Rev. Ron Sparks, The Community Church of California City
War…when is it warranted? On what grounds?
While biblical and theological beliefs may dictate whether we approve or disapprove, the moral, ethical and spiritual justifications for choosing conflict over communication are, in these days when wars are a normal response to aggression, increasingly difficult to assess.
A (however flawed) code or guideline for weighing decisions to address aggression, the “Just War Theory,” has its foundation in the aftermath (circa 312 CE) of Rome’s persecution of the early church. Christians began to view the use of force through a different lens. Some saw war as having no justification; others believed there were situations when counter-force might be a just response to aggression.
The first theologians to codify this "Just War Theory" were Ambrose and Augustine. Modified over the centuries by, among others, Gratian and Thomas Aquinas, it has been even further adapted in modern times to express criteria for dealing with two World Wars, the threat of nuclear war and the technological wars of today.
What are the criteria for “just war?” (I leave it up to each reader to evaluate if past or current wars fall within these guidelines.)
1. A just war can only be waged as a last resort. All non-violent options must be exhausted before the use of force can be justified.
2. A war is just only if it is waged by a legitimate authority. Even just causes cannot be served by actions taken by individuals or groups who do not constitute an authority sanctioned by whatever the society and outsiders to the society deem legitimate.
3. A just war can only be fought to redress a wrong suffered. For example, self-defense against an armed attack is always considered to be a just cause (although the justice of the cause is not sufficient--see point #4). Further, a just war can only be fought with "right" intentions: the only permissible objective of a just war is to redress the injury.
4. A war can only be just if it is fought with a reasonable chance of success. Deaths and injury incurred in a hopeless cause are not morally justified.
5. The ultimate goal of a just war is to re-establish peace. More specifically, the peace established after the war must be preferable to the peace that would have prevailed if the war had not been fought.
6. The violence used in the war must be proportional to the injury suffered. States are prohibited from using force not necessary to attain the limited objective of addressing the injury suffered.
7. The weapons used in war must discriminate between combatants and non-combatants. Civilians are never permissible targets of war and every effort must be taken to avoid killing civilians. The deaths of civilians are justified only if they are unavoidable victims (not "Collateral Damage" - my note here) of a deliberate attack on a military target.
I told you that this was not a faultless standard or guide. It is, however, the one utilized in any decision to enter an aggressive mode. Again, I leave it up to the wisdom of the reader to judge, or evaluate, any war against this standard.
I, also, am reminded that the words of Jesus call us to be "Peacemakers rather than Peacekeepers” - an increasingly difficult standard to proclaim and practice in a world which places more weight on the ancient practice of Lex Talionis, ("an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth") than on "turning the other cheek," "loving our neighbor as ourselves” or living out the Golden Rule.
What a sane, safe and secure world it would be if Isaiah’s vision – “to beat our swords into plowshares, our spears into pruning hooks and our ultimate destiny and desire to engage in war no longer” – became the construct of our thinking and behavior.
All I can say is amen to that!
From the editorial committee:
The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy defines war as “an actual, intentional and widespread armed conflict between political communities…a phenomenon which occurs only between political communities, defined as those entities which either are states or intend be become states (in order to allow for civil war).”
When, if ever, Rev. Ron Sparks, Senior Pastor of The Community Church of California City, asks, is war justified? What criteria must be met before choosing conflict over communication, for responded to force with force?
To answer those questions, Sparks cites Isaiah’s vision, the words of Jesus and the conditions the Just War Theory places on those who would respond to aggression.
We invite you to join a discussion about war, “just war” and peace. What do you think? Why? How can we as a society, as Christians, as human beings change the “way things are,” change our world, bring peace?
Rev. Ron Sparks, The Community Church of California City
June 26th, 2010
Dan Rich War- When is it justified
Dear Rev. Ron Sparks:
That was a most interesting list of criteria determining when
war might be considered just. If we objectedly (as much as
possible) examine that list, it would be fair to say that we have
no legitimate basis for being in
