In this way, Dr. Preston Sprinkle writes, “the law was not God’s ideal moral code for all people of all time. Rather, God met the Israelites where they were and began to take ‘incremental steps’ toward His moral ideal.”
Similarly, while Israel participated in warfare under God’s guidance, God commanded them to maintain no standing army. And on more than one occasion (such as with Gideon), God made Israel’s army as weak as possible to show his own divine strength. So while Israel was on occasion led by God into military action against violent and oppressive peoples, God never endorses militarism.
Furthermore, through the prophets, God spoke about a time when the Messiah would usher in a time of peace and nonviolence. Isaiah prophesies of the messianic kingdom, saying, “[The Messiah] shall judge between the nations, and shall decide disputes for many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.”
When Jesus gave his Sermon on the Mount, he indicated that his followers were meant to begin living in light of this kingdom ethic.
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also,” says Jesus. “And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.”
When Jesus corrects his listeners’ understanding of lex talionis, he is not negating its intention—he is taking it to its logical conclusion. If the purpose of “eye for an eye” was to minimize the effect of violent retribution, then the ultimate fulfillment of the law would be to act nonviolently and to never seek retribution—even after suffering violence.
This is a principle Jesus epitomized when he willingly submitted to his own execution.
Listening to the Early Church
Lest you think that I’m being too literal (or worse, too liberal) with Jesus’ words, it’s important to note that the earliest generations of the church were a breathtakingly nonviolent people. They seemed to take Jesus about as literally as anyone could.
The voice of early church theologians—at least in every single extant piece of writing we have—is unanimous: Christians must never kill, whether through abortion, capital punishment, or military action.
In his book “The Early Church on Killing,” Dr. Ron Sider compiles a comprehensive list of the early church writers’ remarks about violence.
Perhaps the most common Scriptural reference that appears across these hundreds of citations from the first three centuries of the church is of Isaiah’s words about turning “swords into plowshares.” Jesus’ words about praying for one’s persecutors also appear routinely. Violence is consistently abhorred, and love of enemy is championed.
For example, second century theologian Clement of Alexandria describes the church as “an unarmed, an unwarlike, a bloodless, a passionless, a stainless host, pious old men, orphans dear to God, widows armed with meekness, people adorned with love.”
Almost everywhere governmental or military service is mentioned, Christians are reminded never to engage in violence. Christians were forbidden from serving as executioners, and while some early church theologians seem to acknowledge in passing that there were Christians in the military, military service is never once endorsed.
Early theologians went as far as to sternly warn Christians against even countenancing violence. In reference to the Roman Empire’s gladiatorial games, third century theologian Cyprian of Carthage says, “The world is soaked with mutual blood, and when individuals commit homicide, it is a crime; it is called a virtue when it is done in the name of the state. Impunity is acquired for crimes not by reason of innocence but by the magnitude of the cruelty.”
While they were frequent victims of state-sanctioned execution, Christians living before the rise of Emperor Constantine did not speak directly against capital punishment as often as abortion or other forms of violence. But some explicit denunciation of capital punishment can be found.
Third century theologian Lactantius says, “With regard to this precept of God, there ought to be no exception at all; but that it is always unlawful to put to death a man, whom God willed to be a sacred animal.”
Lactantius discourages Christians even from accusing others of a crime that could result in capital punishment, “because it makes no difference whether you put a man to death by word, or rather by the sword, since it is the act of putting to death itself which is prohibited.”
Nevertheless, as the Christian faith began to spread across the Roman Empire, the popular ethics of a wide swath of Christians began to shift—even if official teaching remained the same. Constantine’s Christianized version of empire did not arise in a vacuum.
