PACIFISME KRISTEN DALAM SEJARAH GEREJA

Abstract

The purpose of the writing is to trace the struggle of Christian Pacifism in the history of Christianity in order that we understand why we are now standing where we are. The struggle itself can be divided in three periods: the early period before the reign of Constantine, the period from the reign of Constantine (313-337 AD) to the Protestant Reformation in the first quarter of 1500s, and the period after Protestant Reformation.

The early period was signified by the fact that the church was completely separated from the state, and therefore the philosophy of life that governed the rules of the state was not in conflict with Christian faith. Christians held pacifism strongly and there was no evidence of Christians in the army. The reasons of Christian pacifism in this early period were all bound in the popularity between Caesar and God. Church fathers such as Tertulian, Origen, or Lactantius were all in objection to the involvement of Christians in the army.

The early Christian pacifism was eventually changed as the church and the state came into a strategic allegiance that reached its peak by the reign of Constantine (313-337). In this period, Christianity was gradually transformed from a personal faith and a movement into an obligatory state religion. As the church and the state became closer and fused into one, Christian pacifism also faded away. This shift had given a way to the so-called just war theory. The position of the church fathers also changed. Ambrose, Augustine, and Thomas Aquinas all agreed with the necessity of war for sake of greater good. Christian ethics now took a dyadic approach that highlight dualities, polarizations, and extremes. This position still continued during the reformation era.

The period after the reformation era was also signified by the rediscovery of the early Christian pacifism within Anabaptist group that stood up on a very different stance from both the Catholic Church as well as the Reformation church. The Anabaptist maintained a nonresistant stance for they understood the sword as an entity outside the perfection of Christ. The Anabaptist fathers such as Conrad Grebel or Menno Simons insisted the prohibition of the use of force and sword by Christians in order to follow the teaching and ministry of Jesus Christ radically.