Sometimes, church prelates unwisely speak to political questions, exceeding the mandate of their vocation and the range of their practical knowledge. The latest example is with the Gaza war.
The Pope has called for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas: “We say ‘ceasefire, ceasefire’. Brothers and sisters, stop! War is always a defeat, always.” A week ago, the Archbishop of Canterbury also urged a ceasefire, joining with Palestinian church prelates. Oldline British church officials also backed a ceasefire. So too did Churches for Middle East Peace, which includes U.S. Mainline Protestant officials from the United Methodist Church, Presbyterian Church (USA), Episcopal Church, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, American Baptist Church, United Church of Christ and Disciples of Christ.
These churchly pleas for a ceasefire appeal to our common humanity. But they are foolish.
As we all know, Hamas, which has governed Gaza since 2006, on October 7 broke a relative peace by murdering over 1400 Israelis, which included decapitations, infanticide, and mass rape. The sprawling brutality was deliberate and celebratory. Hamas is a theocratic Islamist political movement that wants to eradicate Israel and establish a caliphate. It’s never been interested in coexistence. It remains in power in Gaza through cruelty, fueled by focused, weaponized hatred, with funding and arms from Iran.
Israel has tried to live with the Hamas regime, despite routine rocket attacks on Israel, for 17 years. But Hamas is not interested in living with Israel. Its purpose has never been to serve the people of Gaza who must live under its terror. Its core purpose is killing Israelis, in service to its own blood lust and in service to its patron, the regime of mullahs in Iran, who similarly brutalize their own people.
The statements from the above cited church prelates have lamented the “violence” without strongly distinguishing between the intolerable aggressor, Hamas, and the nation state that wishes to live in peace. A terror group devoted to destruction cannot be seriously negotiated with or lived alongside. Hamas has been tolerated for newly two decades with hopes of its eventual moderation, hopes that have proved tragically vain.
So now Hamas must be neutralized. A small country like Israel cannot survive if vulnerable to repeated attacks killing hundreds. As a percentage of population, the October 7 attack was equal to near 60,000 killed Americans on one day. Would America, or should America, ever tolerate such an outrage? No serious nation could.
A ceasefire as advocated by church prelates and groups who live thousands of miles in safety would only prolong the horror by giving additional time for Hamas to plot and further arm. Most of these church voices likely hope to avoid any further Israeli military action altogether in exchange for returned hostages and a truce. But for Hamas to suffer no grave consequences for its outrageous brutality only guarantees future attacks and emboldens other similar terror groups, like Hezbollah, not to mention Iran itself. This churchly counsel for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas would only fuel more death and destruction.
Israel seemingly is responding to Hamas with thought and caution. It did not immediately invade Gaza en masse, as Hamas likely expected and hoped for, having prepared for such a likelihood. Hamas presumably would like to drown advancing Israelis in blood from its vast underground tunnels filled with Iranian supplied arms. Israel, we can expect, is planning intelligent alternatives. All of lawful civilization must support Israel’s neutralization of Hamas. Hopefully, Gaza can be liberated from Hamas rule and have a more decent government. But Israel’s vocation is protecting its people. We can pray that some people of Gaza want alternatives to Hamas and desire peace with Israel.
Such peace is not possible if the counsel of some Western church prelates and groups were accepted, which thankfully it won’t be. A ceasefire now would undermine any serious hope for peace or justice by strengthening Hamas. No long-term peace or justice is possible under uninterrupted Hamas rule over Gaza.
Church prelates and church groups, with all Christians, seek to serve the Prince of Peace, understanding that His peace will consummate only with His return. Until then, we seek approximate peace, which is only possible if decent governments protect their people and collaborate together for coexistence and the common good. Hamas is not interested in that project.
Christian leaders should call for peace but only with the understanding that force may be required to achieve it. They should not, as church officers, offer detailed policy advice, to which they have not been called. God has ordained governments, accountable to their peoples, to decide specific policy. Church officials should point to a vision of a better world amid prayer. Ideally, they offer sound broad principles, rooted in realism about fallen human nature, which edify governments and peoples.
The churchly pleas for immediate ceasefire between Hamas and Israel, do not edify anyone. Their advice is cheap and irrelevant, undermining Christian witness. Hamas is a terror group, and Israel is a government. Wise church leaders should know the difference. And they should offer Christian Realism, not Christian naivete.
