Why I Am a Conscientious Objector

by John M. Drescher

A look at the broad yet very basic issues every Christian must consider when confronted with military involvement, this book is a summary of what many Christians have believed since the beginning of Christianity.

73 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1982

Reviews

[Luann]

For me, the most compelling basis for the author's conviction that he, as a Christian, cannot participate in war, was the fact that from the end of the New Testament period to the decade 170 - 180, there is no evidence whatever of Christians in military service, and that this was not by church rule but by individual choice of conscience. If those who walked most closely with Jesus came to understand his mission to be incompatible with military service, could this not suggest that Christians have lost their way when it comes to Jesus' message of peace?

I must admit, I was reading the book as a co-conscientious objector. It took no convincing for me to agree with Drescher's rationale. It may not change your own convictions on the question of Christians in military service, but it might at least help you understand the choice to the degree that you will respect those who choose Biblical pacifism.

[Elmer · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good, concise book on the reasons for abstaining from war. He writes how Christians today view war, of the example of suffering Christ (the Prince of Peace) whom we are to follow, of the worldwide mission of the Church and how each person killed in war is either a "fellow-Christian" or lost "unbeliever" whose eternal fate is forever sealed, of the inconsistency of unified churches in Christ in differing nations who fight against each other both for the "cause of Christ" and the nation, of the separation of Church and State and how Christ's Kingdom is not of this world, and of the testimony of the Early Church against war.