{"id":16677,"date":"2017-11-04T23:15:32","date_gmt":"2017-11-04T23:15:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/?p=16677"},"modified":"2017-11-05T08:45:40","modified_gmt":"2017-11-05T08:45:40","slug":"why-does-god-permit-warfare-by-seye-aluko","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/?p=16677","title":{"rendered":"WHY DOES GOD PERMIT WARFARE? by Seye Aluko"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><code><script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js\"><\/script><br \/>\n<!-- www.deltanewsroom.com --><br \/>\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display: block;\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-2163942495525027\" data-ad-slot=\"1411897411\" data-ad-format=\"auto\"><\/ins><br \/>\n<script>\n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\n<\/script><\/code><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Most men are averse to killing any of their fellow creatures. Many are averse to killing even a common chicken when it is required to dress it for the dinner table. Where men are averse to killing their domesticated creatures (chickens, cows, goats etc), imagine how more difficult it must be for men to kill their fellow men.<br \/>\nIn war men engage in the systematic elimination of people. There can therefore never be any other activity more dreadful than warfare. But warfare is the bedrock of civilization. It is upon the embers and fires of warfare that empires are built. At the declaration of war, all diplomatic channels are jettisoned, and recourse is made to the battlefield, and to the use of artillery, bullets and bombs!<br \/>\nBut we now come to the crux of the matter. What is the attitude of the higher adepts towards war? What is the attitude of Jesus Christ for example? Where can we begin to find answers to this most potent question? The most frequent reference to answer such a question would be the Holy Bible. But as engaging as the Bible\u2019s text is, it is unsatisfactory for the nature of enquiry we intend to use it for. The Bible has its own drawbacks. Many Christians hoist the Bible in the air, and swear by this same Bible, to the exclusion of all objectivity. The Christians claim that the Bible is \u201cthe \u2018only\u2019 Word of God.\u201d They limit their arguments to only matters that are found in this Bible. To them all other sources are \u201cunscriptural.\u201d But as one delves into this Holy Book, it becomes obvious that it is not everything that is written in the Bible that can be \u201ctrue!\u201dMany of the Bible\u2019s sources are questionable. Many of its inferences \u201cdo not seem to make sense,\u201d and many of its accounts contradict.<br \/>\nBut back to our discussion on warfare, let us continue in our examination of what Christ thought about it. Jesus acknowledged the fact that allegiance should be paid to the structures that had come into existence through the prosecution of wars. Jesus recognized Pontius Pilate, as the Roman Governor over Israel, who had become governor over Israel as a result of warfare. Jesus knew that warfare was a standard activity amongst nations. The Bible states:<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.alternativeadvert.com\/show.php?z=30&amp;pl=14949&amp;ad_type=59&amp;rl=180\" width=\"300\" height=\"250\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">\u201cThen went the Pharisees, and took counsel how they might entangle him in his talk. And they sent out unto him their disciples with the Herodians saying, Master, we know that thou art true, and teachest the way of God in truth, neither carest thou for any man: for thou regardest not the person of men. Tell us therefore, What thinkest thou? Is it lawful to give tribute unto \u201cCaesar, or not? But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, Why tempt ye me, ye hypocrites? Shew me the tribute money. And they brought unto him a penny. And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription? They say unto him, Caesar\u2019s. Then saith he unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar\u2019s, and unto God the things that are God\u2019s.\u201d<br \/>\n(Matt 22 : 15-21).<br \/>\nFrom His parables it can be seen that Christ had accepted war as an established institution amongst men. Christ acknowledged warfare and the need to reckon with it when He proclaimed a parable \u201cCounting the cost,\u201d which parable extensively utilized ideas and references about warfare. The parable states:<br \/>\nAnd whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple. For which king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand! Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an ambassage, and desireth conditions of peace.\u201d So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.\u201d<br \/>\nHaving examined the attitude of Christ towards the wars men prosecute, let us examine the attitude of Almighty God Himself in the all-pervasive slaughter that occurs in times of war. It must be acknowledged that all modern and post-modern empires have their roots grounded in warfare. The empires of Rome, Greece, and more recently Great Britain, were founded upon war. But in attempting to decipher God\u2019s attitude towards warfare, it must be remembered that God Almighty created mankind with an attribute termed the \u201cFree-Will.