IN LOVE AND WAR: The sequel to this post. First, some caveats: 1) Professor Work is, as his title might indicate, a professor (and a rigorous, discerning, and thoughtful writer). I’m a journalist (at best). He’s probably forgotten more about this stuff than I’ll ever know.

2) I misspoke in that previous post. Pacifism and celibacy, although I do think the parallel between the two is illuminating in a lot of ways, don’t “actually hold strikingly similar positions in the New Testament.” There are some parallels in the New Testament, but the more striking similarities are in Christian history, thought, and community.

3) As should be blindingly obvious, I’m Catholic and Work is not. Work thinks (I think) that Scripture issues an unequivocal call for all Christians to be pacifists. I disagree, for reasons explained below. Because I don’t think citing Scripture ends the discussion, I will look to history and sacred tradition, including but not restricted to specific Catholic teachings. I think both Work and I are relying on the traditions of our Christian communities, but I will necessarily be placing a heavier emphasis on those traditions because a) I think the Catholic tradition shows unity of the faith from its earliest days, b) I think Catholics generally tend to view Scripture, saints’ lives, and Church teachings as more intertwined than Protestants do (though of course that’s a broad generalization), c) I don’t think Scripture can be read outside of an interpretive tradition, and I have other reasons for going with the Catholic tradition unless I find some irresolvable conflict within it, and d) most importantly, like I said, I don’t think Scripture alone answers this question. However, because I’ll be talking about aspects of Christian faith and history that many Protestants either don’t share or don’t emphasize, there’s necessarily going to be a sectarian turn here. I know next to nothing about Work’s own tradition, and so instead of trying to engage it (which I don’t think I’d do very well), I’m just going to present the world as I see it. A collision from the side rather than head-on, you might say.

4) I’m only going to address one point right now–the possible analogy between pacifism and celibacy. I may blog a bit later about the way Work reads history, and I’ll definitely blog about a) whether/why/how Christian soldiers compromise Christian missionary activity and what our response should be when missionary activity is compromised, and b) the specific types of Christian witness that a cop, a prison guard, or a soldier can make (and have made in the recent past–this isn’t just a hypothetical possibility). But both of those questions are subordinate to, and dependent on, the answer to the simple question of whether Jesus calls us to be pacifists, so I’m doing this first.

5) This will be long and rambly. Forewarned is forearmed. So to speak.