Does the Bible Support a Just War?

I Don't Have Enough FAITH to Be an ATHEIST

Dr. Frank Turek

Religion & Spirituality, Education, Christianity

4.8 • 5K Ratings

🗓️ 27 May 2025

⏱️ 53 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Jesus said to love your enemies, turn the other cheek, and to pray for those who persecute you. But does that mean we can never use force under any circumstances? In this post Memorial Day episode, Frank explores what the Bible says about protecting ourselves and others from evil. With insights from Scripture and history, Frank examines real-world examples of Just War and explains why, in a fallen world, force is sometimes not only permissible, but necessary. Tune in as he answers questions like:* Would Jesus ever condone violence? If so, what did He mean when He said to "turn the other cheek"?* Why is complete pacifism unbiblical and a dereliction of duty?* What is the proper use of the sword according to the Bible?* Where do our rights come from and what are the 3 institutions that God created?* What are the 6 attributes of a Just War according to Augustine?* What are the 7 reasons when using force may be necessary?* How does this all relate to events happening in Gaza and Israel right now?* What could President Lincoln possibly say to comfort a mother who lost five sons in the Civil War?Freedom is never free. Don’t miss this Gospel-centered reflection on self-defense and warfare as we honor those who sacrificed their lives in service to our country.Resources mentioned during the episode:Jesus and the Case for War - https://bit.ly/4mGuG8b (https://bit.ly/4mGuG8b)Charlie Kirk vs. Cambridge Student - https://youtu.be/RXuePZj5eU0 (https://youtu.be/RXuePZj5eU0)

Transcript

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0:00.0	Jesus said, love your enemies. Jesus said, turn the other cheek. And we have this holiday
0:10.8	known as Memorial Day. We also have a holiday known as Veterans Day. Is being in the military
0:17.7	against the Bible? Is it against Jesus' command?
0:22.0	Is war something that Jesus would never condone?
0:26.8	We're going to discuss that today.
0:29.4	But before I get there, I got an email from a listener that I want to share with you
0:35.5	because it really makes a point much better than I could ever make
0:40.8	the point. We were talking in the May 20th, 2025 show about the ripple effect. And Josh writes in
0:52.3	and says this. I just finished listening to the I don't have enough faith to be an atheist podcast on May 20th, 2025 on Spotify.
1:01.2	I'm a regular listener.
1:02.3	I'd like to thank you for all your tireless efforts in equipping the church to become better, more informed disciples of Jesus.
1:09.4	I have personally benefited from your ministry and I'm currently
1:11.9	developing a multi-week apologetics course from my local church. That's great. Thanks, Josh.
1:17.6	Josh goes on to say, in your most recent episode, you discussed the ripple effect associated with
1:24.2	God's knowledge and sovereignty. And you provided an example of a baby dying despite prayerful pleas from believers for healing.
1:34.6	Let me stop right here just to give you some context.
1:37.9	In the book, Stealing from God, Why Atheists Need God to Make Their Case, I have a chapter on the problem of evil.
1:46.4	And I point out that a lot of times we see things that happen to us or other people and we say we can't see any good coming from
1:54.8	this. Why would God allow say a baby to die? How could any good come from this? This is senseless, it seems to us. We can't figure out why God would allow such a thing, especially a baby in a church when everybody prays and God doesn't heal the baby. You're going, why not God? And my point is, is that just because we can't see a good outcome to that terrible tragedy,
2:20.4	doesn't mean there isn't a good outcome.
2:23.2	It doesn't mean that God can't make good from evil or can't bring good from evil.
2:28.3	It's obviously evil.
	...

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