Just War
Theory
When.. how.. or should..
Christians fight in war?
In AD 312, Emperor Constantine waged war against Maxentius at the Battle of the Milvian Bridge. It is recorded by Eusebius, that before the battle, he and his army saw a Chi-Rho (the first two Greek letters in the word Christ) suspended in the sky, while Constantine heard the words
"In this sign you will conquer".
He then gave orders for all his men to paint this symbol on their shields. In the end, they won the battle, and a year later with the Edict of Milan, Christianity was officially legalized across the entire Roman Empire.
Not even a hundred years later, in AD 410, when the Visigoths sacked Rome, many people wondered why God would allow this. Some blamed the defeat on the rejection of the old gods and accepting Christianity.
At this time, some within the Christian community, wondered whether or not Christians could rightly serve in the military. The question being, how could a Christian be expected to kill in battle, when God's law says:
"Thou shalt not kill."
Along came a North African Bishop named Augustine of Hippo.
AD 354-430.
He wrestled with the question of how do we Christians, belonging to the City of God, conduct ourselves while among the citizens of the Earthly City. Knowing that our God is a God of Love, how would He have us live while still here among the inhabitance of the Earthly City?
He eventually formed what came to be known as “Just War Theory” and reconciled those two seemingly contradictory positions:
"Thou shall not kill" and
"nations have a responsibility to use the sword" (i.e. defend their citizens and promote justice).
Since we belong to a loving God, all of our actions should also be based upon love: love for God and love for our brother.
Therefore, when a Christian warrior goes off to battle and kills, this should bring him grief, not as if he has done something wrong, but knowing that this is the reality of a fallen world. When a Christian kills the enemy in war, he does so out of love for those he is trying to protect. When a nation conquers its enemies, they should be doing so to bring peace to their enemies, which is an act of love. In Augustine's own words "Wage war peaceably."
A couple hundred years later, Muhammad came on the scene around AD 620s and conquered much of Saudi Arabia before He died. His generals continued to wage war after he died and took over North Africa (the entire length of the Mediterranean), Spain, much of Byzantium, (including Palestine), laid siege against Constantinople and even the city of Rome.
They were not stopped until AD 732 by Charles Martel at the battle of Tours (France).
But even after that loss, the Muslims continued to attack Christian lands for hundreds of years afterward...
until Pope Urban II called for the 1st Crusade in AD 1095, calling men to defend the Church against these Muslim aggressors.
While the Christian knights were fighting wars, Christian theologians were discussing the nature of war.
Eventually, Thomas Aquinas
(AD 1225-1274), added to Augustine’s theory by subdividing it into two parts:
Jus ad Bellum (Right to go to war), &
Jus in Bello (Right conduct in war).
Jus ad Bellum
1. Just cause or right intention.
The cause for war must be to save life or secure justice.
2. Proper authority.
War must be conducted by a legitimate or competent governing body.
3. Comparative justice.
Must weigh the injustice suffered by one party against the suffering of the other. (Good must outweigh the harm done).
4. Beneficial outcome.
Life after the war must be better than if the war didn't happen.
5. High probability of success.
If we lose the war the suffering will be greater after the conflict.
6. Last Resort.
War must only be used after all negotiations have failed.
Jus in Bello
1. A distinction between enemy combatants and noncombatants must be made. Noncombatants would obviously be people not involved in the conflict (i.e. women, children, those who have surrendered etc.).
2. Proportionality of damage. Weapons or violence should be proportional to the threat, to minimize suffering and damage.
"Beware of Foreign Entanglements."
- G. Washington
This theory is the basis for our understanding of the Rules of War.
It is also through this theory, that Christian nations should consider whether or not they should even go to war.
It is for this reason our founding fathers believed that the United States should avoid foreign entanglements (stay out of foreign wars), because they knew that oftentimes it was difficult to justify a nation's war morally.
Think of all the fathers, sons, and brothers, all around the world, who get killed or maimed, fighting battles for godless rulers and politicians.
How much blood could be saved and families unbroken if only our leaders would submit to this theological theory based upon love.
For the future, we need to keep in mind, that if our governments ignore Just War Theory, and decide to mobilize our sons into an unjust war, we Christian men have the right and the obligation to ignore such orders. If our governments ever decide to wage an unjust war, it is our responsibility to say no to such a wicked decision, for "We must obey God rather than men."