"Should Christians Go to War?"

A look at the early Christian attitude to war

(October 30 - November 1, 2013)

This 3-day seminar was recorded in six parts with two sessions each night. It deals with the topic of Christian participation in war and the use of violence. The study begins with an introduction to the topic and a look at the teachings of Jesus. We will consider statements Jesus made possibly for and against Christian participation in war. Then we will look at teachings from the New Testament and the early church fathers first expressing disapproval of war and then statements which might show an approval of Christians fighting in war. The goal is to establish the what Jesus taught related to this important topic and see how the church applied those teachings for the next 300 years!

Download an outline of this material. The outline is based on the text of The Early Christian Attitude to War by C. John Cadoux (London, 1919). It quotes extensively from the book itself with no references. In many places there may be minor changes to update the language. Because of the large number of references, please refer to the footnotes in the original. The full text of the book can be found in several formats on-line at: LibertyFund.org

I would like to thank Dr. Cadoux for his diligence and thoroughness in dealing with this important topic.