Origen: Why Christians Don't Go to War
Origen
Why Christians Don’t Go to War
An Excerpt from Origen’s Reply to Celsus
Chapter LXXIII.
In the next place, Celsus urges us "to help the king with
all our might, and to labour with him in the maintenance of
justice, to fight for him; and if he requires it, to fight under
him, or lead an army along with him." To this our answer is, that
we do, when occasion requires, give help to kings, and that, so to
say, a divine help, "putting on the whole armour of God."136 And this we
do in obedience to the injunction of the apostle, "I exhort,
therefore, that first of all, supplications, prayers,
intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; for
kings, and for all that are in authority; "137
and the more any one excels in piety, the more effective help does
he render to kings, even more than is given by soldiers, who go
forth to fight and slay as many of the enemy as they can. And to
those enemies of our faith who require us to bear arms for the
commonwealth, and to slay men, we can reply:
"Do not those who are priests at certain shrines, and those who
attend on certain gods, as you account them, keep their hands free
from blood, that they may with hands unstained and free from human
blood offer the appointed sacrifices to your gods; and even when
war is upon you, you never enlist the priests in the army. If
that, then, is a laudable custom, how much more so, that while
others are engaged in battle, these too should engage as the
priests and ministers of God, keeping their hands pure, and
wrestling in prayers to God on behalf of those who are fighting in
a righteous cause, and for the king who reigns righteously, that
whatever is opposed to those who act righteously
may be destroyed!" And as we by our prayers vanquish all demons
who stir up war, and lead to the violation of oaths, and disturb
the peace, we in this way are much more helpful to the kings than
those who go into the field to fight for them. And we do take our
part in public affairs, when along with righteous prayers we join
self-denying exercises and meditations, which teach us to despise
pleasures, and not to be led away by them. And none fight better
for the king than we do. We do not indeed fight under him,
although he require it; but we fight on his behalf, forming a
special army-an army of piety-by offering our prayers to God.
And if Celsus would have us to lead armies in defence of
our country, let him know that we do this too, and that not for
the purpose of being seen by men, or of vainglory. For "in
secret," and in our own hearts, there are prayers which ascend
as from priests in behalf of our fellow-citizens. And Christians
are benefactors of their country more than others. For they
train up citizens, and inculcate piety to the Supreme Being; and
they promote those whose lives in the smallest cities have
been good and worthy, to a divine and heavenly city, to whom it
may be said, "Thou hast been faithful in the smallest city, come
into a great one,"138 where
"God standeth in the assembly of the gods, and judgeth the gods
in the midst; "and He reckons thee among them, if thou no more
"die as a man, or fall as one of the princes."139
Celsus also urges us to "take office in the government
of the country, if that is required for the maintenance of the
laws and the support of religion." But we recognise in each
state the existence of another national organization founded
by the Word of God, and we exhort those who are mighty in word
and of blameless life to rule over Churches. Those who are
ambitious of ruling we reject; but we constrain those who,
through excess of modesty, are not easily induced to take a
public charge in the Church of God. And those who rule over us
well are under the constraining influence of the great King,
whom we believe to be the Son of God, God the Word. And if
those who govern in the Church, and are called rulers of the
divine nation-that is, the Church-rule well, they rule in
accordance with the divine commands, and never suffer
themselves to be led astray by worldly
policy. And it is not for the purpose of escaping public
duties that Christians decline public offices, but that they
may reserve themselves for a diviner and more necessary
service in the Church of God-for the salvation of men. And
this service is at once necessary and right. They take charge
of all-of those that are within, that they may day by day lead
better lives, and of those that are without, that they may
come to abound in holy words and in deeds of piety; and that,
while thus worshipping God truly, and training up as many as
they can in the same way, they may be filled with the word of
God and the law of God, and thus be united with the Supreme
God through His Son the Word, Wisdom, Truth, and
Righteousness, who unites to God all who are resolved to
conform their lives in all things to the law of God.