What does Ellen White write about...
Adventistische Schriften über: "How should an Adventist behave in case of war? Should he take up arms and fight for his fatherland like a heathen?!"
Answer
Adventists view participation in warlike actions and taking up arms as contradictory to the principles of their faith, because the command “Thou shalt not kill” as well as Jesus’ call to love enemies are decisive for Christians. In regular military service a continual conscience conflict would arise, since officers’ orders would clash with God’s law and the sanctity of the Sabbath. When believers are called to military service, they should behave peacefully and law‑abiding toward the state, but seek, by lawful means, the status of an unarmed servant (non‑combatant).
War service contradicts the principles of faith
»I saw that in every case it is our duty to obey the laws of our country, unless they are in conflict with the higher law that God spoke with an audible voice from Sinai and then engraved with His own finger on stone. […] I was shown that God’s people, His special treasure, cannot take part in this confusing war, for it contradicts every principle of their faith. In the army they cannot obey the truth and at the same time meet the demands of their officers. There would be a constant violation of conscience. […] However, if the demands of those in power are such that they conflict with God’s laws, the only question to resolve is: Should we obey God more or the people?«
Adventists' stance and the pursuit of unarmed service
»The columns of the Review and Herald from that time show that the leadership of the Seventh‑day Adventists generally cited reasons such as the difficulty of keeping the Sabbath, the duty to love the enemy rather than kill him, and the difficulty of leading a holy life under certain army conditions. But the Review and Herald also gave clear, prudent advice against anyone who thought of resisting the call‑up. Seventh‑day Adventists were instructed to submit peacefully when conscription affected them, and then to seek, by legal means, the status of a non‑combatant. It is [...] evident that Mrs. White regarded war essentially in the same sense as “in contradiction to every principle” of Adventist faith, as conscientious non‑combatants do today.«
Christians do not fight with fleshly weapons
»Fighting is not part of Christianity. Christ’s kingdom is not of this world. If it were, his subjects would fight. Our weapons are not fleshly, but empowered by God to destroy fortresses. We are to love our enemies, bless those who curse us, and do good to those who despise us. […] We earnestly desire that our brethren do not bear fleshly weapons. It does not mean loving one’s neighbor as oneself when one uses murder weapons to destroy the life of one’s neighbor; and whoever does so breaks God’s command: THOU SHALT NOT KILL. […] What does a disciple of the Prince of Peace have to do with fleshly weapons?«
Do no violence to anyone and honor Christ’s command
»‘Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.’ The kingdom of the Caesar is of this world; his subjects are also of this world. The kingdom of Christ is not of this world; and his servants are not of this world. […] National warfare is violence and plunder, and soldiers who obey their officers must employ violence. […] John said: ‘Do no violence to anyone.’ […] If these soldiers repented and became servants of Christ, they could no longer be Herod’s war‑men […]. When the Savior was arrested, Peter drew a sword and struck at the high priest’s servant. ‘Then Jesus said to him: Put your sword back into its sheath! For all who take up the sword will perish by the sword.’«
Original Sources (English)
Stephan Krol
Founder of EGW Vision
Why I built EGW Vision
Hello, I am Stephan Krol. I started this Ellen White website to make the writings of Ellen G. White and the Adventist pioneers easier to access for everyone.
EGW Vision helps you find topics, statements, and quotes faster, especially when many original sources are not yet fully available in your language. The tool searches semantically, groups relevant content by topic, and presents matching results as clearly as possible in your language.
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