Christ taught his disciples to love their enemies and to do good to those who sinned against them but believers in the Bible are also taught about an angel named Micheal. Micheal is depicted as a warrior and he embodies the idea of a just war. Christian theory and practice seems to have revolved around the persecution they faced in the world for their loyalty to an otherworldly master but they didn't embrace the idea of a Jihad like the muslims. I know of no documented cases where christians waged war against the roman emperors who so viciously attacked them. Was this a proof of their cowardice or their wisdom? Perhaps it is strange to say that men and women who willingly faced death were cowards but perhaps someone like Nietzsche would say that this is proof of their rejection of life. Indeed Jesus says elsewhere in the Bible "whoever loves his life will lose it". Spartacus was not afraid of the roman legions and he lived only a few years before the Christians would burst onto the scene. How should christians understand this nonviolent reputation of Christ and his disciples who were tortured and murdered by tyrannical regimes? Is it the case that this nonviolence was practiced because of their faith in God's ability to punish the wicked and reward the righteous in the next world? In Matthew 26:53 christ says "Or do you think that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He will provide Me with more than twelve legions of angels?". If God is indeed a king with legions at his command why would he allow his son to be mistreated? Why would christ allow himself and his devoted followers to be tortured and murdered? It is a strange salvation that involves the obliteration of the flesh for the sake of something sacred like the soul.

In John 18:36 Jesus is quoted as saying "My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence", here we are introduced to the idea of our heavenly father's fatherland. If God has armies of angels who have waged war for him then perhaps there is a time for war and a time for peace but what method should we use to determine when we should wage war or when we should pursue peace? Why was it acceptable for God to wage war against the wicked in heaven and somehow impermissible for his faithful son and servants here on earth? Is it a double standard or is it something deeper? Maybe Christ didn't have a dog in the fights that happen down here on earth but what are we to do? Should we fight when faced with an evil enemy like Micheal or should we do as christ did and lay down our lives for the ones we love because we are taught by him to love our enemies? What kind of mysterious wisdom would lead men to their deaths? Is it the idea that a man who has nothing to die for is already dead? Christians are taught to see heaven as their promised land but the Israelites had to carve out a place for themselves with conquest. Leaders like Joshua at Jericho and David with Goliath seem to suggest that God's people can use violent means to achieve their ends down here on earth. Indeed the Bible teaches that God gives victory in war to whoever he choses. Perhaps christians should remember when they recite the lords prayer and repeat the words "on earth as it is in heaven" that there was war in heaven once upon a time.