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Part Three - The Path of Life
Chapter 17 Obedience and Sacrifice
4) War against Evil
3. Situations When War is Justified
World Scripture
And if God had not repelled some men by others, the earth would have been corrupted. Qur’an 2.251
War is an evil thing; but to submit to the dictation of other states is worse… Freedom, if we hold fast to it, will ultimately restore our losses, but submission will mean permanent loss of all that we value… To you who call yourselves men of peace, I say: You are not safe unless you have men of action on your side. Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War (Hellenism)
Let those fight in the way of God who sell the life of this world for the next. Whoso fights in the way of God, be he slain or be he victorious, on him we shall bestow a vast reward. How should you not fight for the cause of God, and of the feeble among men and women and children who are crying, “Our Lord! Bring us forth from out of this town whose people are oppressors! Give us from Thy presence some protecting friend! Give us from Thy presence some defender!” Those who believe do battle for the cause of God; and those who disbelieve do battle for the cause of idols. So fight the minions of the devil. Lo! The devil’s strategy is ever weak. Qur’an 4.74-76
Hear, O Israel; you are to pass over the Jordan this day, to go in to dispossess nations greater and mightier than yourselves, cities great and fortified up to heaven, a people great and tall… Know therefore this day that he who goes over before you as a devouring fire is the Lord your God; he will destroy them and subdue them before you; so you shall drive them out, and make them perish quickly, as the Lord has promised you. Do not say in your heart, after the Lord your God has thrust them out before you, “It is because of my righteousness that the Lord has brought me in to possess this land”; whereas it is because of the wickedness of these nations that the Lord is driving them out before you. Deuteronomy 9.1-4
When the Prophet assigned a leader to an expedition squadron, he would enjoin them… saying, “Fight in the name of Allah and in the way of Allah. Fight those who disbelieve in God. Do not use treacherous means, do not plunder and do not mutilate. Do not kill children or hermits and do not set fire to date palms or drown them with water. Do not cut down fruit-bearing trees and do not burn crops, for you never know when you might be in need of them. Do not slay animals whose meat is edible except what is necessary for you to eat. If you should meet an enemy to the Muslims, then invite them to one of three things; if they respond to you accordingly then accept them and refrain from any action. Call them to Islam… invite them to emigrate to the lands of Islam… or call them to pay the jizyah from their wealth and in a state of submission.” Hadith (Islam)
Revolution: Water and fire extinguish each other, behaving as two women who live together but whose wills conflict—such is the nature of revolution. “Faith is not reposed in it until the day of its completion” means that revolution must come first, after which public faith will be established. A civilized and enlightened attitude brings joy; great success makes it possible to put all things to rights. Upon the achievement of a necessary revolution, regret vanishes. The renovating activities of the celestial and terrestrial forces produce the progress of the four seasons. T’ang and Wu rebelled in accordance with Heaven’s decree, and the people responded to them. I Ching 49 (Confucianism)
King T’ang said, “Come, you multitudes of the people, listen all to my words. It is not I, the Little Child, who dare to undertake a rebellious enterprise; Heaven has given the charge to destroy the sovereign of Hsia for his many crimes. “Now, you multitudes, you are saying, ‘Our prince is not compassionate to us but is calling us away from our husbandry to attack and punish Hsia.’ I have indeed heard these your words. But the sovereign of Hsia is guilty and, as I fear God, I dare not but punish him. “Now you are saying, ‘What are the crimes of Hsia to us?’ The king of Hsia in every way exhausts the strength of his people and exercises oppression in the cities of Hsia. His people have all become idle and will not assist him. They are saying, ‘When wilt thou, O sun, expire? We will all perish with thee.’ Such is the course of the sovereign of Hsia. And now I must go punish him. I pray you assist me, the One Man, to carry out the punishment appointed by Heaven.” Book of History 4.1 (Confucianism)
Teachings of Sun Myung Moon
Not many people on this earth welcome an individual who pursues a different kind of goodness. When a good individual works to form a family of goodness, the surrounding people do not welcome him. When that good family strives to expand into a tribe of goodness, the tribulations besetting his path become even more difficult. And when that good tribe tries to form a nation of goodness, certainly an even greater evil power will rise in rebellion to block its way. Moreover, when that good nation pursues a world of goodness, the nations of the existing world, which is not good, will oppose it in every way possible.
Evil tribes rose and fought against the way of the good tribe. All nations opposed the good nation; none welcomed it even though it had long been the hope of humanity. A nation of goodness must survive this confrontation with the evil nations and prevail in the battle of good versus evil. We know well that this is why history developed through this kind of struggle. (36:52-53, November 15, 1970)
It is an error brought about by ignorance of the fundamental providence of God to regard the cause of struggles and wars as mere conflicts of interests and contests between ideologies. Humankind has suffered through a sinful history ever since the first human ancestors fell under the subjugation of Satan. However, as long as God’s purpose of creation still stands, the purpose of this history must be to cut out ties with Satan and restore God’s kingdom. If there were no wars or divisions in this fallen world, then the sovereignty of evil would continue forever and the world would never be restored. Therefore, God has worked His providence to restore the heavenly sovereignty by degrees. He sends prophets and saints to the fallen world to found religions and raise the level of morality. He establishes governments with higher standards of goodness which come to oppose and destroy regimes with lower standards of goodness. To fulfill the providence of restoration, therefore, conflicts and wars are unavoidable…
Although there have been times when evil seemed to prevail, in the end the relatively evil social and political forces declined and were absorbed by the more godly forces. The wars which have shaped the rise and fall of nations are thus unavoidable during the course of the providence to re-establish the reign of good.
For example, in the Bible God ordered the Israelites to destroy the seven tribes of Canaan. When Saul disobeyed Him, leaving some of the Amalekites alive with their cattle, God severely punished him. (1 Sam. 15.18-23) While on that occasion God commanded the Israelites to destroy the Gentiles, at another time, when the Israelites of the northern kingdom turned to evil, God delivered them into the hands of the Assyrians. (2 Kgs. 17.23) We must understand that God’s only intention by these events was to obliterate the sovereignty of evil and restore the sovereignty of good. Therefore, fights between individuals within the same good sovereignty on the side of God are evil, because they can weaken and even cause the disintegration of the good sovereignty itself. On the other hand, wars conducted by a good sovereignty to destroy an evil sovereignty are good in that they further the fulfillment of the providence of restoration. (Exposition of the Divine Principle, Eschatology 4.2)
Do you respect King David? Did he do a good deed when he killed Goliath? Or was he no better than a common street fighter? From God’s point of view, David did well. For by that one deed he saved the foundation of Israel’s nationhood that God had labored for 3,000 years to build. (103:181- 82, February 25, 1979)
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