\u201d This means that having created men in enabling circumstances, God merely awaits men to see how they will use this so highly-prized attribute Let us examine one of such accounts where the children of Israel are instructed to go to war, and to annihilate the tribe of Amalek.<br \/>\n\u201cThus Saith the Lord of hosts, I remember that which Amalek did to Israel, how he laid wait for him in the way, when he came up from Egypt. Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have. several, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass. And Saul smote the Amalekites from Havilah, until thou comest to Shur, that is over against Egypt. And he took Agag the king of the Amalikites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword. But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them: but everything that was vile and refuse, that they destroyed utterly.\u201d<br \/>\n(I Samuel 15: 2-9).<br \/>\nBut such a passage gives a thoroughly false perception of Almighty God. And several tenets and passages also exist in the Bible which cast the Creator in a doubtful light.<br \/>\nI put it to you that the concept of Almighty God ordering the slaughter of human beings (such as in the case of the Amalek) as is found in I Samuel above, must be false, and God could not have issued such instructions.<br \/>\nI put it to you that although the Bible is a very sacred text, not every one of its tenets can be assimilated into the body fabric as being true.<br \/>\nI put it to you that although the Bible is a very sacred text, not every one of its tenets can be assimilated into the body fabric as being true.<br \/>\nI put it to you that many contradictions exist on the purpose, life and mission of many figures in the Bible, especially up to and inclusive of the tenets concerning the life and purpose of our Lord Jesus Christ of Nazareth.<br \/>\nBut as to how God views warfare, God has created men with a Free-Will to act upon his decisions. God will no longer intervene. He has equipped men with the attribute of \u201cFree-Will\u201d and men must negotiate their freedom within the bounds of this so distinctive Free-Will. An article appears in THISDAY newspapers (pg. 1, 4 August 2017) in which article The United States of America is said to have agreed to sell 12 Super Tucano aircraft to Nigeria for its prosecution of its war against terror in general, and in its war against the Boko Haram sect in particular.<br \/>\nThe THISDAY article states:<br \/>\n\u201cAfter years of foot dragging, the US State Department has finally approved $593 million sale to Nigeria of twelve A-29\u00a0 attack planes with associated parts, training, facilities and weapons. By the approval, these 12 airplanes would be sold to the Nigerian military. The 12 A-29\u2019s are equipped with the latest wing mounted machine guns, weapons integrated with advanced surveillance and precision guided bombs, and even air-to-air missiles. This will help Nigeria to combat the Boko Haram insurgents and other extremist groups, such as the Islamic State West Africa splinter group.\u201d<br \/>\n(THISDAY, pg. 1 , 4 August 2017)<br \/>\nThis article describes the nature of weapon that the USA is selling to Nigeria. The article states that the aircraft will possess mounted machine guns. These guns are invented for the express purpose of killing human beings. Thus the question being asked about God and warfare can be rephrased to ask: \u201dHow can Almighty God permit such grievous weapons (warplanes) to be invented?\u201d How does He permit such machines from being manufactured and bought and sold on the open market?\u201d How is God to permit the death and destruction consequent upon the ownership of such machinery?<br \/>\nThe answer is that having endowed men with the attribute of a \u201cFree-Will\u201d God will not intervene with the way men utilize this most prized attribute.<br \/>\nBut back to the subject of warfare, in spite of all the destruction witnessed in the past, wars are still being fought today! There are wars fought where the citizens of countries have decided to oppose their \u201csit-tight- in- office dictators\u201d (such as the present war in Syria). Hundreds of thousands of persons have been killed in this war, and millions have fled Syria, to avoid the pogrom. Even nearer to home a \u201cwar\u201d is being fought between Nigeria military and the Boko Haram terrorists.<br \/>\nTherefore God Almighty cannot be said to embrace this or that attitude to war. God is non- aligned, and He does not necessarily have any attitude of intervention in the affairs of men, as in his wars. God did not stop the First and Second World Wars. He \u201cdoes not stop\u201d the many earthquakes, disasters etc. that routinely rack earth. God does not necessarily \u201cpunish\u201d persons for being combatants in wars. This is in spite of His injunction \u201cthou shalt not kill,\u201d And if the Holy Bible is to be countenanced, in the case of the great war-monger, Saul of Tarsus, God Almighty did not hold it against Saul of Tarsus for his many years of persecuting the Christians when he made Saul a convert to the Christian Cause. The Bible states:<br \/>\n\u201cAnd Saul yet breathing out threatening and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high-priest, and desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem.