Is being in the military a sin?

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coolcatholicguy said:
Is it?
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You’re kidding, right?

From the CCC:
1909 Finally, the common good requires peace, that is, the stability and security of a just order. It presupposes that authority should ensure by morally acceptable means the security of society and its members. It is the basis of the right to legitimate personal and collective defence.

2265 Legitimate defense can be not only a right but a grave duty for someone responsible for another’s life. Preserving the common good requires rendering the unjust aggressor unable to inflict harm. To this end, those holding legitimate authority have the right to repel by armed force aggressors against the civil community entrusted to their charge.

Honestly, that sounds like questions my 7th grade CCD would ask…Is ___ a sin? Is ___ a sin?
 
if it were then Jesus would have told the soldier to get out instead of be content with your wages
 
No, you are in the military to protect others and keep your freedom.
 
According to that idiot Fred Phelps, it is. Key word “idiot”.
 
JackVk said:
According to that idiot Fred Phelps, it is. Key word “idiot”.
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LOL. Of course, according to him, we’re all in serious trouble anyway - he’s not overly keen on Catholics, either. 😃

I’m praying for the grace to pray for them because I don’t feel particularly charitable about that particular “church.”
 
RHC said:
LOL. Of course, according to him, we’re all in serious trouble anyway - he’s not overly keen on Catholics, either. 😃

I’m praying for the grace to pray for them because I don’t feel particularly charitable about that particular “church.”
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What about the young children born into that church? They are brainwashed into believing that what phelps says is ‘right’. I feel bad for them the most.

Also too, im not so sure fred phelps is an ‘idiot’, I just think he has SERIOUS mental issues that he obviously can’t seem to control. Was he born into that thinking? Were his parents like that? If you are raised and have something shoved down your throat 24/7 you will eventually end up thinking its true above all.
 
markomalley said:
You’re kidding, right?

From the CCC:
1909 Finally, the common good requires peace, that is, the stability and security of a just order. It presupposes that authority should ensure by morally acceptable means the security of society and its members. It is the basis of the right to legitimate personal and collective defence.

2265 Legitimate defense can be not only a right but a grave duty for someone responsible for another’s life. Preserving the common good requires rendering the unjust aggressor unable to inflict harm. To this end, those holding legitimate authority have the right to repel by armed force aggressors against the civil community entrusted to their charge.

Honestly, that sounds like questions my 7th grade CCD would ask…Is ___ a sin? Is ___ a sin?
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As a Marine Corps, Army, and OIF vet, I like this answer the best.
 
markomalley said:
You’re kidding, right?

From the CCC:
1909 Finally, the common good requires peace, that is, the stability and security of a just order. It presupposes that authority should ensure by morally acceptable means the security of society and its members. It is the basis of the right to legitimate personal and collective defence.

2265 Legitimate defense can be not only a right but a grave duty for someone responsible for another’s life. Preserving the common good requires rendering the unjust aggressor unable to inflict harm. To this end, those holding legitimate authority have the right to repel by armed force aggressors against the civil community entrusted to their charge.

Honestly, that sounds like questions my 7th grade CCD would ask…Is ___ a sin? Is ___ a sin?
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It’s not an unreasonable question. You provided a good answer.
 
If it is a sin, then every military chaplain is in deep trouble. By the way, of the four chaplains who won the Congressional Medal of Honor since WWII, every single one was a Catholic priest. Here is some information on some heroic priests in combat boots.

And then there are quite a few soldier saints, or saints who led soldiers into battle, including:

St. Joan of Arc
St. Louis IX
St. Maurice
St. John of Capistrano
St. Lawrence of Brindisi (who, incidentally, is a Doctor of the Church)

And I’m sure others could come up with more soldier saints.
 
Victorious said:
If it is a sin, then every military chaplain is in deep trouble. By the way, of the four chaplains who won the Congressional Medal of Honor since WWII, every single one was a Catholic priest. Here is some information on some heroic priests in combat boots.

And then there are quite a few soldier saints, or saints who led soldiers into battle, including:

St. Joan of Arc
St. Louis IX
St. Maurice
St. John of Capistrano
St. Lawrence of Brindisi (who, incidentally, is a Doctor of the Church)

And I’m sure others could come up with more soldier saints.
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St. Ignatius of Loyola?
 
Thank you, BlueShadow. Sometimes my emotions run away with my head. I have known a few good soldiers whose funerals were protested by the Westboro church. So perhaps I am a bit emotional about them…

However, as you pointed out, I will think about the children and pray that, somehow, they will escape the hateful attitude of that group. I feel sorry for them. And, in my more rational moments, I feel sorry for Fred Phelps. I think he is very deceived.

