OpinionPoliticsNonviolence and Peace

Kings Start Wars. Christians Stop Them

By Tyler Huckabee
Smoke rises in Tehran on March 1 following an explosion, after Israel and the U.S. launched strikes on Iran. Photo: Majid Asgaripour/West Asia News Agency via Reuters Connect.
Mar 1, 2026
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After I saw that President Donald Trump had ordered attacks on Iran, I thought about the passage in 1 Samuel in which the Israelite elders get fed up with being run by a series of judges and ask for a king. The prophet Samuel, after praying over the matter, urges them to rethink the request, reciting a laundry list of all the things a king will do to the people.

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An image of the November 2026 issue of Sojourners, titled "Face to Face." It features George Lakey on the cover
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Smoke rises in Tehran on March 1 following an explosion, after Israel and the U.S. launched strikes on Iran. Photo: Majid Asgaripour/West Asia News Agency via Reuters Connect.