Is War Ever Just?

By Captain Michael Ramsay

The Nipawin Journal, November 2007 

 Is war ever just? This is certainly a difficult question to answer; brilliant churchmen and theologians (Augustine, Aquinas, More, Grotius, CS Lewis, John Paul II...) like the pagans before them (Plato and Cicero) have wrestled with this question and fought to find various theoretical formulae in order to test for a just war. Though their intent was noble, the results are ambiguous. A prime example of the struggle is Ulrich Zwingli. Zwingli was a brilliant reformer and staunch pacifist – he died in a battle he voluntarily entered.

 
Part of the difficulty in addressing the question of a  ‘just war’ is, of course, the ‘two Joshuas.’ God used Joshua of the OT to deliver His people into the promised land.  War and violence accompanied this conquest. God uses the second Joshua, Jesus, to deliver us into the eternal promised land. Jesus is the Prince of Peace (Isa 9:6) who teaches that one should turn the other cheek and offer our attackers even more than they demand (Matt 5, Lk 6). Pacifists have argued that any resistance is therefore disobedience and placing our trust in ourselves rather than in God.

 
The Salvation Army, in which I am an officer, is not a pacifist movement. We have both pacifists and national soldiers in our ranks. We have a long tradition of standing up for the weak and disadvantaged. John 15 says that a man can show no greater love than to lay down his life for his friends; we do owe a debt of gratitude to all our soldiers who have died for us and, from my perspective, I think Canada’s peacekeeping tradition of sending our troops to defend civilian populations and stand between warring factions is a noble expression of faith in action.

 
I further believe that our war here is with principalities and powers and that, as this is the case, officers in the Salvation Army pledge to make the saving of people a primary focus of our lives. It is to this end that I have committed to fight; Jesus saves and when His kingdom is fully realised on earth, there will be no further wars, no more tears. This is most certainly a just war.

This is a cursorily look at the topic. For more reading, I have posted a bibliography at http://www.sheepspeak.com./is_war_ever_just.htm

DR Was (Daily Rations with a Smile) Mar 23rd

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Click to read today's rations (scriptures): Joshua 15-17 and 1 Corinthians 8













Peter

DR Was (Daily Rations with a Smile) Mar 22nd

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Click to read today's rations (scriptures): Joshua 12-14 and 1 Corinthians 7

Don’t Worry, Be Happy (1 Corinthians 7 21-24)

Presented to Nipawin and Tisdale Corps on August 31, 2008
By Captain Michael Ramsay
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 Today’s passage speaks about slavery. This is actually a big social justice issue in the Salvation Army. Coming up this 28 September, The Salvation Army is asking us all to pray for the victims of today's sex slave trade. Social Justice is something about which we are very concerned.

Now when I think of justice, I must confess the first thing that comes to my mind these days are my daughters (6&7), they are concerned about justice – particularly as it relates to themselves. I don’t know how many times from downstairs, I hear, “Daddy she hit me” or “Daddy she won’t stop touching me” or “Daddy it’s not fair; why does she get to do that?”

I remember this too from when I was a child – there is nothing new under the sun (Eccl. 1:9) - that justice is usually more about justice for ourselves than for anyone else. I can remember when I was a child whenever I felt hard done by; whenever I felt that the world was ganging up on me; whenever I would get a detention for something that I didn’t do at school or whenever I got in trouble for something that my little sister did at home – all of a sudden justice became important. It is funny how important justice is when we feel wronged. Now, when I got upset about this unjust world that was ganging up on me, I would do something. I would do something: I would complain.

I would go to my mom. I would rant on and on about how life is treating me so poorly and how my rights are being trampled and how I deserve so much more and when I inevitably finish my whining and complaining and making much of an ado about whatever, my mother would answer my complaints with these important words of comfort.

“Michael, suck it up – stop your whining – deal with it.”

