At first blush the two topics in the post title may seem incongruous- but they are in fact theologically related. Bullinger writes
For if the magistrate doth by God’s law punish offenders, thieves, and harmful persons; and that it maketh no matter whether they be few or many in number, as I declared in my yesterday’s sermon; even by the same law may he persecute, repel, and kill rebellious people, seditious citizens, and barbarous soldiers, who, under the pretence of war, do attempt that openly which thieves and robbers are wont to do privily. The prophet, I confess, did among other things prophesy of us Christians, and say: “They shall turn their swords into spades, and their javelins into scythes:” for Christians have peace with all men, and do altogether abstain from armour; for every one doth that to another which he would wish to have done to himself. But, for because all are not so minded, but that many unruly persons, wicked thieves, and oppressors of the poor, do live and dwell among honest and good-meaning men, as wild beasts among harmless creatures; therefore God from heaven hath given the sword into the magistrate’s hand, to be a defence for harmless people against unruly cut-throats. But we read not in any place that we are forbidden to suppress and kill wolves, wild boars, bears, and such other beasts that do annoy and prey upon men or cattle. What let then should there be why we should not, by lawful war begun in a good quarrel, repel the unjust injury of violent robbers, since thieves, robbers, barbarous soldiers, and seditious citizens, do differ little or nothing from wild beasts?*
Force is justifiable when it is used in defense of the defenseless. For this reason Bullinger at least would see as proper Israel’s incursion into Gaza. Not because Bullinger was anything like a ‘Christian Zionist’ (he would have loathed such theological incorrectness), but because when the innocent are attacked it is the government’s job to protect them.
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*The Decades of Henry Bullinger: The First and Second Decades (T. Harding, Ed.) (370–371). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
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- Heinrich Bullinger: Unjust Wars (zwingliusredivivus.wordpress.com)
Um…who was there to defend the Palestinians in 1948 when the Jewish militias attacked? I would highly recommend you take a look at an interview of Miko Peled, the Israeli son of General Matti Peled. Matti was one of the original jewish militia of 1948 and he was a (sounds like “the”) general who took part in the decision to launch the 1967 Israeli “defense” action. Miko has written a remarkable book (he, a former IDF himself) called “The General’s Son.” It seems unlikely that Bullinger would apply the idea of just war to this situation as I am confident he would have taken all of the facts and history under consideration…not to mention the unarguable disproportionality of the attacks, Hamas compared to IDF.
do you really know bullinger well enough to say what he would think?
also- please dont misunderstand me- i am for peace and i abhor war. my point is that no matter how just the palestinian cause it is not justifiable in hurling rockets at innocents. period. period.
Here is the link to watch that video of Miko Peled: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4ZfnpN4Dfc&feature=player_embedded
If you are short on time (the Miko Peled video is 28 minutes), this one is perhaps even better, more concise…from UK jewish MP Gerald Kaufmann: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=qMGuYjt6CP8#!
I would submit that perhaps neither of us really can say we “Know” Bullinger well enough to say…but you did make an assertion that you would know how he would see this — so I can take a turn at it too. You keep talking about innocents in Israel but do not consider the innocents in Palestine. The rockets from Gaza are nothing compared to what Israel has been doing to the Palestinians for decades. Please, I beg you to consider the bigger picture and also view/listen to a couple of Israeli/jewish insiders on this topic. I have provided two sources.
having read nearly everything he’s written along with numerous scholarly secondary studies i’d say im in a pretty good position to know what he would think about a whole range of issues.
Peacer, I agree with Kauffman, you make peace by talking to your enemies, not by firing rockets at them. If a Palastinian leader would fight like Gandhi, MLK, or Nelson Mandela, the West would follow.
Self-editing … I realize getting ALL the facts is not possible. But I mean, more than what the media and certain purveyors of propaganda permit through our info system. And it is out there if we look for it.