Why War?

Are we fully aware of what goes on outside of our seemingly peaceful US borders? Debt,
corruption, and sin is what goes on outside of our safe haven. Although we live in relative peace,
our actions in other countries are heaping debt, corruption and sin upon ourselves and other
countries around the world today. I will be defending the thesis that foreign wars in most cases
are incorrect to take part in. Ever since we claimed our independence long ago through a bloody
war, the need to take part in foreign wars for own good has escalated into a somewhat
addicting power. We could even compare this addiction to Gollum and his ring from The Lord
of the Rings. [Common Topic: Comparison/Analogy] We have grown so attracted to it, we cant
seem to function without. Shortly, we will see how foreign wars are foolish because of the
financial cost, the overwhelming cost of life, and most importantly because the Bible prohibits it.
So as we venture into this difficult topic, let us remember some words from the book of Luke.
But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you. Luke 6:27
[Common Topic: Testimony/Scripture]

The concept of war is something that most people understand. However, to fully
understand what war is, we must first look into its etymology. War is a state of armed conflict
between different nations or states or different groups within a nation or state. [Common Topic:
Definition]. The word comes from our English war, which comes from the Old High German
word werra, which means confusion from the late Old English word werrien, which means to
make war upon. [Common Topic: Definition/Etymology] Now we shall see how the cost of
war is too much for our country to handle. The wars in Iraq, and Afghanistan alone have
accumulated a massive amount of debt that we have to pay off. Every hour in the United States,
taxpayers are paying $10.54 million dollars for the total cost of wars since 2001. [Common
Topic: Testimony/Statistics] The total cost of wars in the United States since 2001 is
$1,534,163,000,000 and counting. [Common Topic: Testimony/Statistics] The amount of money
that we are spending on foreign wars is simply unacceptable. Sadly, the American currency,
which has lost its value immensely, has become an unimportant factor when it comes to foreign
wars. The destruction of the dollar is just one more casualty of war not considered. Some
people do not understand why we have to spend so much money on foreign wars, and wonder as
to why we are in so much debt. However, we must always assume that when we declare war on
any foreign country, massive amounts of debt will follow. [Common Topic: Relationship/Cause
and Effect] As seen, foreign wars are economically corrupting, and only continue to pave the
dark road to more debt.

War is like a special order package for terror. [Common Topic: Comparison/Analogy]
Included in this package is destruction, debt, and death; this doesnt seem like the order you
would want, does it? Out of all the benefits you get with war, the most important one of the
group is death. God created all human beings equal, and in His own image. In saying this,
should we take the lives of people so lightly? From the Revolutionary War, to present day there
has been approximately 2,717,991 total U.S military deaths and wounded. [Common Topic:
Testimony/Statistics] The wounds some people received are devastating; severe burns,
amputations, and horrible diseases. When a soldier dies in battle, he creates father-less families,
widows, and parents without a son or daughter. So lets ask ourselves- at what cost? For
freedom, oil, to avenge those who have fallen before us, or maybe to protect the civilians in
another country? We won our independence long ago, and murdering other people in foreign
lands today, isnt going to keep us any freer tomorrow. The United States has plenty of
resources here such as oil and natural gas. If we really needed these things, then we could reason
that because we were able to fight for our freedom and establish our own country, then it should
be easy to find oil and other resources. [Common Topic: Circumstance/ Possible & Impossible]
Many assume that while in foreign countries, American troops are also there to protect the
civilians from the enemy. However, this is incorrect. Since World War II, the U.S has
launched 201 out of the 248 wars that have started. Incredibly, 90% of all casualties in war are
civilians, and for every 1 enemy combatant killed, 10 civilians are killed. As previously seen,
men, woman, and children are killed in the process while we are fighting in foreign wars.
However, soldiers who are in war may not know the real reasons they are fighting for. And in a
dark reality, they may not know what theyre dying for.

In biblical times, God commanded armies to destroy entire civilizations and leave no
survivors. He used to verbally order this to those who followed Him, but He does not do this
anymore. We have the complete revelation of God in the 66 books of the Bible. God carries the
sword of wrath in his hand, however He sent His only Son to deliver a different message. Christ
taught us to show our enemies love and mercy. You have heard that it was said, An eye for an
eye and a tooth for a tooth. But I say to you, do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone
slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. Matthew 5:38-39 [Common Topic:
Testimony/Scripture] If we are made in Gods own image, then shouldnt we strive to live as He
did? Christ did not strike out against those who wished to kill Him, even when he was dying on
the cross. No, instead He rebuked them with words of truth; and told them to turn to away from
their evil doings. Christ saw the big picture. He knew that acting out in violence towards his
enemies, would get Him nowhere. For God wears the cloak of vengeance, Beloved, never
avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, Vengeance is mine, I will
repay, says the Lord. Romans 12:19 [Common Topic: Testimony/Scripture]. We can, and
should take Gods teachings and apply them to modern day society. Obviously, there are certain
scenarios that require military intervention such as mass genocide of a people. For example in
Rwanda when civil war broke out and over a million people were killed in under 100 days.
However, these circumstances of entire civilizations being wiped out are rare. Technically, the
Unites States is currently involved in 74 different wars around the globe. We have seen how
starting wars for power, goods, and vengeance is wrong, and how rarely is there a just cause for
going to war. We have also seen how Christs teachings of love towards our enemies is crucial.
So while we are in all of these foreign wars, perhaps as Christians, the most important question
we should be asking is- are these the actions Christ would have taken?

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Ecclesiastes 3:8
[Common Topic: Testimony/Scripture] In conclusion, we have seen what foreign wars do to
ourselves and other countries. They create a trail of destruction wherever they go. If things like
mass death and debt have happened, then naturally some sort of foreign war has started.
[Common Topic: Circumstance/ Past & Future Fact] Consequently, many horrible things start
because of foreign wars. Thus far, I have shown how foreign wars are incorrect because of the
debt that accumulates because of them, the extraordinary amount of people murdered while at
war, and how the Bible directly tells us to avoid such wars. The United States has the urge to
send people to their death simply because they can. War is not a pretty thing, and almost no
good can come from it. We spend massive amounts of money that we dont have, and think we
can control the world with a check. We murder thousands of people so we can keep everything
and everyone under our dictator like wings, and the American people think that they are
protecting others by sending innocent foreign men, women, and children to their graves.
However, the worst of it all is that as Christians, we look at what is happening around us and do
nothing. Instead of speaking out against the evils that the U.S is practicing, we congratulate and
throw parades for the people who are inevitably fueling the sin that is happening as we speak.
Are we really any different than the Middle-Eastern man shooting at us, whom we automatically
deem guilty of death? No we are not. In saying these things, let us seriously and honestly ask
ourselves why war?