I have been a big supporter of President Bush and his polices. Over the past few weeks, however, as I’ve studied and preached through the Be Attitudes, I’ve become increasing aware of Jesus’ example and teaching regarding peace. In addition, I am aware that many in the emerging conversation, and younger Christian leaders are against the war in Iraq. I also understand the preemptive command of God to deal with the people living in the promised land when Joshua led the people in. Other OT leaders went to war fighting off oppression, under that command of God.
So yesterday I began a journey to attempt to better understand war and peace in the context of scriptures. I’ve ordered a couple of books – one advocating Biblical passicism and one by a good conservative Southern Baptist who I presume will argue a case for the just war.
It is a journey I am anxious to begin…
Hi! Reducing it to just war doctrine vs. christian pacificism is a start, but does not settle the issue. Further, when it comes to the just war doctrine, I would strongly recommend starting with Augustine and Thomas Aquinas. There was even a paper from the 80’s by the Army War College that is a better starting point on the doctrine than some of the stuff I have seen promulgated since it became an issue for Bush. The central requirement of just war doctrine, strongly downplayed in most of the recent analyses I’ve seen is that it must always be defensive in nature. No exception. A just war is always a defensive war. The place it is most often abused by rationalization is in contexts where there is not an obvious attack and the understanding of defensive is stretched to the limit. Yet there are situations where a defensive war is dictated in response to something other than a clear attack. Or even where preemption is required. But you have to tread extremely carefully when you veer off the response to a direct attack track. Studying the original sources as well as other pre-Iraq writings, it is easy to reach a determination that the invasion of Afghanistan was both necessary and just and the invasion of Iraq neither. I do hold to the doctrine of just war for much the same reasons Augustine arrived at that point. But I also acknowledge that I could be wrong and the pacificists could be right.