Is Pacifism always the best course of action for Christians?
No, pacifism is not always the best course of action for Christians. In our individual lives we are encouraged to practice pacifism, but as a society we rely on political leaders to determine whether pacifism is appropriate. When the bible was written Christianity was a movement within the secular kingdoms and had no voice in government. After Christianity became more widespread there were more and more Christians kingdoms, ruled over by Christian kings. Those kings used, or reasonably should have used, Christian principles in deciding matters of state. One development from that was the Just War Doctrine, a doctrine of war contemplated by the Christian Church. I suppose that those of us in democratic societies where the rule of law is placed at least somewhat into the hands of the citizenry, we should act as Christian rulers, and use Christian principles in exercising our authority.
