I am often amazed when I read stories that highlight the passion and dedication of men and women like Martin Luther King, Mahatma Gandhi, and Jane Adams for living out a non-resistant lifestyle. Much of what they stood for, I believe to be good and honorable. Their resolve to lead a non-violent resistance for the sake of freedom and equality is inspiring to say the least. At the same time, I am equally inspired by figures such as George Washington, Alvin York, and Frederick Douglass who supported the major war efforts of their day for the sake of freedom and equality. George Washington was the first and only sitting president to lead his troops into battle. Alvin York was one of the most decorated heroes of WWI. Frederick Douglass, during the Civil War, helped convince President Abraham Lincoln that the abolition of slavery should be a major goal of the war and that slaves should serve in the Union forces. Am I practicing cognitive dissonance, or can I justify admiring these two distinctly different groups of people? I say “distinctly different” in the sense that one group clearly advocated for non-resistance, while the other advocated for some level of violence, and yet, each group arguably had similar goals in mind.
This tension illustrates a small portion of what I have been wrestling with over the past few months. In simple terms, I have been challenged by the question of whether or not I should be a pacifist. Not just whether I should be one, but whether or not I have some sort of moral obligation to be one. To be honest, my goal in this article is to get you to wrestle with that same question.
What is Pacifism?
It is not often that the term “pacifism” comes up in casual conversation. So, what is it? As you might have guessed, it is somewhat of a disputed term. For instance, some interpret it exclusively as opposition to war. Others define it more broadly as opposition to every form of violence. This has even led some to choose vegetarianism due to the harm caused to animals.
Pacifism originally came from the Latin word pacificus which means “peace making.”1 The first known use of the modern word “pacifism” can be traced back to 1901. Yet, the commitment to living out a peaceful existence goes back thousands of years. For our purposes, we will be defining it as, “the belief that war and violence are unjustifiable and that all disputes should be settled by peaceful means.”2 In other words, pacifism is the belief that war and violence are always wrong and in conflict one should always pursue peace.
Why does it matter?
Although it is not often brought up in conversation, the reality is our answer to the question of pacifism will have a huge impact on our lives. As a matter of fact, in some ways, it already has. Here are a few reasons why this question matters: Our views on guns and gun control are impacted. Our views on peace and war are impacted. Our views on self-defense are impacted. How we decide to raise our children is impacted. Our views on politics and government are impacted. How we choose to celebrate the heroes of the past is impacted. Even our religious convictions are impacted.
In order to tackle this topic, there are some big questions we need to answer. Some of these questions are as follows: What if one needs to defend themselves? What if one needs to defend another person from harm? What if one is called to defend their country? What if one is called to defend their country in an unjust war? Is there such a thing as a just war?
What or who is our authority on the matter?
These bring up other important questions: What or who is our authority on the matter? In other words, who gets to decide if it is right or wrong to use violence in any and all situations? Is it you? Do you get to decide for yourself? Is it society, whatever culture believes we go along with? Do I get to choose for you? Do you get to decide for me? From a Christian perspective, what does the Bible say? Ultimately, we all have an authority we will look to in order to answer these important questions. Who or what will that authority be?
Conclusion
My goal in this four-part article series is to help us answer these questions as well as the overarching question of, “should I become a pacifist?” To help us dive deeper into these questions, we are going to look at two of the greatest writers of all time, Leo Tolstoy and C.S. Lewis. Each of these men’s books have sold hundreds of millions of copies. From Anna Karenina and War and Peace to The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and Mere Christianity, their influence on our world is nearly impossible to quantify. As you will see throughout this series, these men have a great deal of valuable insight into the topic of pacifism and non-resistance.
This article series is what I call a “Versus Series,” in which I will be pitting the ideas and arguments of these two great minds from history against one another. My goal is to bring out the best of their thoughts on the topic of pacifism and allow you as the reader to decide for yourself where you stand in light of those arguments. Don’t miss Part Two coming out in two weeks as I focus on Leo Tolstoy and the pacifist position. I look forward to going on this journey with you. If you haven’t done so already, you can subscribe here to be the first to know when each article drops.
Footnotes
1 Fiala, Andrew, “Pacifism”, The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2021 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL = https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2021/entries/pacifism/.
2 “Pacifism,” Oxford Reference, accessed February 21, 2023, https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803100300294.
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