Should Christians support the government’s recent pledges to increase military spending? Reluctantly, Tim Farron says that he thinks they should
This week Keir Starmer launched the government’s defence spending review. The UK will move to “war-fighting readiness”, contribute more money to Nato and accelerate innovation to meet war-time threats.
Practical commitments include building new munitions factories, expanding the Royal Navy’s drone capacity, and investing in attack submarines and nuclear weapons. Defence spending will ultimately increase to three per cent of GDP.
We are left in no doubt that this is a new era of international threat and there is an intensified risk of war. We have not experienced the imminent threat of war on UK soil for many decades. Those under 40 years of age won’t remember the worries and uncertainties of the Cold War.
The ‘War on Terror’ that followed the US 9/11 attacks certainly brought events closer to home. In the UK, there were terrorist attacks including the 7/7 bus and tube bombings in London. But we have experienced nothing like the sustained shelling and bombing of our cities by an aggressive military power.
Rumours of war
Our response to distant wars in recent years has often been limited to how we deal refugees arriving on our shores. We have become insular and complacent, and defence spending has fallen along with armed forces numbers.
With Putin’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, war arrived in Europe. But here in the UK, I wonder if we really comprehend the reality of the bombs and bullets, the injuries and loss of life which the Ukrainians have endured. Instead, we see it on our screens, and even with drones and go-pro footage, it can still feel remote.
The world is at a critical juncture. But Christians believe in a story of ultimate hope
Defence is one of many issues where Christians can legitimately take very different positions. The two main stances are pacifism and ‘just war’, but with some grey area in the middle.
Pacifists believe that taking up arms is wrong in all circumstances. They emphasise Jesus’ command to love our enemies and his yielding to the authorities when he could have called down angels to rescue him.
Proponents of just war theory believe that war is acceptable if the cause is righteous, the response proportionate and discriminate, and a successful outcome possible. This view holds that Christians can join the armed forces as servants of the authorities instituted by God to keep order, as set out in Romans 13.
Both views share the belief that “vengeance is the Lord’s” (see Romans 12:19) and that we should never be motivated by rage or revenge. God requires justice but tempers retribution with mercy. They also both recognise that war is abhorrent and to be avoided if at all possible.
Tough choices
When considering a Christian response to the defence review, I am - reluctantly - certain that we need to put our money where our mouth is. Putin - and other aggressors like him - are not going to be deterred by departmental spending figures, but only by clear signs that our physical defences mean we are too lethal to mess with. Press releases and spins deter no one!
Last weekend, I saw a sticker on a car that said: “Fund the NHS not Trident”. My response to this is that 1) The sticker is right in it’s assertion that there’s only so much money to go around. We do have to make tough sacrifices and choices. But 2) If we value our NHS - and the other things that are key to our life in Britain - we need to be able to defend ourselves from those who would seek to undermine and destroy that way of life.
I hope this does not sound overly dramatic. It is tempting to stop paying attention to the news, to protect ourselves from anxiety and hope it will all go away. But we are called by God pray for the peace of our world, not turn away or despair.
I am - reluctantly - certain that we need to put our money where our mouth is
We can take comfort in Jesus’s words in Matthew 24:6: “You will hear of wars and rumours of wars but see to it that you are not alarmed.” The world is at a critical juncture. But Christians believe in a story of ultimate hope. The need for defence is a reminder of how broken our world is. Aggression, evil, death and destruction lurk around every corner.
It is also a reminder that our amazing God sent his son into that very same world. There he fought and defeated that same evil and secured a future where there will be no war or death.
So, let’s be encouraged by the hope that we have, and pray for the coming of the promise made in Isaiah 2:3-4: “(God) will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into ploughshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war any more.”
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