A Change of Allegiance
by Dean Taylor What should a Christian do with Jesus’ words, “Love your enemies?” Is it all right for a Christian to go to war? Doesn’t a Christian have an obligation to defend his country? 
Dean Taylor and his wife Tania were both in the U. S. Army when they realized that, as committed Christians, they had to come to grip with these question in a new and sincere quest for truth. They were determined to follow Jesus Christ under the banner of “no compromise. As they began to search the Scriptures and church history, they came to the startling discovery that the Christian Church originally was uniformly opposed to Christians going to war or joining the military. In A Change of Allegiance, Taylor takes the reader on a moving journey through the Scriptures, Christian history, and his own life’s story—demonstrating the incompatibility of Christianity and war. Ultimately, Taylor challenges his readers to consider where their allegiance really lies. |
Much of A Change of Allegiance reads like an exciting novel (with a surprise ending!) as Taylor tells the story of what happened after Tania and he applied to be discharged from the army as conscientious objectors. At that point in time, they were stationed in Germany, and the Gulf War of 1990 was just beginning. All of these events in their lives were happening against the backdrop of the fall of communism in Eastern Europe and the tearing down of the Berlin Wall. As Taylor unfolds the suspenseful drama of his own situation, he also explains the biblical basis for his decision, together with the facts of Christian history he learned. He discusses the early Christians and their firm stand against war and then describes how things changed with Constantine. He goes on to talk about the Crusades, the endless wars between professing Christians throughout history, and even how German ¡°Christians¡± fought for Hitler in Nazi Germany. Taylor also details how various individual Christians, like Erasmus, and various Christian groups through the centuries¡ªsuch as the Waldensians, Czech Brethren, and Anabaptists¡ªembraced nonresistance. Taylor¡¯s graphic description of the training he went through as an American soldier to kill others should open the eyes of even the staunchest God-and-country patriots. One particularly valuable aspect of Taylor¡¯s book is his sensible answers to some of the most common questions that are asked to nonresistant Christians: ¡ñ Why was war allowed in the Old Testament if it¡¯s wrong for Christians? ¡ñ What if someone broke in your house and were threatening your wife and children? ¡ñ Why didn¡¯t John the Baptist tell the soldiers who came to him to leave the army? ¡ñ What about Cornelius, the Roman centurion? ¡ñ Isn¡¯t there such a thing as a ¡°Just War¡±? ¡ñ Doesn¡¯t Romans 13 tell us to obey our governments when we¡¯re drafted? A Change of Allegiance is enhanced by photos (including one of the belt buckles worn by Nazi soldiers that say ¡°God Is With Us¡±). The book also includes an invaluable reference guide for someone who is presently in the military and is convicted to apply for a conscientious objector discharge. $9.95. 240 pp. Paperback. |
