Over the years, I’ve often explained how Christians should work for and promote peace because they follow Jesus, “the prince of peace.” Sadly, many Christians seem to want to turn him into a militant warrior-messiah who fights for the nationalistic causes, just like Judas. They think he wants us to pick up the sword and fight with and for him. Why didn’t they pay attention to Jesus when he repudiated this notion by telling Peter to put his sword away?  He preached the way of justice, reconciliation, and love, not violence. We can find peace, true peace, when we follow what he taught. This is why, the more I studied Christ and his teachings, the more I had to conclude that war is always a defeat for humanity because all wars, or threats of war,  require some sin, some injustice, to thrive in order for it to take place.
Yes, there are times when defensive military actions might be justified. When that happens, that doesn’t mean anything the defender wants to do becomes justified. Their response must always use the least amount of force to stop the threat as possible. Moreover, when we say a particular war, a defensive action, is justified, we must not interpret that as saying that war itself can be seen as just and good in itself. It isn’t. But it might be the only option, and when it is, the actions must be done  as a last resort, and engaged in a proportionate response to the threat at hand; the war itself is still a defeat for humanity, and those involved in the war are stained by it, and they must do what they can when it is over to repair the harm caused (as well as accept the help they need to come to terms with what they have done, with the stress and anxiety war leaves upon those who have fight in them). And, while at war, those involved in the conflict must desire it to end with a just and equitable peace; if they turn from a defensive posture to that of aggressors, the justification for their actions come to an end.
True peace is externally established through the promotion of restorative justice and the need for everyone to come together to promote the common good. Internally, true peace requires us to purify ourselves, to fight against and overcome inordinate passions such as lust, anger, and greed, which would have us become violent or antagonistic when they are not satisfied. And, if we want peace, both within, and with others, we must strive for justice, making reparations for whatever sins, whatever injustices, we have done. True peace is not established through threats of violence or conquest. Christians should know this. Jesus said his peace is not the peace of the world in order to deny the way many in position of power use power to create a pseudo-peace, one which is based upon fear instead of the desire of everyone to work together for the common good. He was not telling us to avoid peace-building, and with it, the promotion of justice in the world. If we want peace, we will help each other attain the good everyone needs to thrive instead of using arms to force people into submission. Thus, once again, if someone has power in the world and use it to make people tremble, doing what they want, because of the threats they make, while it might seem peace has been established, it is not true peace; it is a fragile pseudo-peace which will eventually be rebelled against and fall apart, leaving violence and destruction in its wake. This is why various prophets have warned us not to believe everyone who claims they are bringing peace to the world because many mean by that the peace of the sword, where war and death will be used to subdue people and take away their rights and dignity:
Thus says the LORD concerning the prophets who lead my people astray, who cry “Peace” when they have something to eat, but declare war against him who puts nothing into their mouths (Micah 3:5 RSV).
Christians who have paid attention to Christ and what he taught will know that true peace is found with those who embrace the justice of God’s law, the law which Jesus said is the law of love. “Great peace have those who love thy law; nothing can make them stumble” ( Ps 119:165 RSV). Christians, likewise, know such peace begins within; they let Christ and his grace transform them so that they can then become like him, peace makers who engage others with love and mercy. They know that grace can make the transformation inside permanent inside, but they also know, due to of the way of temporal existence, the peace they build in the world will be transitory; it can be established, to some level, but the only lasting peace will be found in the eschaton. Nonetheless,  just because it will not last does not mean Christians should not try to make the world a better place, sharing with it the peace of Christ, giving it temporary respite. They should do so to the best of their ability. And they should do so with the right means, that is, with justice tempered with mercy and love. This is why Christians cannot ever support any false peace built upon threats of violence, torture, death, and destruction. Those threats reveal the desire within, that is, those who make them want to dominate the world and they hate anyone who does not bow down and honor them in the way they believe they should be honored. Any so-called peace which is built upon hate, any so-called peace which employs grave injustices to establish itself, stands against the peace of Christ; it is a rival to Christ, and those who follow it therefore follow the spirit of the anti-Christ. Every Christian, upon seeing it, must resist it as they would resist the anti-Christ himself. For they have been warned against this pseudo-peace; they have been told it leads to great suffering in the world:
 But as to the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need to have anything written to you. For you yourselves know well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. When people say, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them as travail comes upon a woman with child, and there will be no escape  (1 Thes. 5:1-3 RSV)
While many interpret this eschatologically, suggesting these verses only apply when the anti-Christ appears at the end of time, we can understand them as representing a type which will be repeated in history many times until the time of the anti-Christ; each time, it can be said that the spirit of the anti-Christ is stirring up trouble, trying to have people to embrace the pseudo-peace rooted in hate and violence. They can be, and have been, fulfilled many times, such as when the Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed, and they will be fulfilled many times more until they are fulfilled in an exceptional way at the end of human history.
Knowing this, I have pointed out many times how Trump, with his rhetoric, with his attempt to be seen as the “savior” of Christianity (instead of Christ himself), follows the spirit of the anti-Christ. He is trying to have Christians put their faith and trust in him and his ways instead of Christ and Christ’s ways. Trump keeps promoting himself as a prince of peace, but his peace is the pseudo-peace of the anti-Christ, which can be seen in the way he threatens anyone and everyone who does not follow his every whim. To him, peace is had when the world agrees with him, whether or not it should, and if that false peace is not had, he believes has a right to create it through violence, always blaming his victim for not bowing down and worshiping him (as can be seen with his actions in Venezuela, his threats to Canada and Greenland, and the possible build up to war or at least military action in Iran).
Trump’s  so-called “Board of Peace” is another representation of his desire to bring forth his own order into the world, one where everyone fawns over him, loves him as he wants to be loved, giving him everything he wants, including the power of life and death to those he does not like. It is not about peace. Of course, Pope Leo XIV and the Vatican understand this, which is why they have rejected Trump’s offer to buy their way into that “Board of Peace.”
Peace, true peace, is good, and to be desired. But those who would use violence to control and dominate others, calling the order established when everyone submits to them as peace, must be seen as a false peace to be rejected. It is run by violent agitators, not peace-makers. So long they use violence to destroy innocent lives, to keep people down, and deny the rights and dignity of others, there will be no peace, and the prophets are right to warn us not to heed those who proclaim peace in such circumstances.
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* This Is Another Post From My Personal (Informal) Reflections And Speculations Series
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