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Encounter Messages  /  The Church Did NOT Fall Apart After the Apostles  /  Discussion Questions
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Question 6
Augustine taught, and Luther repeated, that a Christian soldier may follow a ruler into a wrong war because the ruler bears the blame. David Bercot answers that the means count just as much as the end. Where are Christians today tempted to excuse wrong methods because their cause seems righteous?
Another way to ask: Some taught that a Christian soldier is innocent in a wrong war because the ruler carries the blame. David Bercot says the means count as much as the end. Where do Christians today excuse wrong methods because the cause seems good?

Direct Answer

The transcript speaks directly about war and government and gives no other modern examples. The principle reaches further, though, since any Christian can be tempted to use a wrong method for a cause that seems good.

Support from the Message

- David Bercot says Augustine taught that a Christian could serve in the army of a wrong emperor because the emperor bears the blame. - He points to the Nazis, whose soldiers were mostly professing Christians, as an example of where this teaching leads. - His answer to those soldiers is plain: "You are not innocent." - He says that if your cause is righteous and you prevail by the sword, "you've already lost the most important battle." - He adds that the early Christians understood torture was wrong long before modern governments did.

Discussion Follow-up

What good cause in your own life might tempt you to use a method Jesus would reject? Where do you blame someone in authority for a choice that is yours?

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