Christians and War and the Role of Conscience (a work in progress)

by Terry 12 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  no-zombie

  Sea Breeze

  Sadly whether you 'believe' it or not, government power and authority has always been through use of the military. And a simple google search quickly shows how many times in American history the army has called out to attack its own citizens, proving it. Lest I remind you of what happened on the 4th May at Kent State University in 1970.

  And while the US military may swear allegiance to defend the Constitution, who is their supreme commander? The President of the Unites States not the Congress. Supporting this with a practical example is, despite the presence of the War Power Act of 1970 (which requires the US President to get Congressional support for a declaration of war) we see that it has actually been violated many times by sitting Presidents, without legal prosecution. Thus showing that even in America, the true application of the Bill of Rights, like the right of free assembly and the right of due process ... is at the whim of ... the State.
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  Sea Breeze

  No doubt there is a lot of deviance. But, there is a framework, we have courts to work out grievances and a Congress to enact laws. Not perfect by any means. But, better that anarchy or might might makes right scenarios.
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  TonusOH

  In the USA, the people are the State. The government is literally the elected representatives of the people, and mechanisms exist to remove and replace them, should they act contrary to their duties.

  This is not to say that it's a perfect system (none such exists) or that politicians don't try to get away with as much as they can. It's just to point out that the power to prevent or resolve that problem lies in the hands of the populace. We should not surrender that power without a fight.