Ryan, here's what I don't get about pro-imperialistic war Christians of all varieties. If you want people to convert to your religion, since it is a service towards God to bring more to the light, then wouldn't killing them in an imperialistic war be counterproductive to that goal?
Then again, these people might just be practicing what Bastiat warned us against when he wrote that "false philanthropy" would end up perverting the uses of government. The urge to do good is strong within a lot of people (including that friend I referenced earlier) that they will go to even extreme lengths to see that their goal is achieved. What's interesting though is that when asked if they believe that "the ends justify the means", they deny this because to them, what they believe fits completely in line with their beliefs. Among all types of Christians, the use of coercive and violent force through government has found a place among certain individuals who see it fit that government be involved with performing the "works" of God.
I thought really hard about this and tried to understand it, until I realized that I had been missing an important element: nationalism. The thing that ties so many pro-war Christians together is a generous whiff of nationalism. From Jerry Falwell to my hardcore Catholic friend, what has tied them together is the belief that God has a special purpose for America as being an omnipotent beacon of something (take your pick; freedom, democracy, Christianity, Western values, by this point they're all interchangeable since they are essentially all just excuses) in the world. Like all bad ideas, it's rooted in good intentions, but it's also a pretty arrogant belief. Where some Europeans seemed to have developed a kind of messianic complex in which they can somehow convince everyone to get along and work for the better good, Americans (especially American Christians) have developed a messianic complex that pits America vs. Anyone Who Dare Opposes God's Country, In Any Way And Any Form. All anyone needs to do is go to the FreeRepublic forum to know what I mean. The world needs to be shaped in the image of America, say many.
More and more, it seems Catholics are embracing this as well, whether it be the Catholic-Lite variety of John Kerry Catholic-Lite or the much more conservative side of the Catholics. It is surprising of conservative Catholics who supported the war that after all the railing that they've done against Vatican II and Catholic-Lite that they would then choose to follow the words of the president rather than Pope John Paul II. It is surprising that those who wanted a strict Catholic Church would then not want to follow the Just War doctrine. I'm not sure of the number of conservative Catholics who supported the war, but I know there were a number of them.
It's an interesting time, I must say, especially if you watch my generation. Talk to some of the Christians among them, you'll find it interesting to note how Christianity is changing. As churches more and more try to appeal to this new generation of believers, with CCM (Contemporary Christian Music) and fun-oriented non-denominational churches, it's beginning to mold out of it this dual belief in God and the State. It basically goes that the State is carrying out the will of God when it's doing certain things (like Republican-backed legislation) and that George Bush was chosen by God to be president. It's a sincere belief of a number of teenagers, who believe in salvation through both church and the State. I think if you were to trace the roots of this, it developed out of the rise of the Christian Right during the 80's and coalesced with the events of 9/11. While abortion is still the key issue to most of them, imperialistic war against any Middle Eastern country with Muslims (as well as unwavering support for Israel, as everyone well knows) has also risen among key issues. This why quite a number of them believe in conscription and duty to the State, it's supposedly the patriotic and Christian thing to do. God would support this; God would want this. If Bush says it, then it follows that that might be what God wants.
Maybe this is nothing new. Looking at articles and blog posts on LRC seems to indicate that this is really nothing new, just the same old recycled stuff. These are just the observations I've made through what I have grown up with and what I have experienced.