I think it may be helpful to draw a dichotomy between the Great Commandment to love your neighbor, even to love your enemy as yourself, on the one hand, and the ethics of war as applied to nations on the other hand. By mixing the two, you are mixing "apples and oranges" which seems to be adding to your confusion. My understanding of the commandment to love our enemies, and do good to them, applies to the realm of interpersonal relationships, and does not apply to warring armies. In other words, in my dealings with other folks on a personal level, I am to love, even those who hate me (enemies). However, this principal does not apply to nations that go to war. War is an inevitable result of the human condition in a fallen world.

When should I love, and when should I fight? Righteousness demands that I fight to defend the helpless and oppressed, and that I fight to defend my own life.

As for whether it is permissable for a Christian to fight and kill on the battlefield in an unjust war, I would point to Romans 13 (as J Edwards aptly pointed out earlier) which says that God has given the sword to the government. Christians are commanded to obey the governing authorities that God has placed over them. (The exception would be if the government commanded the Christian to disobey God and sin, in which case civil disobedience by the Christian would be demanded.) Therefore, according to the ethic of Romans 13,if a Christian joins the military or is drafted into service, that Christian is now under the authority of the military. In such cases righteousness requires that that Christian perform his/her duty, even if it means killing on the battlefield of an "unjust" war. The Christian must fight, not out of hatred, malice, or vengeance toward the enemy,as this would be sin, but out of a correct sense of duty and obligation to obey the authorities under which that Christian is serving. And of course, once the bullets begin to fly, another ethic kicks in; self defense, and there is a good biblical case that can be made for the fact that we must defend our lives, even with lethal force (see Luke 22:36).

I believe I can support my positions with scripture, but it is Saturday night and late, so I must go to bed and be rested for church. I can provide scriptural support later if needed. <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/sleep.gif" alt="" />