At 8:15 am on August 6th 1945 the Enola Gay dropped “Little Boy” the first nuclear weapon to be used in an act of war. Hiroshima was obliterated. It is estimated that 100,000 to 150,000 died instantly, being evaporated by the nuclear blast. In the years to follow at least another 50,000 to 100,000 died from radiation poisoning and the effects of the blast. Nine days later the Emperor of Japan surrendered and World War II was over. Personally, I wrestle back and forth over whether this bombing was justified. Thousands were dying in WWII and an invasion of the Japanese mainland most likely would have brought hundreds of thousands of more deaths. Yet, does the end of the war justify the means used to end it? Is Hiroshima and Nagasaki justified in the lives that were saved? This is the paradox of the atomic weapon. In destroying countless lives, countless others were saved.
Regardless of whether one sees the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki as wrong or not, as Christians we must always remember them. We must remember the lives that were lost and we must remember the lives that were saved. Most importantly we must see this event as a reflection of the sinfulness of humanity. Hiroshima is a logical outworking of our wretched condition. Apart from Christ, life is hell. Without a Savior those who are facing eternal damnation will face an eternity of Hiroshimas infinitely worse than anything imaginable. Yet, for those who put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ there is hope even in Hiroshima. Christ is to be found in the despair of this life. And because of his coming into this world there is now hope and life for those who believe.
The message of Hiroshima is one of sin and misery. But the good news of Jesus Christ is that within that sin and misery there is hope and life, even in the midst of Hiroshima.
3 comments:
Great thoughts, Dr. Turner, and well put too. I do have a question though.
You said, "Yet, does the end of the war justify the means used to end it?"
Are you talking about the means of a nuclear weapon? If so, then why is it a wrong or sinful means, in itself? Or, am I misunderstanding you?
Tom:
I think the sentence after the one you quoted helps. Here is the broader context: "Yet, does the end of the war justify the means used to end it? Is Hiroshima and Nagasaki justified in the lives that were saved?"
I am not discussing atomic weapons in and of themselves. Can weapons truly exist in and of themselves if their main purpose is for destruction. Anything that has purpose cannot be considered in and of itself, aside from that purpose. Atomic weapons were created for a specific purpose - mass destruction (Of course, mass destruction also has various purposes and uses, namely to end a war for instance).
What I am asking is this - is the use of atomic weapons, in this instance Hiroshima and Nagasaki, a justifiable means to end a war? There are always alternatives to the use of nuclear weapons.
Was the 350,000 people obliterated or slowly dying through radiation poisoning worth the end of the war? Maybe that is a better way to phrase the question since that was the result of dropping the bombs.
I don't think Churchill, Truman and Roosevelt truly new the power and capacity of death inherent within nuclear weapons, but nonetheless given the obstinancy of Japan at the time were they justified in using such an aggresive measure of force?
So to answer your question: I don't think because the way you phrased the question that it can be answered. Because of the purpose of the nuclear weapons used to bomb Hiroshima and Nagasaki the weapon cannot stand judged in itself. It can only be understood and interpreted within the context of the wide scale death and destruction of the Japanese people within those two cities and WWII in general (including the obstinancy of Japan).
So within the context of the use of nuclear weapons in WWII I re-ask my original question: Is the use of nuclear weapons a justifiable means to end a war? As I previously stated I continually go back and forth on the answer to this question although with all honesty I lean toward the side of it being wrong.
Does all this rambling help clarify?
Yes, it is very helpful and most clear. Thanks bro. Good Sabbath to you.
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