<br \/>\n(Acts 9:1).<br \/>\nBut after the conversion of Saul on the road to Damascus, Almighty God announced to Ananias, (the Christian disciple) that he (Ananias) was to rehabilitate Saul into the Christian ministry. Almighty God stated:<br \/>\n\u201cGo thy way [Ananias] for he [Saul} is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel. \u201c<br \/>\n(Acts 9:15).<br \/>\nThus God was able to validate Saul\u2019s mission in life despite his war-mongering past.<br \/>\nBut in spite of the difficulty of discerning God\u2019s attitude towards warfare, and to many other salient questions about life, many of such answers can be gleaned from the writings of the Truth-Bringer Abd ru shin, who is the author of the momentous compendium of Life titled \u201cThe Grail Message, in The Light of Truth.\u201d In this Grail Message Abd ru shin has written explanations about every facet of life, which explanations are a \u201cmust-read\u201d for every serious seeker after the Truth. In his 168 lecture treatise Abd ru shin details how gradually, yet painstakingly, men have separated themselves from the \u201cWill of God\u201d by their stubbornness and their self-will, and have became outlaws in the Creation of their God, as opposed to the loyal servants they were expected to become. Abd ru shin explains how men distorted their brains in an earthly sense, and how this distortion made them more susceptible to evil. Abd ru shin states that man has diverged from the path he was scheduled to undertake, as man was actually to transform the earthly world into a Paradise. Abd ru shin infers that the activity of warfare amongst men is merely one of the outgrowths of a \u201cworld-gone-bad.\u201dAbd ru shin explains that men on earth were to live in harmony one with the other, and under such extinguishes of peace there cannot be any striving towards the aberrant postures of warfare. Therefore it can be concluded that warfare is an outgrowth of the forces of Darkness.<br \/>\nThe earth of the present time has reached its climax, at which time degenerate powers flow throughout all the lands. The countries are led today, not by the most progressive individuals, but rather by the most devious and treacherous ones, who seize he reins of government for their own devilish ends. At the present time The United States of America is the world\u2019s largest super-power, closely followed by Russia, Germany, Great Britain and Japan. The maxim states \u201cif you wish for peace you must prepare for war.\u201d But in the present day world it will not be possible to maintain an modicum of neutrality in the diversity of world events without the nations having within their borders a large percentage of standing armies to check themselves against other rouge states.<br \/>\nIn conclusion, present day countries cannot assume they are living in a Utopia, which is equivalent to a \u201cparadise on earth.\u201d And as to the time when all forces will be balanced and all these offensive weapons taken off the stage, only time will tell.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/army.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-16678\" src=\"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/army-300x203.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"203\" srcset=\"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/army-300x203.jpg 300w, http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/army.jpg 449w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Most men are averse to killing any of their fellow creatures. Many are averse to killing even a common chicken when it is required to dress it for the dinner table. Where men are averse to killing their domesticated creatures (chickens, cows, goats etc), imagine how more difficult it must be for men to kill [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":16678,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"spay_email":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[8],"tags":[34,3678,4294],"class_list":["post-16677","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-society","tag-boko-haram","tag-pontius-pilate","tag-super-tucano"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/army.jpg","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4oswh-4kZ","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16677","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=16677"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16677\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16682,"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16677\/revisions\/16682"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/16678"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=16677"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=16677"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=16677"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}