In the 80’s there was a song that would sum it up in a more positive phraseology – it was Bobby McFerrin’s “Don’t Worry. Be Happy”[1]

This is actually part of what our text today, 1 Corinthians 7:21-24, is talking about– and I’ll come back to that in a minute. First we should address a real social justice issue here because if we don’t it may bug some of us a little bit – after all how can we sing “Don’t Worry. Be Happy” when we are talking about slavery.[2]

read more: http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2008/08/1-corinthians-7-21-24dont-worry-be.html

DR Was (Daily Rations with a Smile) Mar 21st

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Click to read today's rations (scriptures): Joshua 9-11 and 1 Corinthians 6

 

 

 

 

Mel's keys on deck

DR Was (Daily Rations with a Smile) Mar 20th

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Click to read today's rations (scriptures): Joshua 7,8 and Psalm 69 and 1 Corinthians 5

DR Was (Daily Rations with a Smile) Mar 19th

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Click to read today's rations (scriptures): Joshua 3-6 and 1 Corinthians 4

 

 

 

 

 

The tribe of 'F-frame'

Covenant and the Gibeonite Dilemma

Presented to Nipawin and Tisdale Corps on May 18, 2008
By Captain Michael Ramsay

 Judges 2:1-5: The angel of the LORD went up from Gilgal to Bokim and said, "I brought you up out of Egypt and led you into the land that I swore to give to your forefathers. I said, 'I will never break my covenant with you, and you shall not make a covenant with the people of this land, but you shall break down their altars.' Yet you have disobeyed me. Why have you done this? Now therefore I tell you that I will not drive them out before you; they will be thorns in your sides and their gods will be a snare to you." When the angel of the LORD had spoken these things to all the Israelites, the people wept aloud, and they called that place Bokim (weepers). There they offered sacrifices to the LORD.

This is disappointing; it’s a sad but very important passage from which to launch the stories of the so-called Judges.[1] This pericope (Joshua 2:1-5) explains why the Israelites and their allies suffer hundreds of years of oppression.[2] It informs us that the cycle of sin, enslavement, repentance, deliverance, and sin again… which continues repeatedly until Israel finally descends into civil war and anarchy - this whole downward spiral[3] all stems from one broken promise; a disobeyed covenant.

Our promises, our covenants are important to God and as such how we operate within a covenant relationship has significant implications for our lives. The Lord said to His people that He will never break His covenant with them (Judges 2:1) – they, we are not released from our covenants simply for disobedience to them; there are serious consequences for taking our covenants too lightly.

read more: http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2008/05/judges-21-5-covenant-and-gibeonite.html

DR Was (Daily Rations with a Smile) Mar 18th

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Click to read today's rations (scriptures): Joshua 1,2 and Psalm 37 and 1 Corinthians 3

DR Was (Daily Rations with a Smile) Mar 17th

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Click to read today's rations (scriptures): Deuteronomy 32-34 and 1 Corinthians 2

DR Was (Daily Rations with a Smile) Mar 16th

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Click to read today's rations (scriptures): Deuteronomy 30,31 and Psalm 40 and 1 Corinthians 1

Dr Was (Daily Rations with a Smile) Mar 15th

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Click to read today's rations (scriptures): Deuteronomy 28-29 and Galatians 6

Dr Was (Daily Rations with a Smile) Mar 14th

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Click to read today's rations (scriptures): Deuteronomy 25-27 and Galatians 5

Dr Was (Daily Rations with a Smile) Mar 13th

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Click to read today's rations (scriptures): Deuteronomy 22-23 and Galatians 4

Don't be a McChicken (Galatians 3:19-25)

Presented to Nipawin Corps on January 20, 2008
and to Tisdale Corps on January 27, 2008
By Captain Michael Ramsay
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One day at the McDonald farm there is a rumbling in the air; something is a foot. In the chicken coop – something isn’t just quite right. The old farmer walks all around the chicken wire fence. It seems to be in tact. The barbed wire along the perimeter looks undisturbed. Everything looks fine as he locks up the hens for the night. But inside the henhouse on the top rung, something is stirring…it is Henrietta the Poultry Hen.

Now, as soon as Farmer McDonald closes the door to the coop, Henrietta, the Hen, speaks up: “It’s time.” Quickly Henrietta, Polly, Mick, - and all the chickens on the top rung - run to the southeast corner of the coop. They peck and they peck the ground in the corner like never before. Last night they had almost made it. Tonight would be the night. Finally – breakthrough! Henrietta and the other Chickens are free. They are free from the farmer’s coop. They are free from the barbed wire and the chicken wire; they are free from the tedious ritual and routine. They are free!

They spend the next morning roaming around the yard, exploring the whole farm. They eat what they want, when then want. They can be near or wander far away: they talk. They talk and they talk some more; it’s a hen’s life. They spend that whole day walking around eating what and when they want and really enjoying the full freedom from the yard. At the end of the day, they perch on a branch of tree across the road from the farm and cuddle up the night. It is good.

