From the perspective of Christian ethics, the nuclear arms race is antithetical to the Biblical injunction to live in peace. Matthew 5:9 states, "Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God," and Romans 14:19 says, "Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another" (KJV). Moreover, the Bible instructs him "that would love life, and see good days" to "turn away from evil, and do good; Let him seek peace, and pursue it" (I Peter 3:10-11, ASV). As Stanley Hauerwas points out, peacemaking is "the virtue of the church" (Ahearn & Gathje 25). The pursuit of peace, however, involves those activities that result in peace, of which the nuclear arms race is not one. Gearing up for nuclear war is a preparation for hostilities, not for peace.
Nuclear deterrence, or using the threat of nuclear war to deter enemies from engaging in certain activities, is also antithetical to peaceful coexistence with others. Peace implies the absence of strife and force, and nuclear deterrence suggests both. The pursuit of peace obviates the need for nuclear deterrence. When countries pursue peace with each other, they do not need to use force and threats; they are willing to compromise and strike mutually beneficial agreements.
Nuclear arms and nuclear deterrence are not Biblical ways of achieving peace. Peace cannot be obtained by threats, only by living in harmony with one another. Turning to the non-Biblical means of nuclear war and deterrence demonstrates a lack of faith in the effectiveness of Biblical injunctions to live in peace, yet the Bible has proven itself a multitude of times to be dependably correct. Christian ethics adheres to the Bible's way of doing things, not the world's way, and its basis for establishing peace(showing love to one another(is a much more effective and less dangerous option than nuclear war and deterrence. <...