. You can’t waste your breathe and get angry the people you will ware yourself out! You have to be wise about these things!

[Pulp Fiction 1]

There is a time for peace and a time for war. This can be debated; just can anything else. It’s just a surprise that we bring war all the way back to the Bible. I just find that war is such a thing that is built in to society that we forget the origins of it. God had people fight for their beliefs in him, whether it was physical/verbal, they still fought. It may not have been the typical we think of today, but it’s the fact that he wanted people to stand up for what they believed in.War and peace can be debated, but in the end there's a time both.

[Dead Man Walking 5]

This post interests me very much because of all of the theses near the end. I read it several times and was stumped by these 3, “We cannot live responsibly in our era without coming to grips with the problem of war. There will never be a world with no war. There is always going to be groups of people who don’t agree with each other so they will fight. War is always going to be a part of our world.

[JohnFH]

Hi Dead Man Walking 5,

Even if we expect that war and rumors of war will continue to fill the horizon in the future, war remains a problem.

Are there ways to avoid war more often than we have? On what occasions do we refuse to go to war, and the result is more suffering, not less? It is impossible to be a thinking person without facing up to these questions rather than shoving them aside.

That is what I have in mind with Thesis 3.

[Dead Man Walking 2]

All 10 of the thesis's are very interesting to me. The 7th and 8th thesis's really seemed to stick out to me and be something that I have heard of before. In thesis 7 it states, The Bible knows full well that the one who lives by the sword will perish by the sword." This is very true because it implies that there is two sides to war. If you chose to be violent and use the sword, you are most likely to die by the sword. That being said, if you chose not to use sword, you can die peacefully. This can also be tied into thesis 8. Thesis 8 states, "Peace is not something that can be wished into existence. There is a time for peace, but there is also a time for war." They can be tied together because there is a time for war where u have to pick up the sword but there is time for peace as well.

[Praying with Lior 2]

As long as humans roam this Earth, people and countries will always be going to war against each other. Its somehow engrained in us; the desire for more land or more power. From the dawn of time, warriors have been honored for their greatness in battle. For some reason, leaders of countries think that it is easier to physically destroy someone then it is to converse their difference with them. Many wars are unnecessary, they are fought over greed.
I really liked some of the quotes about war and peace. “Peace is God’s ultimate will. It is not only an end. It is a means to an end” and “Defeat in war, not victory, is the turning point in the history of Israel which leads to renewal.” The first quote is something that everyone can relate to. Everyone in this world strives for peace. I really like the first part of the second quote, “Defeat is war, not victory” because when trying to resolve an issue, you have to resort to extreme circumstances like war, everyone loses.