One of your great posts wafflehead
War is a grim reality in a fallen world, did you know that in Luke 3:14 soldiers came to the forerunner John the Baptist and asked what they should do, he did not say lay down your weapons for you are accursed being a soldier. We have several Roman Centurions coming to the faith but they were never rebuked for their profession.
https://biblehub.com/luke/3-14.htmGreat Britain lost nearly 400,000 young men and around 60,000 civilians to bombings during WW2 and it was only in December of 2006 that Britain finally paid off the debt accrued fighting the Nazi regime. A heavy toll combating one of the truly Satanic regimes of our modern times.
You may have noticed that once the Nazis were conquered that a great effort swung into action to feed the German peoples and support them to rebuild their lives by the very same people who fought the Nazis. So love was never absent, it just needed the removal of the Nazis as an act of justice no doubt sanctioned by God Himself and love returned very quickly once they were gone.There is a great passage in Romans that shows how evil is overcome and you hit the nail on the head.
English Standard Version
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.No nation can call upon God to justify and wage war, but there is evil in the fallen world and many Antichrists have already been and are yet to come.
In the old testament if a thief broke into your house in darkness and in the pursuant struggle they were killed no charge of murder was laid.
If the thief was discovered during the day then was killed that did bring a charge of murder. The principle of protecting ones property and ones family, essentially self defence, is allowable but also there should be no haste to kill, attacks in darkness vs attacks in light.
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