I wasn't too clear, sorry. Obviously, Christ's Church cannot be dead. If Christ's Church were spiritually dead, Christ would have to be dead too. I was speaking of Churches which use the name "Church of Christ," share the doctrines that Churches named "Church of Christ" have traditionally held to (ie: refuting eternal security, the importance of baptism in salvation, a Gospel which includes repentence, no musical instruments, etc). Some of these Churches, which use the name "Church of Christ" do seem very spiritually dead. I am not saying that Christ's Church is dead, just that some Churches which use His name are dead. I guess my problem is finding one which isn't.

Regarding pacifism, there isn't a verse in the Bible that says not to join the military. But there are verses which tell us not to kill. Regardless of what army one is in, and in what position, an army is a "killing machine." Even an army that CLAIMS to be a "peacekeeper" kills people and is a "killing machine." The Bible is clear that the Christian is not of this world, and is not to involve himself in the affairs of this world.

Some might argue that the Bible says to work on the well-being of your community and to obey the government. This is fine. However, obeying can only go so far. Our first obligation is to obey God. If the government told you that you must disown God, you would not do it (I trust), because you would obey God's order not to disown Him. Similarly, if the government tells you to kill someone, you must first obey God's command not to murder. Many Christians have been killed for refusing to join an army. Yet, "Christians" from Churches of Christ volunteer nowadays to do so.

One might argue that just as God led Isreal's army in the Old Testament, He is leading us to go to war now. It is true that God is in control of everything; no army can do anything without God allowing it to happen. It is also true that in the Old Testament, God often used Isreal to bring punishment on other nations. But our instructions in the New Testament are clear. We are to live at peace with everybody, as far as it depends on us, and to turn the other cheek. We are not to repay evil with evil, or to even resist an evil person. This is a very tough doctrine, and one which wicked men often distort. We are from above, not of this world. God will not contradict himself by leading a Christian to join the army.

One might argue that he joined the army, but not to kill anyone. In this case, he is guilty of lying, and of defrauding the government. If he joins the army, there might come a situation where he is involved in or directly or indirectly responsible for the death of someone. If he doesn't fullfill his responsibilty to the army, he has defrauded the army. If he does do it, he is a murderer. Similarly, a Christian cannot be a policeman for this same reason. He may not intend to hurt anyone ever. But if his partener is wounded and about to be killed, it is his duty to shoot the assailant. If he doesn't, he has defrauded the police force. If he does, he may be a murderer.

I didn't mean for this to become a debate on pacifism. I know the above is poorly written (but true). Sorry, I don't have time to properly go thru it. I just recently learned that the Churches Of Christ have generally become non-pacifist and this has upset me greatly. The kingdom of Heaven is not one of murderers. In the book "Gulliver's Travells" the secular author Jonathan Swift, writing hundreds of years ago, stated:"For these reasons, the trade of a soldier is held the most honorable of all others; because a soldier is a Yahoo hired to kill in cold blood as many of his own species, who have never offended him, as possibly he can."

At my previous Church, an independent baptist, the pastor was urging us to distribute Gospel tracts (complete with no mention of repentence, a quick prayer "I'd rather not go to hell, hey thanks for dying for me, sure I believe you did" and then the promise of eternal security) comparing the sacrifice of a soldier in WW2 to the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. The tract ended with a poem saying we should "take up the torch" from the fallen soldier and finish his work.