The exhortation to “Fight for Peace” is probably as old as the hills. Nobody seems to notice that all the wars ever fought have not brought peace. Or that violence stirs up hatred, anger, desire for revenge, and more violence. Or that the so-called Versailles Peace Treaty of 1920 was little more than a highway into World War Two. Or that World War Two led directly to The Cold War and all the Proxy wars that went with it.
If there is any excuse for atheists to fall for this Fight for Peace contradiction, there is certainly none for Christians. Jesus was clear about violence. He rebuked Peter for using it, and healed the wound Peter caused. He aborted the legal execution of a woman caught in adultery. He makes forgiveness a requirement. He commanded love for enemies. Ignore the cynics who say Jesus used a whip to drive bulls out of the Temple; limited force to control animals is a different matter. Jesus’ only connection with real violence was to suffer it willingly.
So what are we to make of Anglo-Catholic Theresa May who launches missiles against Syria without consent of Parliament, without consent of the UN, without even waiting for an OPCW report on the alleged justification for the strikes? Or Protestant President Bush and Catholic Tony Blair for their rush into the Iraq War? Simply that these people are Churchgoers, not Christians, and their Fight for Peace is not just foolhardy and criminal, but also utterly, profoundly, wholly unchristian. The usual lack of protest from the Churches about war may cause you to think otherwise; but their lack of protest is actually a measure of their lack of Christianity.
See also Christianity is Not Violent.