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Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition.
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Howell Forgy (1908-1983)
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One of the Ten Commandments clearly stated "Thou shalt
not kill". This could be interpreted in a number of ways
so that in practice it was not applied to those of whom the
Church did not approve. Sometimes this was done by claiming
that people were not really human (congenitally deformed children,
non-Europeans, non-Christians, etc). Sometimes it was done by
citing contradictory biblical injunctions (e.g. for Old Testament
crimes). But what about warfare? How has the Church dealt with
the problem of killing in war?
The question about taking part in war was straightforward to
early Christians. In the earliest days of Christianity, they
refused to serve as soldiers. Until AD 175 there was not a single
Christian prepared to defend the Roman Empire. When Christians
did appear amongst the ranks, Church leaders like Tertullian
encouraged them to desert. In the fourth century the official
line softened. St Basil thought that soldiers who killed in
battle should refrain from taking Communion for three years
as a sign of repentance. After the Empire became Christian,
the prevailing view changed completely. By 416 only
Christians were allowed to enlist. Soon the Imperial army was
manned entirely by Christians. By the middle of the ninth century
Pope Leo IV was confidently declaring that anyone dying in battle
for the defence of the Church would receive a heavenly reward1.
A few years later another pope was ranking those who fell in
a holy war along with the martyrs2.
Soon, anyone who doubted the propriety of Christians killing
non-Christians, or even killing other Christians, was liable
to be executed for heresy or blasphemy.
Now there was no question that Christians were allowed to kill
in battle, but what about killing prisoners? Reference was made
to the Bible. Time and time again God had authorised killing,
not only in the heat of battle but also afterwards. God not
merely authorised the slaying of prisoners but also on occasion
demanded it. Clearly the sixth commandment did not apply to
God's enemies, even if they were Christians, women, helpless
prisoners, or all three. Countless Christian armies have been
responsible for the massacre of captives: men, women and children
alike, a record that Christian armies have sustained into recent
times. When these massacres had to be explained away, they were
invariably justified by reference to God's own proclivities
as set out in the Old Testament.
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M1868 Papal States Remington Rifle (The
"Pontificio"). These rifles were made for the
Papal States, under a papal licence, in the ninteenth
century by Wesley Richards in Birmingham, England and
by Emile & Leon Nagant in Liege, Belgium - and stamped
with the papal cypher.
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In recent years the Church has been sanitising its past in
many ways, so that many Christians are aware that monks, priests,
abotts, bishops, cardinals and popes routinely fought in wars
for many centuries.
According to a widespread tradition, clerics were held to favour
weapons like maces that did not cause effusion of blood (on
the grounds that the Church did not shed blood). As many recent
apologists have noted there are only a few documented cases
of senior clerics using maces. But there are counless reliable
documents referring to churchmen carrying weapons, training
in warfare, fighting in battles, and killing their enemies,
even training knights in fighting techniques. The earliest known
manual of swordsmanship is illustrated with clerics fighting,
and was probably written by a cleric3..
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In the 13th-century illustration to Einhard's
famous 9th-century biography of Charlemagne the Vita
Karoli Magni, below, the upper panel depicts a warrior
wearing a helmet crest in the shape of a bishop's mitre,
indicating that he is a bishop (possibly Turpin, Archbishop
of Reims) wielding a lance.
The lower panel also has a warrior bishop
(dressed the same) but both king and bishop are now wielding
swords instead of lances.
(Because of the universal lack of understanding
about fashion, this illustration establishes more about
13th century episcopal warrior practice than 9th century
episcopal warrior practice)
from Der Stricker, Karl St. Gallen, Stiftsbibliothek,
Ms. Vad. 302 II, fol. 35v, ca. 1300
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Fechtbuch I.333..
Note the clerical tonsure
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With few exceptions, notably Quakers and Jehovah's Witnesses,
all of the mainstream Churches have an embarrassing record of
bloodshed, which we will now look at in a little more detail.
Many other examples of fighting clerics are included in the
following:
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Fechtbuch I.333..
Note the clerical tonsure
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Fechtbuch I.333..
Note the clerical tonsure
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