The case for war or no war,
Although this is a bit off topic from the original post, I will try to enlighten those on the JW thinking with regard to war and why their thinking (the JW's), is faulty.
This is one area in which the JW's will bring in a lot of new recruits, because war effects so many people in the world today and on many different levels.
I heard one time from a podcast given by Fr. Thomas Hopko say, that if everyone followed the ten commandments then there would be no war. In certain cases war can be justified to show love of neighbor.
A Christian need not stand by on the side when innocent people are being hurt and do nothing. What would happen if nobody defended the innocent people, including the Jews, during WWII? Hitler went invading different countries and destroyed peoples freedoms and rights and used military force against others to maintain his leadership and ideologies against those who would oppose him.
War is terribly complex. And things have changed since the 1940's. Today, I believe most wars are fought for political power or for financial reasons. This would be the case in my opinion for the war in Iraq. More innocent people have lost their lives in Iraq from the invasion of American led coalition forces than when Saddam Husein was in power and was killing his own people.
I think war is necessary when the last effort to peace has been depleted. But today we find that war is quick and ready when things go wrong.
I believe all Christians need to be aware that we answer to a higher authority for our actions. Therefore being a soldier in a army can have problems.
If I was a soldier, and pilot of the plane that dropped the bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki Japan, and I knew what the consequences were going to be, I don't think I could do it. I would probably in faith toward God refuse the assignment.
I think what I am trying to say here is that war is complicated and all soldiers that are in an army are soldiers of God first and need to maintain that standard first.
This is also something not about turning the other cheek. It is an entirely different matter.
Consider for example if someone was in the process of killing your neighbor AND you had the ability to to either be NEUTRAL and just watch OR kill the perpetrator, then what would you do? In this situation it is not about YOU turning the other cheek or the victim turning the other cheek. It is about you helping your neighbor. In a very basic kind of way this is how I see war. Whether it be with one person or a whole army taking action.
In the above example the person that looked at the murder and was NEUTRAL would be bloodguilty in my eyes.
The JW's don't take action in any war because of their theological misunderstandings of the scriptures, however they will help their neighbor out in need in most cases.
If a foreign evil destructive army was going to invade my neighborhood and place of living, I would not count on the JW's to take a stand in an organized way against it.
Taking a stand in a organized way against evil and the wickedness of men is really when war is justified and only as the last resort. Because, after all there surely will be innocent lives lost.
God bless
NI