Just War and a Righteous Prostitute by Pastor Walter Snyder Q: I am very confused about the upcoming war with Iraq. Didn't Jesus teach us that war was wrong? How can we as Christians justify war? A: If we only used the Old Testament, defending military actions might be easy. God authorized and used war from the entry into Canaan throughout the history of Israel. Yet when we look more closely, we see that these were only fought for religious reasons: God wanted Israel to push away or remove those who would introduce idol worship. Many believers were purged from the ranks of the Roman army during the Church's first few centuries, since the authorities were worried about their allegiance to one God versus the Roman government. Some believers wouldn't ever fight, focusing on the commandment, "You shall not kill," and on Christ's words, "Blessed are the peacemakers." Christian theology often speaks of "just war." Believers determine whether a particular struggle is just and permissible by the Lord. Yet, we may struggle over the definition of "just." Basically, Lutheran theologians recommend asking, "Is this a war of aggression or of defense? Are we coming to the aid of someone in peril or are merely promoting our national political and economic influence? Is the other side truly acting as the aggressor? Does our enemy promote and extend evil and is this an evil we should challenge?" It is not murder for a soldier to kill in defense of his nation and his comrades-in-arms. He sins when he hates those on the other side and truly desires their deaths. The Christian warrior should be careful that he doesn't judge the individuals with whom he is at war, even if he judges their ideology to be evil, oppressive, or sinfully aggressive. Sometimes we have legal problems when we follow Scripture. United States courts allow us to conscientiously object to all warfare but frown on "picking and choosing." Yet such case-by-case evaluation is exactly what the Christian does. A soldier studies whether what the government calls him to do is"just." If not, he rejects government's demands, even if he faces civil or criminal consequences. The Church should support its members who face and live with such decisions. Q: I heard about this story in the Old Testament. I don't know the details but there was a woman whose husband died. In those times she would marry the husband's brother. One brother slept with her and died. The other brother thought she was cursed and wouldn't marry her. She became a prostitute and ended up having a baby to the other brother. She kept his staff and showed it to the people when she was being sentenced for adultery. My friend said all this happened so the bloodline of King David and the promise of the Saviour would be fulfilled. Is this correct? Also, who is in the bloodline of King David to Jesus? And did God trick the devil to save us by using the evil prostitute to produce our Saviour? A: This account comes from Genesis 38, between the time of Joseph being sold into slavery and his rise to power in Egypt. The men are the sons of Judah, son of Jacob and brother of Joseph. When Er did evil and died, Judah sent Onan to fulfill the husbandly obligations and give Tamar a child. He didn't want to, since the child would be counted as Er's, not his. "So whenever he went in to his brother's wife he would waste the semen on the ground, so as not to give offspring to his brother." God then took Onan's life and Judah promised to send her Shelah once he grew up. However, he didn't Meanwhile, his wife died and he was alone. When Tamar found that Judah was traveling her way, she disguised herself as a prostitute. She enticed him to have sex, taking his staff, seal, and the cord upon which it hung as collateral against his paying her. When her pregnancy was discovered, Judah commanded that his daughter-in-law be burned for harlotry and adultery. She then sent word to Judah, returning his possessions and saying, "Please identify whose these are, the signet and the cord and the staff." Thus she shamed Judah, who wouldn't allow Shelah to fulfill the obligation. From this encounter, Tamar had twin sons Perez and Zerah. Perez was in David and Jesus' bloodline (see Matthew 1:1-17 for a partial genealogy). Note also that Ruth the Moabite, Rahab the prostitute of Jericho, and Bathsheba who committed adultery with David as well as a host of other sinners, pagans, or unbelievers are also in Christ's family tree. As we examine Jesus' ancestors, we don't really see God tricking the devil. Rather, He was cleaning up the messes that sinful people continually made as a token of the great cleansing Jesus would perform on Calvary. Scripture quotations from ~The Holy Bible, English Standard Version~, © 2001 by Crossway Bibles. Ask the Pastor, © 2003 by Walter P. Snyder. It may be reproduced in totality, including this disclaimer, by anyone, provided that no profit is generated by said republication and redistribution. Translations into other languages should similarly note the United States and any appropriate international copyrights, as well as God's Scriptural injunctions concerning the property of others. Walter Snyder is the pastor of Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Emma, Missouri and coauthor of the book "What Do Lutherans Believe."