They have a nice rest but in the morning when they wake up, they notice something...

read more:  http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2008/01/galatians-319-25-dont-be-mcchicken.html

Dr Was (Daily Rations with a Smile) Mar 12th

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Click to read today's rations (scriptures): Deuteronomy 19-21 and Galatians 3

___Tigger's favourite verse:

'by his stripes we are healed'

Dr Was (Daily Rations with a Smile) Mar 11th

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Click to read today's rations (scriptures): Deuteronomy 16-18 and Psalm 38 and Galatians 2

Dr Was (Daily Rations with a Smile) Mar 10th

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Click to read today's rations (scriptures): Deuteronomy 13-15 and Galatians 1

The Lamb breaks the 3rd Seal.

Dead or Alive: what do you believe? (Mark 16)

Presented to Nipawin and Tisdale Corps on March 23, 2008 (Resurrection Sunday)by Captain Michael Ramsay
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 Christ has Risen (He has Risen Indeed).

So this is it. This is the most important day in the Christian calendar. This is the day we celebrate the risen Christ. This is exciting indeed. This is how Jesus defeated sin and death by dying and rising again on the third day. Today is the celebration. Today is exciting. Do you know what these are? (My daughters’ medals) They are medals, right? These are medals that my daughters were awarded this year in soccer and skating.[1]

Rebecca did a really good job her first year in skating. Sarah-Grace’s soccer team was in two tournaments this year. In the first one her team won bronze. In the second one her team won silver: they played really well and we were all so proud. You should have heard some of the dads cheering. It was a lot of fun; we celebrated. Everyone is looking forward to the next tournament when we can go for gold.

This is what Easter (Resurrection Day) is all about.[2] It is all about celebrating the victory of Jesus through the death and resurrection and more than that: it appears, in Mark Chapter 16, that they were celebrating an unexpected victory[3] – a come from behind win if you will.

read more: http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2008/03/mark-161-8-dead-or-alive-what-do-you.html

Dr Was (Daily Rations with a Smile) Mar 9th

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Click to read today's rations (scriptures): Deuteronomy 10-12 and Mark 16

DR Was (Daily Rations with a Smile) Mar 8th

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Click to read today's rations (scriptures): Deuteronomy 7-9 and Mark 15

DR Was (Daily Rations with a Smile) Mar 7th

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Click to read today's rations (scriptures): Deuteronomy 5-6 and Psalm 43 and Mark 14





















"repent and sin no more..."

Hope for a Happy New Year! (Mark 13:32-37)

Presented to each the Nipawin and Tisdale Corps 30 November 2008 by Captain Michael Ramsay

Happy New Year! Does anyone know why I would wish you a happy New Year today? Today is the beginning of Advent. In traditional liturgical churches, advent is the beginning of the church year where we celebrate the first coming of Christ and celebrate the hope that is in his anticipated return. Now often at New Year there are all kinds of year-end quizzes; so I thought that I would put a little tongue-in-cheek quiz together for us based on our text today.

What do these dates have in common: 8:00 AM October 19, 1533; April 5, 1534; March 21 and October 22, 1844; Sept. 10, 1979; Dec. 31, 1981; Sept 11 -13, 1988; March 31, 1991; October 20, 1997; December 12, 2012?

A: They are various people’s predictions for the end of world date.

What do these people have in common: Nero, the Pope, Mikhail Gorbachev, Prince Charles, the US President (elect), David Hasselhoff?[1]

A. They were/ are various people’s predictions for the arch-anti-Christ.

Now this next question is a good one. It is a riddle –you’ll have to pay attention. Someone has figured out a way to ‘out’ the beast of Revelation and solve the riddle of ‘666’ – let’s see together of we can solve the riddle and figure out who is the beast of John’s Apocalypse?

Given that 666 is the number of the Beast, First we must break that number down into its component parts in such away that when we add them back together, they will total 666.

I’ll give you this part (if you click here: http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2008/11/mark-1332-37-hope-for-happy-new-year.html)

Dr Was (Daily Rations with a Smile) Mar 6th

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Click to read today's rations (scriptures): Deuteronomy 3-4 and Psalm 36 and Mark 13

Two of the twelve tribes...

