Rick Warren: God Hates War, Love Soldiers
Pastor Rick Warren gave an interview to ABCNews’ Jake Tapper in which he “defended the use of military force.” Apparently, this was newsworthy:
Military service…is a worthy and valid vocation. In fact, the greatest compliment that Jesus ever gave, he gave to a soldier in scripture. He said, “I’ve never seen such faith in all of Israel.” And the Bible said God has authorized government to protect the citizenship.
The Bible tells us that there are some things worth fighting for. In fact, the Bible says there’s some things worth dying for. You’re not really ready to live unless you know what you’re willing to die for…And the Bible says they are actually agents of peace. They are peacemakers. So I would say God hates war, but God loves every soldier.
That’s a particularly well-articulated, if common, description of the Christian support for military service.
More interesting was the aside from the interviewer that Rick Warren’s church “opened an outpost at Camp Leatherneck in Helmand Province in Afghanistan.” It seems an outbound Marine from Camp Pendleton, Jeff Gonzales was “commissioned” by the church to lead a small group during his tour in Afghanistan. That’s admirable foresight and an excellent way to complement the chaplains’ ministries to the US servicemembers there.
It’s also worth noting that the centurion mentioned in those verses was pagan, and that there’s something to be said for someone who has faith even if he expresses it in unorthodox ways.
@Anonymous
You might be misusing the text a bit.
The Bible does not describe the centurion as a pagan (in either the ancient or the modern uses of the term), though it is possible. On the other hand, Cornelius is only the most famous non-pagan Roman soldier; there were certainly others.
More importantly, the Roman soldier not only recognized the ability of Jesus to miraculously heal his servant, but he also recognized Jesus’ authority. In other words, the Roman soldier’s faith was in Jesus, whom he recognized as worthy of that faith.
The important point, then, is that Jesus was commending the centurion’s faith in Himself, not merely faith in some general sense.
Faith in Jesus Christ might be “expressed in unorthodox ways,” but it must still be faith in Jesus Christ. “Faith” requires content.