TEACHINGS OF JUDAISM AND CHRISTIANITY ABOUT WAR

"TEACHINGS OF JUDAISM AND CHRISTIANITY ABOUT WAR 

The teaching of the Old Testament.......... Moses a.s is commanded to enter the land of Canaan by force, to defeat its population and to settle his own people in it (Deut.  20: 10-18). In spite of this teaching in the Book of Moses as , and in spite of its reinforcement by practical example of the Prophets Joshua a.s, David as and others, Jews and Christians continue to hold their Prophets in reverence and to regard their books as the Books of God. At the end of the Mosaic tradition, we had Jesus a.s who taught; But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also (Matthew 5: 39). Christians have often cited this teaching of Jesus a.s and argued that Jesus a.s preached against war. But in the New Testament, we have passages which purport to teach quite the opposite. One passage, for instance, says: Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword (Matthew 10: 34). And another passage says:Then said he unto them. But now, he that hath a purse, let him take it, and likewise his scrip: and he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one (Luke 22: 36). Of the three verses the last two contradict the first. If Jesus as came for war, why did he teach about turning the other cheek? It seems we have either to admit a contradiction in the New Testament, or we have to explain one of the contradictory teachings in a suitable manner. We are not concerned here with the question whether turning the other cheek can ever be practicable. We are concerned only to point out that, throughout their long history, no Christian people have ever hesitated to make war. When Christians first attained to power in Rome, they took part in wars both defensive and aggressive. They are dominant powers in the world today, and they continue to take part in wars both defensive and aggressive. Only now the side which wins is canonized by the rest of the Christian world. Their victory is said to be the victory of Christian civilization. Christian civilization has come to mean whatever tends to be dominant and successful. When two Christian powers go to war, each claims to be the protector of Christian ideals. The power which wins is canonized as the true Christian power. It is true, however, that from the time of Jesus as to our time, Christendom has been involved—and indications are that it will continue to remain involved—in war. The practical verdict of the
Christian peoples, therefore, is that war is the
real teaching of the New Testament, and that
turning the other cheek was either an
opportunist teaching dictated by the
helplessness of early Christians, or it is meant
to apply only to individuals, not to States and
peoples.
Secondly, even if we assume that Jesus a.s
taught peace and not war, it does not follow
that those who do not act upon this teaching
are not holy and honoured. For Christendom
has ever revered exponents of war such as
Moses a.s, Joshua
asand David a.s
. Not only this,
the Church itself has canonized national
heroes who suffered in wars. They were made
saints by the Popes. "

(Life of Muhammad s.w by hazrat Mirza Bashir ud din Mahmood Ahmad page 168 to 170)