'What chance would pacifism have as an effective policy against the Nazis or the Japanese during WW2?'

And what chance would the military have as an effective policy against a world driven by pacifism?

I'm so sick to death of this argument. Europe was 'saved' from totalitarian fascism only to have more than half of it turned over to totalitarian communism in a cynical post-war carve-up. And the allied invasion didn't save the Jews (if anything, it meant the few who were left starved to death, along with many Germans), neither did the allies even care about them - that didn't become a cause celebre for at least another decade.

Imperial Japan brutally invaded the very countries that had been brutally invaded and colonised by Imperial Europe - and without Japan, those nations might still be under the European colonial yolk.

As with WWI, WWII simply decided which power axis would rule the world's financial system and control the world's resources for the next 50 years. And, hey, only about 90 million people had to die in the process.

And as for the argument that the good guys won, well, how can we be so sure of that?

There's plenty of evidence that US and British bankers, fearing the rise of socialism, collaborated with German industrialists to finance the rise of the Nazi party. There is also plenty of evidence that Hitler would have sued for peace as early as 1941 had the allies come to the party - but no, it had to be Germany's total surrender, so tens of millions more had to die. And there's plenty of evidence that Japan's expansionism was directly linked to the oil embargoes imposed on it by the US and European imperial powers in Asia, alarmed by the emergence of a powerful Asian rival.

The world wouldn't be all that different today had Germany and/or Japan won. We'd just have a different set of nations proclaiming themselves the good guys.

"I am convinced it is the only way open to followers of Jesus."

We are all extremely fortunate that previous generations, including large numbers of devoted and active Christians, did not agree with you, or there would be very few 'followers of Jesus' left.

Blue Sky,
At the top of the General section,(light green page) you will see a box with 'Start a new Discussion' written in it. Click there and then follow the instructions.

Thank you Banjo

I lost 13 of my Uncles in some of these engagements!
These men to a man volunteered, and went and did their civic duty, to protect and serve King/Queen and country!
It was not a picnic or tea party!
And most of the men were terrified within an inch of their lives, yet carried on in support of their mates.
Those who became real legends on the Kakoda trail, seriously believed they were protecting family and friends!
Factually they were, and far too many paid the ultimate price for so doing, not to mention things like dysentery or disabling malaria, or dengue or blackwater fever!
Or as seriously wounded, but still able to walk, continued to carry the fight to the enemy!
As someone who took the Queen's shilling, I take extreme umbrage with those who seek to disparage or downplay the real heroism of many of these men, none less than Simpson and his donkey!

On a less serious note: A new chum just arrived at Gallipoli, hugging the wall of a feces covered trench, seeking shelter from the ever present machine guns and an anti personal barrage; remarked, "this must be what hell is like"!
Yes, replied a war weary digger, with typical laconic dry humor, "at least there are no flies"!
Rhrosty.

Excellent points Killarney.As General Smedley Butler said,'War is a racket." The bankers continue to fund both sides of the military industrial complex.