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| Reassessing Iraq and the "just war" doctrine |
| 2007-01-13 |
| by "The Anchoress." I'm just giving you the first part here: The day before the president’s speech, I got email from some people asking me why I’m such an idiot, how I can reconcile Christianity with war, how I could reconcile the present engagement with the “Just War” musings of Aquinas, etc. The day after the speech, I had a friend urge me to perform an exercise of “reassessment” regarding my views. I found myself writing essentially the same response to several of those folk - the ones worth answering (here’s a hint, if you want me to respond to an email of yours, don’t call me names or wish my kids dead.) The response is this: When did Jesus say there should be no war? Jesus recognised that some things simply were what they were. He was, in some ways, the ultimate pragmatist; “render unto Ceasar what is Ceasar and to God what is God’s” (Matthew 22:21) and “”A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a slave above his master.” (Matthew 10:24) Scripture says “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven/A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to uproot the plant./A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to tear down, and a time to build.” (Eccl 3;1-3) No sane person likes war. But war sometimes comes. And the “Just War” theology is very clear that war may be Just when it is waged to ultimately spare more lives than it takes, to stop an inexorable advancement of evil. There is some indication, given the behavior of the Islamofascists since the 1970’s that their advancement is inexorable. And to my way of thinking, when that advancement is indiscriminate about who it kills or maims, when it oppresses women, hangs gays and talks about exterminating Jews - or any sort of genocide - well…I’ll call it evil and answer to God as to whether I got that call right. . . . . . . We we have to figure out what happens if we surrender, and what happens if we win. Because all of this does not “go away” in two years when Bush leaves office. Islamofascist terrorism was already business-as-usual before Bush came into office. It will be there when he leaves, and for a very, very long time after, unless we hold fast now, and see this thing through. Here I stand; I can do no other. . . . Now hit the link and read the rest of it. |
| Posted by:Mike |
| #2 God Himself maintains an army and has generals to command it armed with flaming swords and mighty trumpets according to scripture. |
| Posted by: FOTSGreg 2007-01-13 16:52 |
| #1 Like the man said, you may not be interested in war, but war is interested in you. |
| Posted by: SteveS 2007-01-13 09:15 |