"In the beginning, many religious leaders called the Iraq War immoral, illegal, and unwise. How easy it is to forget how much against the tide it was to oppose the war when it started in March 2003. Such witness required great courage at the time. Religious leaders said prayers for peace. Many people of faith supported soldiers of conscience who refused to serve, led memorials for the fallen, held peace marches and peace services — some of us even got arrested. As was the case in other wars before, ministers preached and preached against the war and even spoke to our congressional representatives. Yet, even as the scandals of torture and evidence of war profiteering grew, the killing continued. The American people increasingly wanted an end while the Iraqi people could hardly be awakened from their nightmare of war to rebuild their homes and lives. To pay for the war, funds from the health and welfare of our own citizens were exhausted; abandoned wounded veterans were subjected to substandard or little care; and the national debt swelled to multi-trillions. The relentless slaughter went unabated. Our war efforts exposed us to less than the high ground of democratic values. What are the moral failures that were manifested in the United States initiation and continuation in this war?

"Those moral failures are especially agonizing when you consider how many of the strongest proponents for the war, then and now, are Christians, and not just Christians, but Bible-believing Christians. Calling war illegal, immoral, or unjust comes from just-war theory. It comes to us from St. Augustine of Hippo who drew much of what he said from earlier Greek and Roman traditions. For Bible-believing Christians, and I count myself as one of them, what the Bible says is crucial. But what does the Bible say about war and moral failures?

"A good place to look for guidance is the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20. Both Jews and Christians understand that God speaks to us in a list of standards and that these commandments shape the ethical dimensions of our faith. I wonder, however, how many Christians who recite them have actually thought about what they might mean. Jesus captured them in one sentence when he said we should love God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength, and our neighbors as ourselves.

"At least one Christian, a judge in Alabama, was willing to violate the constitutional separation of church and state by posting the commandments inside his court room. Later, he was forced to remove them. While I support that principle of separation and do not want our government used to enforce one faith on everyone, I also suspect that, if more of our government leaders actually had to follow the commandments, we would have a very different country and a different world.

"Conservatives and progressives can exchange views about them, but we must not forget that the Ten Commandments come from the prophetic traditions of the Bible. Moses is counted as the first prophet because he led the Israelites out of slavery and then delivered these commandments from God about how the community should live. My interpretation of them springs from that prophetic branch of the Christian faith.

"War violates all Ten Commandments. There is no getting around it. How it does so is a matter of interpretation, but any honest reading of the list makes it hard to deny that God forbids war. Of course the Bible contains instances in which a particular war seems to be encouraged, but the bedrock principle of biblical obedience to divine will makes war evil, even though in some instances it appears to be a necessary evil. Even then, it should only be chosen after every other alternative has failed. A militaristic spirit runs afoul of God's call to justice and peace. Hence, I suggest that Christians, in light of the guidance of these commandments, ought to consider what we can and should do to help our nation and the nations of the earth to find the path to peace.

"A besetting transgression of most faith traditions is to share theological perspectives in ways which discredit or demean others. In setting forth a negative critique of war, one may appear to be disregarding the sacrifices and positive contributions of those who are associated with the defense of our nation. Several candid acknowledgments are in order as I seek to give the strongest possible case I can against war as an instrument for achieving peace and fulfilling God's will.

"We who are spared the tyranny and terror of our enemies must show respect and appreciation of those who risk their lives in the effort to defend the values we hold dear. Although he took a dim view of war, Gardner C. Taylor acknowledged that 'some wars must be fought. . . . I still believe the Civil War needed to be fought.' As long as our nation wages war, the progressive spirit will honor the courage and commitment of our combat troops as well as conscientious objectors who find alternate ways to serve our country. No matter how vigorously we oppose war, when our country wages war, even in the face of our opposition — we are all, in a sense, at war.

"We are responsible for the bullets, the bombs, and the rivers of blood. This is why citizens and their representatives must be vigilant and vigorous in demanding to be heard on matters of declarations of war. The nation that is at war is a collectivity of the consenting and the dissenting. The political triumph of one side in the debate, by virtue of national solidarity, co-opts the other in the prevailing resolve to go or not to go to war. Various levels of protest, even to the point of civil disobedience (including the willingness to accept the punishment for violations of the law), must be an option in a democratic society where the majority rules."