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St.
Augustine and the roots of just war, New
war, old principles, Can
a war be just, Pointless
rage vs. moral war, Onward Christian
soliders? A Christian perspective on war, The paradox
of war and pacifism, Morality
and war, Justice
in war, Overcoming
evil with good Theologians
debate just war,
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"Three things are required for any war to be just. The first is
the authority of the sovereign on whose command war is waged…Secondly,
a just cause is required, namely that those who are attacked are attacked
because they deserve it on account of some wrong they have done. So Augustine
wrote, 'We usually describe a just war as one that avenges wrongs, that
is, when a nation or state has to be punished either for refusing to make
amends for outrages done by its subjects, or to restore what has been
seized injuriously'…Thirdly, the right intention of those waging
war is required, that is, they must in-tend to promote the good and to
avoid evil…Now it can happen that even given a legitimate authority
and a just cause fordeclaring war, it may yet be wrong because of a perverse
intention. So again Augustine says, 'The craving to hurt people, the cruel
thirst for revenge, the unappeased and unrelenting spirit, the savageness
of fighting on, the lust to dominate, and such like—all these are
rightly condemned in wars.'… Even those who wage a just war intend
peace. They are not then hostile to peace, except that evil peace which
Our Lord 'did not come to send on the earth' (Matthew 10:34). So again
Augustine says, 'We do not seek peace in order to wage war, but we go
to war to gain peace. Therefore be peaceful even while you are at war,
that you may overcome your enemy and bring him to the prosperity of peace.'"
"Forces should be repelled and the bearers and close cooperators in military
force should be directly repressed, by violent means if necessary, lest
many more of God's little ones should be irresponsibly forsaken and lest
they suffer more harm than need be." "St. Paul…approved of captial punishment--he says "the
magistrate bears the sword and should bear the sword." It is recorded
that the soldiers who came to St. John the Baptist asking, 'What shall
we do?' were not told to leave the army. When our Lord himself praised
the Centurion he never hinited that the military profession was in itself
sinful. This has been the general view of Christendom. Pacifism is a recent
and local variation. We must of course respect and tolerate pacifists,
but I think their view erroneous." "The first thing to remember is that no matter how we answer, there is no political solution to the problem of sin. Not even a justified war could end all wars; not even pacifism could bring a lasting peace. So our first concern about terrorism, even before our political concerns, should be what we can do to support ambassadors of the gospel, and those other people of good will, who care for the people who suffer." "The principles of justified war would certainly cramp our style. God is not interested in our style; what He demands of us is holiness. The fact that terrorists reject the principles does not justify us in violating them—not even to act against terrorism."
"The principles of justified war do not make wartime moral questions
easy. They say, "Here is how to answer the questions," not, "Here are
the answers." That may not seem like much help. But it is enough."
"When Thomas Aquinas discusses just war in the Summa Theologiae (II–II.40), he does not do so in the section on justice, but rather in the section on charity—specifically, the love of God. He makes it clear that war is not a vice that is opposed to the love of God. On the contrary, war–making, when just, can be a form of love." "The Christian who fails to use force to aid his neighbor when prudence
dictates that force is the best way to render that aid is an uncharitable
Christian. Hence, Christians who willingly and knowingly refuse to engage
in a just war do a vicious thing: they fail to show love toward their
neighbor as well as toward God." |
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JUST
WAR