Subject: The Sabbath and Military Service
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Date: Fri, 16 Jun 2006 18:49:39 +1000

The Sabbath and Military Service
BY RICHARD C. NICKELS

The Sabbath-keeping Church of God has a long tradition of non-participation
in war. Both the Church of God (7th Day), and most descendants from the
Worldwide Church of God are opposed to military service. Some of these groups
have anti-participation-in-war statements in their statements of belief. While
Seventh day Adventists do not have a statement on carnal warfare in their
official doctrinal statement, SDA’s, when inducted into the military, generally
become non-combatants.

Anabaptists in Europe, who became prominent in the 1500s, generally opposed
taking part in warfare. While not all Anabaptists were Sabbath-keepers, some
were. My ancestors became followers of a prominent Sunday Anabaptist named Menno
Simons, founder of the Mennonites. Because they would not participate in
Prussian wars, my German Mennonite ancestors, known as the "von Nickel" clan,
gave up their ownership of the largest nickel mine in Eastern Europe, and
settled in the south Russian area of the Ukraine, at the invitation of Russian
Empress Catherine the Great. John Kiesz, the late noted evangelist of the Church
of God, Seventh Day, also is descended from these Germans in Russia. They
eventually migrated further east, reaching Tashkent, in Asiatic Russia. In about
the 1870s, seeking to avoid mandatory military service in the Russian army, my
father’s ancestors migrated to the Dakotas in North America. Others went to
Paraguay, in South America.

Those who refuse to kill and maim other human beings in warfare often face
contempt, ridicule, and persecution. In spite of ardent persuasion from public
officials, my grandfather in North Dakota refused to buy War Bonds during World
War I. Buying bonds was supposed to be voluntary. He did not want to support
President Woodrow Wilson’s war in Europe. As a result of grandpa’s refusal, the
local sheriff came to Cornelius Nickel’s farm and confiscated a cow on behalf of
the United States war effort.

In 1969, as a young college graduate and twenty-one year old convert to the
Sabbath-keeping Church of God, I faced a hostile draft board shortly after I was
baptized. The government had declared me "1A," which means that I was subject to
being drafted and sent to the Vietnam War. I performed a diligent study of the
Bible teachings on war, writing a lengthy paper to my draft board, in order to
convince them that I was a sincere conscientious objector to war. One of the
members of the Draft Board reviewing my case was Professor of Religion at the
college I had been attending. I remember his pointed questions, and sneering
ridicule of my beliefs. I got a little practice in case I ever have to appear
before a Grand Inquisition. Rather than allow me to engage in public or
international service in the Peace Corps as work in lieu of military service,
the Draft Board decided that I must take the lowliest job available: janitor at
Goodwill Industries in Portland, Oregon. So, for two years of alternate service,
known as the "1-W" program, the valedictorian, of both his high school and
college graduating classes, mopped floors and cleaned toilets. It was a good,
character building experience. I could have fled to Canada to live with
relatives there, but I am happy that I was able to serve my country in a
non-destructive way. While some of my contemporaries who went to Vietnam came
back in pine boxes, crippled with injuries, or drugged out of their minds, I
worked with handicapped people and learned many helpful lessons.

My personal experiences are not unique. Sabbath-keeping and non-participation
in warfare seem to go hand in hand. The Waldenses huddled in the valleys of the
Alps underwent military attack and persecutions time and again. They were never
aggressive, and only in extreme circumstances would defend themselves.

Conscientious Objectors during the Civil War

During the American Civil War, many Adventists and Church of God Sabbatarians
refused to participate in the war.

One clear indication of the beliefs of the Hope of Israel (name of the
Church of God paper, the predecessor of today’s Bible Advocate)
supporters generally was their conscientious objection to participation in the
Civil War.

It appears that some Advent groups attempted to buy exemption from the draft
for their male members. Eli Wilsey of the Hartford "Church of Christ" spent at
least four months in prison "for refusing to fight with carnal weapons."
Frequent news articles on the progress, and staggering costs, of the war were
published, with the exhortation to the brethren to have nothing to do with the
"war, revenge and murder."

One news report was that brother William Cronk of Casco was drafted, passed
examination, "but was declared exempt from field service on account of his
religious principles. He is in the government service in the hospital."

N. Wallen and R.C. Horton reported in a letter dated January 16, 1865, from
South Haven, Michigan that the brethren of Hartford and Casco were going to try
and raise $300.00 to clear all the brethren who may be drafted.

The April 23, 1865 issue contained a quote from the Harbinger
expressing sorrow at the death of President Lincoln, thanking God that Lincoln
made laws to deliver Christians from participating in war.

John L. Staunton, a one-time president of the Michigan Conference, enlisted
in the Union army, and the Waverly church disfellowshipped him, maintaining that
only non-resisters could be in their church.

H.E. Carver OF Iowa was conscientiously opposed to Christians fighting with
carnal weapons, that is, in warfare. He believed that the church should adopt
the same position and urged that the question be discussed in the columns of the
Advent Review. This occurred at the outbreak of the Civil War, shortly
before the foundation of the Seventh-Day Adventist denomination.