DR Was (Daily Rations with a Smile) Mar 5th

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Click to read today's rations (scriptures): Deuteronomy 1-2 and Mark 12

DR Was (Daily Rations with a Smile) Mar 4th

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Click to read today's rations (scriptures): Numbers 34-36 and Mark 11

Open Our Eyes Lord (Mark 10:46-52)

Presented to the Nipawin Corps 03 May 2009
by Captain Michael Ramsay
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Captain Holland, Stephen, my friend from Nova Scotia has a story: Stephen and his wife Karen are posted to Bridgewater, Nova Scotia. It is a small community, not unlike our own and one day a new lady (named Karen) came to town and called up Stephen’s wife, Karen, and said that she would like to come to church. Well when she got there – Stephen told me – he asked the new lady her name. She said ‘Karen’

‘Karen, that’s my wife’s name,’ said Stephen, ‘Karen, that should be easy to remember.’ So he welcomes her, invites her to have a seat and then goes over to one of the other ladies in the church and asks her to go and introduce herself to the new lady.

‘What’s her name?’ she asks.

‘Debbie’, Stephen answers.

It appears that I am not the only one bad with names.

read more: http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2009/05/mark-1046-52-open-our-eyes-lord-we-want.html

DR Was (Daily Rations with a Smile) Mar 3rd

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Click to read today's rations (scriptures): Numbers 32-33 and Mark 10

Time: Lost and Saved (Mark 8:34-9:1)

Time, Talent and Treasure Series, Part 1: Presented to the Swift Current Corps 05 September 2010 by Captain Michael Ramsay
 
I’ve got a test for us today: Famous Quotes. Let’s see which side can name the speaker of each of the following quotes:[1]

1) “Hi Ho Silver, Away…”

2) “We’re not in Kansas anymore, Toto”

3) “I am not a crook”

4) “Living next to you [the Americans] is in some ways like sleeping with an elephant. No matter how friendly and even-tempered is the beast, if I can call it that, one is affected by every twitch and grunt.”

5) “While women weep, as they do now, I'll fight; while children go hungry, as they do now I'll fight; while men go to prison, in and out, in and out, as they do now, I'll fight; while there is a drunkard left, while there is a poor lost girl upon the streets, while there remains one dark soul without the light of God, I'll fight, I'll fight to the very end!”

6) “Up, up, and away!”

7) “I’m strong to the finish ‘cause I eat my spinach; I’m _________ the sailor man.”

8) “For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but for whoever loses his life for me (and for the gospel) will save it.”

These are all famous quotes from people and in some ways the quotes have even served to summarize the impact the individual had on history. Nixon is famous for his speeches around the time of his resignation. Another little quiz for you: only two American presidents have ever been impeached, can you name them? (Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton; Nixon resigned he was never impeached)[2]

Answers (and more) @ http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2010/09/mark-834-91-luke-923-927-matthew-1621.html

DR Was (Daily Rations with a Smile) Mar 2nd

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Click to read today's rations (scriptures):  Numbers 29-31 and Mark 9 
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If he had looked back as well...

...there would have been a 'LOT' of salt.

Do you have in mind the things of God or the things of man? (Mark 8:31-33)

Presented to Nipawin and Tisdale Corps on March 09, 2008
By Captain Michael Ramsay
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  In the last little while I have performed a few funerals / memorial services both here and in Tisdale. They are all a little bit different, of course. Some have been with the physical remains interred in an urn, others in a coffin and I was a part of one ceremony where the remains of the person were not even present at all. Most people have songs. Many have eulogies. Some people have pictures and I often preach a short homily based on the Holy Scriptures.

Of the ceremonies that I have been a part of in the North East here, none of the passings have really been a surprise and for most of them – even from just a humanistic viewpoint – were a blessing: loved ones don’t need to suffer anymore.

Of course from a Christian viewpoint there is another good part of the memorial or funeral ceremony, the acknowledgement that those that love the Lord will be raised again at the last trumpet and will be a part of the Lord’s kingdom either in Heaven or on the renewed earth.

Even recognizing all of that, you know what, in those last hours, before the dying pass on, when we know the end of their time with us is near and soon they will see the Lord face-to-face – in those last hours – at times we still don’t want to let them go, do we? And because we love them, we fight to keep them here even praying and begging God that they not to leave us.

I think this is some of what Mark is telling us about the Apostle Peter in the Chapter 8. Peter has just had an intimate moment (v.29) with the Lord where he confesses his messiahship and then Jesus tells Peter (v. 31) that he is going to die...

read more: http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2008/03/mark-831-33-do-you-have-in-mind-things.html

DR Was (Daily Rations with a Smile) Mar 1st

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Click to read today's rations (scriptures): Numbers 27-28 and Mark 8