Varies by individual conscience; no official church-wide prohibition or mandate
The True Jesus Church does not have a unified, official position on military service and warfare. Some members and local congregations may discourage military service based on pacifist or non-resistant principles, while others affirm that military service is permissible for the sake of national defense and civic duty. The church allows members to make this decision according to their conscience and spiritual understanding.
This variance reflects the church's emphasis on individual spiritual discernment and its cultural contextualization. In countries where conscription is practiced, the church has not uniformly instructed members to resist or comply. In Western contexts, the church has not developed a strong peace testimony as some Anabaptist traditions have.
The lack of a unified stance on military service, while potentially limiting the church's prophetic witness on war and peace, allows it to function across many different national and political contexts without creating insuperable barriers to membership.
Scripture References
Sources
- True Jesus Church pastoral practice on military questions
- Varied local teachings