Jesus and War

Rand Paul:

Making the case against excessive American engagement overseas, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) reminded social conservatives Thursday that Jesus was anti-war.

“I can recall no utterance of Jesus in favor of war or any acts of aggression,” Paul said at a kickoff luncheon for the Faith and Freedom Coalition conference. “In fact, his message to his disciples was one of non-resistance.”…

Paul stressed that America needs a strong military but that it should be used sparingly.

“I believe individuals and countries can and should defend themselves, but I simply can’t imagine Jesus at the head of any army of soldiers and I think as Christians we need to be wary of the doctrine of preemptive war,” he said. “We must and should stand with our fellow Christians in the Middle East and around the world, but that does not necessarily mean war and it certainly does not mean arming sides in every conflict.”…

The libertarian also warned that the John McCain-led push to send aid to Syrian rebels is “misguided” and will probably do more harm than good. [He did not mention the Arizona senator by name.]

“Before the Arab Spring, Christianity flourished in small outposts, like the Coptic Christians in Egypt,” he said. “I had hoped that the Arab Spring would bring freedom to long-oppressed people throughout the Middle East, but I fear the Arab Spring is becoming an Arab winter.

The speech is the latest effort by Paul to package his leeriness of U.S. intervention overseas in a way that can appeal to as many conservatives as possible.

Some of the loudest applause for Paul came when he said Egypt should get no money from the United States until the new government recognizes Israel’s right to exist.

“You are being taxed to send money to countries that are not only intolerant of Christians but openly hostile,” he said.