We truly appreciate the many thoughtful and insightful letters we receive from our friends — and we receive thousands of these. The following letter and subsequent response from me was recently exchanged. They refer to the Vision Forum Ministries (www.visionforum.org) special “hot topic” called “The Gauntlet is Thrown,” on the subject of women in the military.

Sir, I wholeheartedly admire your courage in taking on such a pertinent topic. I would like some clarification on your stand and to possibly point out another consideration. Do you believe that the United States of America is worth defending by serving in her military? The answer to the question is important because the recent military success in Iraq was not due to a vast “overnight” mobilization of all able bodied men. The success was due to a well trained and prepared VOLUNTEER force. Will Christian men still young enough to join be encouraged to serve a tour of duty in the military? Will Christian fathers be asked to encourage their sons to serve a tour of duty in the military? If men will not be ENCOURAGED to serve, then we will not have a sufficient workforce for our volunteer military without women. Although the responsibility of men acting as protectors is discussed, the concept of actually encouraging men to serve was not addressed. Sincerely, D.C.

Dear Mr. C.:

Thanks for your note. God will bless this nation when we always set our eyes on doing the right thing. The defense of the nation is a biblical goal which must always be accomplished God’s way, consistent with the clear principles of warfare outlined in Scripture. I would respectfully suggest, however, that the question is more complicated than simply urging all men to serve a tour of duty. We will always support the cause of a just war, including the necessity of having able bodied men rise to the service of their nation. We will always oppose unbiblical or unconstitutional wars, and will never encourage our sons or anyone else to engage in them. As an attorney who was on the support staff in the Michael New case, I can say, for example, that I would actively oppose our sons putting on United Nations insignia and serving under United Nations commanders by risking their lives in non-declared wars which are outside the scope of that which is either constitutional or biblical. On the other hand, the Second Amendment and the United States Code presuppose that all able bodied men will serve as part of the militia and bare arms against tyranny, foreign or domestic, in defense of their homes and homeland. Were America to (a) focus on only fighting legitimate wars, thus avoiding the inappropriate role of being yoked with those who despise us and would destroy us (the U.N.), and making sure that we only fight or commit troops where the biblical requirements of just war theory have been met (i.e., we are not the policemen of the world, nor do we initiate aggression where we have not been attacked); and (b) fight such wars God’s way (i.e., no more Jessica Lynches); we would discover ourselves victorious in battle, and blessed of God, who is more powerful than all the armies of the world.

Thanks again, Doug Phillips