Then Would My [Jesus'] Servants Fight

THE ARTISTE sends this article on pacifism. WHAT THINK YE?

If my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight. Just because Jesus spoke these words to his followers, it makes no sense to apply them to everyone else: - Since God has conferred an earthly kingdom on the Jews, it is appropriate for them to fight for it and inappropriate for us to handicap their efforts, especially when the moral standards of their enemies are so abysmal. - If we believe that God expects a higher standard of Israel than of her enemies, it is evidence either of our religiosity or bigotry: religiosity if we base our standards on the biblical record, bigotry if we base our standards on the world's behavior. - If we hold Israel to a higher standard because of the biblical record, it is evidence that we are either Jewish patriots or Christian hypocrites: if Jewish, because we think ourselves the chosen stewards of the Law; if Christian, because we think likewise but apply a higher standard to Israel than Christian lands. - If we hold Israel to a higher standard because we are Christian, we are derelict if we dictate how she should pursue security while disregarding the main thing our bible says about that: her need to accept the Messiah whose rejection resulted in the loss of her land almost two thousand years ago. - It is inapt, if we believe that Israel's loss in 70 AD was a result of God's disfavor, to disbelieve that her gain in 1948 was a result of his favor -- or at the very least, his conditional favor. - Finally, if we believe that it is God's prerogative to chastise those whom he loves, it is inappropriate -- heartless, self-righteous, and presumptuous -- for us to dictate his own times and conditions, or to second-guess his seasons of favor.