Am off to say a few Hail Marys and Our Fathers…thanks for getting my head back on straight. 😃
 
coolcatholicguy said:
Is it?
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Why have you opened dozens of threads asking if something is a sin?
Not a single thing you have brought up in your threads is a sin.
If you are so scrupulous please go to a priest or at least have the courtesy to read The Catechism of the Catholic Church, before coming here, which has answers for your questions.
 
markomalley said:
You’re kidding, right?

From the CCC:
1909 Finally, the common good requires peace, that is, the stability and security of a just order. It presupposes that authority should ensure by morally acceptable means the security of society and its members. It is the basis of the right to legitimate personal and collective defence.

2265 Legitimate defense can be not only a right but a grave duty for someone responsible for another’s life. Preserving the common good requires rendering the unjust aggressor unable to inflict harm. To this end, those holding legitimate authority have the right to repel by armed force aggressors against the civil community entrusted to their charge.

Honestly, that sounds like questions my 7th grade CCD would ask…Is ___ a sin? Is ___ a sin?
Click to expand...
Great Answer!

Pax,
Active Navy, Afghanistan Veteran
OA
 
One point I think ought to be made – the nature of the military in question would have to matter. While the American military – being an organization of flawed human beings – may have blemishes from time to time, it’s clearly not acting overall in a morally problematic manner. Obviously, organizations such as the Waffen SS were not acting in a morally correct way and membership in them would have to be highly suspect (even though there were anecdotes of individual SS soldiers acting nobly).
 
markomalley said:
You’re kidding, right?

From the CCC:
1909 Finally, the common good requires peace, that is, the stability and security of a just order. It presupposes that authority should ensure by morally acceptable means the security of society and its members. It is the basis of the right to legitimate personal and collective defence.

2265 Legitimate defense can be not only a right but a grave duty for someone responsible for another’s life. Preserving the common good requires rendering the unjust aggressor unable to inflict harm. To this end, those holding legitimate authority have the right to repel by armed force aggressors against the civil community entrusted to their charge.

Honestly, that sounds like questions my 7th grade CCD would ask…Is ___ a sin? Is ___ a sin?
Click to expand...
I like it.

I’m not in the military, and I don’t think I’ll join, but I respect our men and women in uniform. My grandpa was wounded during the Korean War, and I have two friends who recently went to San Diego for USMC boot camp.
 
I cannot believe how long this guy has gotten away with trolling the forums with ridiculous questions.

He asks some blatantly trolling question and everyone takes the bait and answers it, or debates over it. With some threads going on for pages and him never discussing in the thread.

http://marketmynovel.com/images/Dont-Feed-the-Trolls.png
 
RHC said:
Thank you, BlueShadow. Sometimes my emotions run away with my head. I have known a few good soldiers whose funerals were protested by the Westboro church. So perhaps I am a bit emotional about them…

However, as you pointed out, I will think about the children and pray that, somehow, they will escape the hateful attitude of that group. I feel sorry for them. And, in my more rational moments, I feel sorry for Fred Phelps. I think he is very deceived.

Am off to say a few Hail Marys and Our Fathers…thanks for getting my head back on straight. 😃
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Yeah, we all know that he tends to act like a jerk due to what he believes. But I think instead of being mean to him, we should try to HELP him. Like, I said, he has issues that need to be seriously worked out. He was probably also raised in this faith and he probably deep down thinks he really is doing gods work.
 
Did anyone see the documentary film, “Fog of War”? The film is an extensive interview with recently-deceased Robert S. McNamara, ex-Secretary of Defense under John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson.

In the film, McNamara recounts his experiences as a high-ranking official with the U.S. Army in WWII; his actions as S.of Defense throughout Vietnam; and his actions as President of the World Bank, after he was fired by Johnson.

MacNamara asserts “11 Lessons,” in the film, such as: “Rationality will not save us,” and “Empathize with your Enemy.”

One of the lessons towards the end of the film: “In order to do good, you may have to engage in evil.” Ultimately, this was McNamara’s heartfelt sense, or defense, of what he readily admitted to being his very blood personal history, regarding war. He states baldly that he may be responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of individuals (if not singly responsible, at least complicit). (McNamara was one of LeMay’s key #2 men in the Pacific Theatre during WWII.)

McNamara shared that such matters as he was forced to deal with over the course of his military and political careers, can cause tremendous suffering in the hearts and minds of “sensitive human beings.” He counted himself as one, and indeed, his reminiscences led him to tears at several points in the film. It is without doubt, in my mind, that he suffered from terrible remorse and guilt.

Is his point that “In order to do good, you may have to do evil” essentially compatible with the Church’s “Just War” doctrine? Certainly the CC is aware that tremendous suffering arises in the bodies, minds and souls of individuals who are subject to war (soldier, civilians and bystanders alike). Does the CC thus feel that McNamara is essentially correct in stating that these “evils” are necessary for the upholding of human rights, dignity, social justice, peace, liberty, etc.?

Thank you! By the way, I highly recommend this beautiful film. It’s my favorite! It is a story of redemption.

Peace,
Light1111
 
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