about spiritual than physical harm. But the world knew not our Savior nor is it accepting his exalted teaching.[501] For the sword keeps on punishing transgressions… It kills people in war and otherwise.
Wars and other kinds of murder have their beginning in the hatred of the enemy and in the unwillingness to be patient with evil. Their root is in intemperate self-love and in immoderate affection for temporal possessions. And these conflicts are brought into this world because men do not trust the Son of God enough to abide by his commandments. And so they choose the evil and the bitter; for when true things perish, evil weeds grow in their stead, and the sword is immediately after them with extermination.
CHAPTER 82
MILITARISM CONTRARY TO THE LAW OF CHRIST (CONTINUED)
The sword separates the Christians from God… They are united to him by following Christ’s perfection. They have been redeemed together by the blood of Christ, and together they pray,
Our Father who is in heaven, forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.[502]
They profess one common Father and say, “forgive us – as we have forgiven.” They are one with God and partakers of His goodness. If they embrace such a brotherly fellowship in the bond of love and peace, who are the old monks of exalted saintliness who want to deduce from this faith war and murder?
The pagans are no partakers of divine graces that the Christians claim, and therefore they are allowed to struggle for temporal things in accordance with their blindness and pride and avarice… But if the Christians behave thus, they are worse than the pagans. And they do not resemble even the Jews who were allowed to kill and to war by their Law; but to us killing is forbidden not only by the law but by the wrath of God as well.
CHAPTER 83
MILITARISM CONTRARY TO THE LAW OF CHRIST (CONTINUED)
The second difference between the Jewish wars and the wars conducted by misled Christians consists in this, that they made wars solely against pagans, having been forbidden to fight among themselves. For when the ten tribes seceded from the throne of David after Solomon’s death,[503] Rehoboam
