In the beginning of the Jesus movement, the Church held a universal agreement that Christians could not serve in the armed forces. This conviction was rooted in Jesus' nonviolent message of peace that included the forgiveness of sin, reconciliation with enemies and care for the poor, for widows, orphans and the outcast. Living in this way was incompatible with fighting alongside the very imperial forces that tortured and crucified Jesus. Indeed, it was thought too much of a contradiction to offer the hospitality of bread and wine with one hand, while slitting a man's throat for Rome with the other.
But over time, Christians began to join the armed forces of Rome and eventually created a rationale for it. Essentially it came down to what we now call the Just War tradition. In a nutshell, the tradition affirms that human nature has the potential and probability of turning violent. In such a context how can the weak, the poor, the widow and orphan be defended against the desire of the strong to exploit and dominate? The Church ruled that military force was necessary for the establishment of justice and peace in a world of sin. Having ruled that military force was necessary the Just War tradition set rules and boundaries of behavior to be used in war, including restrictions against taking the lives of civilians.
Our own United States military was once rooted in the Just War tradition. There was once a moral code of honor that established behavioral boundaries through which we might evaluate and judge military actions. Today, particularly since 2001, that code of honor, and those boundaries, have been eradicated. The military, as every Obama-ordered drone attack demonstrates, erases the boundary between military and civilian. Our invasion of Iraq, Afghanistan and the continual border violation of Pakistan erases the notion of a Just-defensive use of military force. And our over 800 global military colonies puts the lie to any notion that America is anything but an empire.
But the Church is deafeningly quiet about all of this. Hardly a peep is ever pronounced against military growth, mission creep, brutality and rampant immorality. It used to be that when soldiers returned from battle, the Church asked them to do penance as a way of atoning for the blood they had shed and releasing the guilt they bore. Today, we just avoid the conversation, the growing suicide rate, the increase in veteran homelessness, the broken marriages, and avoid doing anything other than repeating the meaningless mantra, "We support the troops."
Until the Church withdraws its presence from the military -- no more chaplains, no more blessing soldiers, no more prayers of support, no more imbecilic prayers of peace -- until the Church says "repent," the growth of our military imperialism will continue. It will continue until local pastors develop the moral courage of Jesus.