The Whites stated at a council in Lisbon, Iowa that the subject should not be
discussed because of the danger of being destroyed by the war elements in the
country for seeming to be unpatriotic. James White wrote in the Review
that to engage in war would be a violation of two of God’s commandments, but
in case of being drafted, the government would be responsible for an
individual’s violation of God’s commandments. In effect, he said that it was all
right to break God’s law! This error was so obvious that Ellen G. White had to
apologize in the Review for her husband, but maintained that something
had to be said on this delicate subject. Mrs. White never did pronounce a vision
concerning conscientious objection.

The Iowa Church of God brethren were firmly convinced that it was wrong for
Christians to engage in warfare. During the initial phase of the Civil War,
Elders B.F. Snook and J.H. Waggoner prepared a petition to the Iowa State
government, asking their church be exempted as non-combatants. The petition was
circulated among the brethren for signatures, and sent to the state capital.
Battle Creek did not sanction this effort, terming it "fanaticism." Due to the
Church of God petition, a law was enacted exempting non-combatants from bearing
arms. Carver termed the non-action of the Battle Creek Seventh-Day Adventists as
"cowardly."

However, Uriah Smith reported that the Seventh-Day Adventist General
Conference did indirectly exempt Seventh-Day Adventists by petitioning the
government to exempt them through an already existing law.

Conscientious Objection Today

Jesus said in John 18:36, "My kingdom is not of this world: if my
kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be
delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence." The Savior’s
servants are not to engage in carnal warfare. There are many scriptures
supporting the view that participating in war is contrary to New Testament
beliefs. I suggest that you read the article, "Military Service and War,"
written by Herbert W. Armstrong, available on the Worldwide Web at http://www.giveshare.org/BibleStudy/militaryservice/.

Besides presenting a problem with the sixth commandment, "Thou shalt not
kill," military service presents insurmountable problems with keeping the Bible
Sabbath. As Ron Dart writes in his article, "Capital Punishment, A Christian
Dilemma," there is little difference between a slave and a man drafted into the
military. Soldiers eat and sleep when and where they are told. They work and
fight when and where they are told. They are not free to quit and go home. If a
civilian Sabbath-keeper refuses to work on God’s weekly Holy Day, he may lose
his job; a soldier under the same circumstances may be court martialed and
jailed. Sabbath-keeping, and military service and war, are totally opposed to
each other.

Yet paradoxically, Ron Dart (interviewed in the November/ December, 1998
TSS), does not believe it is wrong to be in the military or engage in
war. In a subsequent interview, Dart said he does NOT believe that we should
conscientiously refuse to bear arms, or refuse to come under the military
authority. He says, "I think it [opposition to military service] is a doctrine
that needs to be carefully re-thought. As it was taught by the Worldwide Church
of God, I came to see that there were flaws in the argumentation. During my
years in WCG, I accepted the teaching on military service." He says that Garner
Ted Armstrong believes the same way, and that his church left it as a matter of
individual conscience. "My views," Dart states, "can best be stated as a
dissatisfaction with the traditional view [rather] than as holding the opposite
view. I would be very happy to participate in a scholarly conference on the
topic if such can ever be arranged. My mind is open on this subject."

Doctrinal Statements on Military Service

Article 15 of the Statement of Beliefs of the Church of God, Seventh Day,
headquartered in Denver, Colorado, states: "Participation in Warfare.
Jesus Christ our Lord taught us to love and forgive our enemies, and to work for
the peace and salvation of all peoples. Wars among nations and violence between
persons are not God’s perfect will, but result from greed, lust for power,
selfishness, and other sinful motives. Christians should renounce such carnality
and the weapons of human strife, and should not participate in military combat
through the armed forces. Matthew 5:38-48; Luke 6:27-38; Romans 12:17-21;
John 18:36; Matthew 26:51, 52; 2 Corinthians 10:3, 4; James 4:1."

The United Church of God, an International Association, with home office near
Cincinnati, Ohio, says this in their statement of belief:

"We believe that Christians are forbidden by the commandments of God from
taking Human life, directly or indirectly, and that bearing arms is contrary to
this fundamental belief. Therefore, we believe that Christians should not
voluntarily become engaged in military service. If they are involuntarily
engaged in military service, we believe they should refuse conscientiously to
bear arms and, to the extent possible, to refuse to come under military
authority."

Down through history, Sabbath-keepers have often been persecuted and attacked
by papal armies. They have had to flee to avoid massacre, and have had to defend
themselves only under extreme, provocative, circumstances. In the Twentieth
Century, purposeless wars have slaughtered millions. If there is any lesson to
be learned from this bloody history, it is that war is "hell," and that a Bible
believer should shun such evil practices. We look forward to the coming of the
Savior. His return will initiate the ONLY "war to end all wars." Sabbath-keeping
and military service appear to be totally incompatible. This is not a
borderline, "gray" issue. The Sixth Commandment is as important as the Fourth
Commandment. If any of our readers have comments or stories to relate on the
subject of military service, please write to the author.