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There are few wars that I think are truly necessary.

I think that’s often missed in these discussions. My father, like many other conscientious objectors, put himself on the line for his convictions, as I did for mine. We need people to do that.

I feel that a person could make this choice on the basis that ‘This is a sin but God sees that I have no other choice and I’ll have to trust in his forgiveness.’ In my view this is a vastly different position from ’supporting’ war. To support war, in my view, is to say ‘God blesses my choice to kill others’.

This needs more than a paragraph answer, but I think that I disagree with you substantially. For me, ethics occurs in the real world, and the issue is making the best choice under the circumstances. If violence is ever the best choice, then the person who makes that choice when it is the best choice does the right thing, and I believe God would bless.

I don’t believe any of our actions are really pure, and it’s hard to be sure when violence is justified, but that’s what our wills are all about. God knows who and what we are, and responds accordingly, in my view.

I need to say more, but I believe there’s a different line between support and opposition politically for a war (how I would vote) and whether one, as a member of the military, must just say no. At least the international community definitely has certain actions to which a soldier is expected to say “no.”

I’ll post on this some more.