Canadasgenius, I am sad to say that some who wear the name "church of Christ" do not uphold the teachings of the Scriptures as they should. Such sounds like the case with the congregation you visited. I am sure you realize that in any group there will be "bad apples," but that certainly does not mean the whole group is bad.

If one bad apple makes the whole group faulty, then that would mean that the corruption of Judas proves that Jesus and all His followers were corrupt! Did Judas' conduct automatically make Jesus and His followers evil, or wrong in some way? Of course not! Jesus warned us that some will look like "good guys," when actually they are the enemy: "Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves" (Matthew 7:15). Paul said the same thing: "…Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works" (2 Corinthians 11:14, 15).

I will do everything within my power to help you find a sound congregation in your area. I have actually already sent out emails to some people I know.

Now in regards to pacifism, it should first be stated that we do not follow the teachings of anybody named Campbell or Stone. We follow the teachings of God, as recorded in the Holy Scriptures. Men like Campbell and Stone were making a plea for all to return to the Scriptures as our only authority and creed, and on this point we should all agree. However, if those men were wrong about any subject in the Scriptures, we should drop their teaching and cling to the teaching of the Scriptures. Agreed? With that being said, I do not believe that the Scriptures teach pacifism.

You said, "the early "Church of Christ" congregations were strictly pacifist."

As far as the "early church of Christ" congregations, and what they believed, those congregations go back to the time of the first century A.D.: "the churches of Christ salute you" (Romans 16:16); and in that same book of Romans we learn what the early churches of Christ believed in regards to pacifism. Romans 13 is an interesting chapter which begins by discussing civil government and its God-given authority to use the sword (Romans 13:1-7).

According to these words from the Holy Spirit, the person who punishes evil doers with the sword is called the minister of God: "For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil" (Romans 13:4).

All men are amenable to the same Law of Christ, whether they have obeyed His Law or not. If something is wrong for a Christian, it is wrong for a non-Christian. If something is lawful for a Christian, it is lawful for a non-Christian. If it is acceptable for a non-Christian to kill for his government, then it is acceptable for a Christian to kill for his government. If it is wrong for a Christian to kill for his government, then it is wrong for a non-Christian to kill for his government, because we are all under the same law from God – the law found in the New Testament Scriptures.

Capital punishment goes all the way back to Genesis 9: "Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man" (Genesis 9:6). Somebody had to be the one to cause blood to be shed for justice's sake.

When Jesus was about to be betrayed, he told His disciples to get swords: "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. For I say unto you, that this that is written must yet be accomplished in me, And he was reckoned among the transgressors: for the things concerning me have an end. And they said, Lord, behold, here are two swords. And he said unto them, It is enough" (Luke 22:36-38).

He told them to do this for self-defense, not to offensively attack to secure His freedom. Christians, as a general rule, are not physical, earthly fighters: "Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places" (Ephesians 6:11-12).

Christians do not fight a physical war in the name of Christ for some earthly kingdom. We fight a spiritual battle for the spiritual kingdom: "Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence" (John 18:36); however, the Bible does teach that "the sword" may be used under certain circumstances, as mentioned above.

Some bring up "Thou shalt not kill" (Exodus 20:13), and say that it is never acceptable to kill. This obviously is not strictly universally applicable. For example, what about the God-given commands to kill animals after Exodus 20:13 was given? What about the killing of the enemies of Israel after this command was given? Was it wrong for God to command that certain pagan peoples be wiped out, such as the Amalekites? Was God contradicting His own commandment when He said, "Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ***" (1 Samuel 15:3). I thought God said "Thou shalt not kill," so why did He command this? Because "Thou shalt not kill" is more accurately translated as "thou shalt not murder" (see NKJV, ESV, NASB, etc.).

You said, "I find it hard to believe that anybody who serves in the army, or encourages/allows others to do so, knows the Lord." I agree that being in the military must be extremely difficult for a faithful Christian, yet Cornelius was in the military, and we do not read of him having to leave that career behind after becoming a Christian. As a matter of fact, notice how Cornelius was described while he was still serving in the military: "There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of the band called the Italian band, A devout man, and one that feared God with all his house, which gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God always" (Acts 10:1, 2); "And they said, Cornelius the centurion, a just man, and one that feareth God, and of good report among all the nation of the Jews, was warned from God by an holy angel to send for thee into his house, and to hear words of thee" (Acts 10:22).

Notice what Jesus said to another soldier of great faith: "And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour" (Matthew 8:13). Notice that Jesus did not say, "One thing you lack – leave the military if you want to inherit eternal life…"

Most of the time when centurions are mentioned in the Scriptures, it is in a favorable manner, such as the centurion at the crucifixion who said, "Truly this was the Son of God" (Matthew 27:54).

The Philippian jailor carried a sword, and we do not read of him having to leave his job or get rid of his sword: "And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled" (Acts 16:27).

In the congregation with whom I worship we have a deacon who is serving in the military overseas right now. He actually worships every Lord's day by himself according to the Scriptures! He does this by Himself because there are no others who will do it with Him. I am really proud of his dedication and example. Could it be that this person in the military could be a "devout" and "just man" who "fears God," like Cornelius was?

I do not believe that the Scriptures teach pacifism, and even though some men wearing Scriptural names 200 years ago may have believed this, I am sure you understand that what they believed is totally irrelevant to our salvation today. Our only authority is what God has said in the Scriptures. While I have respect for their plea to return to the Scriptures, I do not look back to what those men believed as a standard of any kind.

If you have more comments on this, I would love to hear them. I am enjoying our discussion.

Jason Hilburn