Why did the Christians refuse to serve in the army?

Answer 1

What makes you think Christians refused to serve? Where and when? Most Christians have always served. There will always be individual people and subgroups who will make a conscience decision not to serve for a variety of reasons, but you should not make a general statement that includes all of a particular group.

If you are talking about during the time of the Roman Empire there are many reasons.

Including

The army placed a strong emphasis on pagan ritual, something quite distaste full to devout Christians. A Christian would have very little reason to join the ranks of an establishment so often employed in the persecution of his fellows, and there would have been great pressure discouraging existing soldiers from taking up the religion.

Answer 2

According to the "Reasoning on the Scriptures" publication, refers to neutrality being, "the position of those who do not take sides with or give support to either of two or more contending parties. It is a fact of ancient and modern-day history that in every nation and under all circumstances true Christians have endeavored to maintain complete neutrality as to conflicts between factions of the world. They do not interfere with what others do about sharing in patriotic ceremonies, serving in the armed forces, joining a political party, running for a political office, or voting. But they themselves worship only Jehovah, the God of the Bible; they have dedicated their lives unreservedly to him and give their full support to his Kingdom." There are scriptures in the Bible, which support this statement. One scripture that has helped shape true Christians attitudes towards participation in carnal warfare, consists of Jesus' words found at Matthew 26:52, "'Return your sword to its place, for all those who take the sword will perish by the sword.'" Here, Jesus' apostle was attempting to defend Him by fighting against a guard that came to take Jesus away. Yet, Jesus clearly reproved his disciples, and admonished against using weapons for any kind of physical warfare. Another scripture that helps true Christians to refrain from participating in the military can be found at Isaiah 2:2-4, "It must occur in the final part of the days that the mountain of the house of Jehovah will become firmly established above the top of the mountains...And he will certainly render judgment among the nations and set matters straight respecting many peoples. And they will have to beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning shears. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, neither will they learn war anymore." This scripture helps us to see that everyone in the world, regardless of which nation they come from, must decide which course they will pursue. Those who heed Jehovah's judgment, as noted in such scriptures, prove that they have chosen who their God is. Jesus also said in Luke 6:27, 28, "I say to you who are listening, Continue to love your enemies, to do good to those hating you, to bless those cursing you, to pray for those who are insulting you." Here we see that if a Christian were to participate in the military, then they would be going against what Jesus commanded them to do. As far as the reason for not serving in public office, such scriptures as James 4:4 states, "Adulteresses, do you not know that the friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever, therefore, wants to be a friend of the world is constituting himself an enemy of God." And we know that "the whole world is lying in the power of the wicked one" according to 1 John 5:19. And the wicked one that is described in that scripture is referring to the "ruler of the world," which is none other than Satan, as referred to by Jesus in John 14:30. Therefore no matter which faction of the world a person serves in or gives their support to, it is quite clear whose control they are truly coming under. Furthermore, if you are interested in researching historical information regarding this topic, it is noted that early Christians did not serve as soldiers or held public office.