war and peace

So, I've been trying to think about war and a Christian's response to it - and the various positions held by believers over the years. It's not like I haven't thought about this before, but having watched Thin Red Line and knowing that we're going to discuss it tonight, and the fact that there are strong christian undertones, i'd just like my thoughts to be a bit more cohesive before i have to say them out loud (and to preferably not just be verbally processing).

Some of the big questions from the film are:

Where does the evil in the world and in us come from? What happened to the light and to the good in us and in the world?

Why is there war? Is war ever just? What is the right response of one who follows Jesus to war? How do we reconcile an individual response to evil and a government & country's response to it? Is it right to bring about justice through violence?

What about the beauty in the world and in people? Where does that come from? Why do we sometimes see it so clearly and other times does it seem so dim?

Anyway, there are many more questions than just this. And I honestly wish the film had more fully developed each of the characters. There are lots of vignettes and just brief touches with various characters so you are left with little thoughts and a lot of questions about even what they are trying to convey, what the movie is trying to convey, and what the various characters think.

So, in thinking about all this, here are a couple links I found through a google search that were helpful (Although I still have more questions than answers, they at least gave some more food for thought. And I DON'T necessarily agree with all that is written in these links.):

http://www.leaderu.com/humanities/demy.html

http://fromthestacksonmydesk.wordpress.com/2008/07/07/christian-response-to-war/

http://allkindsoftime.blogspot.com/2005/05/ive-read-good-deal-on-christian.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Thin_Red_Line_%281998_film%29

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120863/quotes

http://www.counterpunch.org/mcdowell02122003.html

http://sermons2.redeemer.com/sermons/war-and-peace

I'd love any thoughts you guys have too about this.