[continued from previous message]   
      
   the man, or to get married. Are   
   we to conclude from this that Jesus was approving of fornication or   
   adultry? Of course not, we   
   therefore have to look for other scriptures that Jesus SAID to see if   
   they answer our questions.   
   Such clear statements as Mt 26:52 show Jesus view of people going to   
   war.   
      
   >   
   > In Luke 7:28, Jesus said  of  John the Baptist  no greater born of woman .   
   >   In Luke 3:10-14 John the Baptist spoke to tax collectors, soldiers and the   
   > crowd.  He told to do right but did not tell them to change jobs.   
      
   Again we have a "what he didn't say" situation. That in itself does   
   not set doctrine or show the   
   belief on that subject of the speaker.  (See Jesus' statement above to   
   the Samaritan woman) The   
   scriptures that DO talk about this subject are very clear as to a   
   Christian going to war. As I   
   probably mentioned before, the Apostle Paul talked about this subject   
   at 2 Cor 10:3,4. He left little   
   doubt as to a Christian's participation of carnal warfare.   
      
   Even early secular writers close to the time of Christ, wrote about   
   Christians and their view of   
   military service. Professor Hardy in his book "Christianity and the   
   Roman Government" comments   
   on the 2nd century writer Tertullian. He said Tertullian mentioned   
   many things which Christians   
   would not do: such as idolatry, any pagan religion rituals, holding   
   public office, and doing military   
   service.   
      
   .....................................................   
      
   : “II.  THE EARLY CHRISTIAN CHURCH CONSCIENTIOUSLY OPPOSED   
   TO MILITARY SERVICE”   
       
   “..."During its first three centuries of existence, the Christian   
   church was opposed to war and others forms of violence.  Christian   
   opposition to war early expanded into a denial of rightness of all   
   coercive action on the part of the civil power.  Thus arose that form   
   of conscientious objection which has been designated as political   
   non-participation."7   
       
     “ "For many years many Christian regarded services in the army as   
   inconsistent with their profession.  Some held that for them all   
   bloodshed, whether as soldiers or executioners, was unlawful."8   
       
      "During a considerable period after the death of Christ, it is   
   certain...that his followers believed He had forbidden war, and that,   
   in consequence of this belief many of them refused to engage in it,   
   whatever were the consequences, whether reproach, or imprisonment, or   
   death.  These facts are indisputable: ‘It is easy,’ says a learned   
   writer of the 17th century, ‘to obscure the sun at midday, as to deny   
   that the primitive Christian renounced all revenge and war.’  Of all   
   Christian writers of the second century, there is not one who notices   
   the subject, who does not hold it to be unlawful for a Christian to   
   bear arms."9 “   
    (http://www.heraldmag.org/olb/contents/doctrine/ecvowams.htm)   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)