The Just War of Thomas Aquinas (and Pacifism Arguments)
Wednesday, April 11th, 2012 by ytrsdafsdhfjyftdrsMight it be the case that those who call themselves Christian, and advocate that nations protect themselves in war, are besmirching Christ’s name? And at a personal level, we are respectfully asked, if one believes Christ is the only son of God, who does it make you if you are, at bottom, deciding you have greater wisdom than he on such fundamental matters? Perhaps mankind is perpetuating misery by delaying the second coming by resisting, and fighting against that evil which Christ has instructed He will return to defeat…
They will suggest that they would be deeply honored if their questions were to elicit deeply meditated thought on this dilemma, and not reflexive sound bytes about how we have all that figured out already. Love thine enemies, resist ye not evil. Turn the other cheek. Is that not plain enough?
Moshiach’s words, let’s be clear, were directed not to government, but to individuals. More could be said about that in terms of personal pacifism, when, where, and why, but it’s sufficient enough to capture the point to say “render unto Caesar…” where Caesar is not your adversary but your protectorate. The wholistic Bible’s view of nations and governments rests in Paul’s discussion in Romans chapter 13 (as much as we suspect with many that Paul bastardized many of Our Savior’s teachings). But in Romans, Paul says that God himself has given governments “the sword”, a metaphor for the power to police against the lawless and protect against its people’s mortal enemies.Yeshosha (Jesus) did not tell the Roman centurion to quit the army.
In the biblical view of life in a sinful world, reality is faced. There are violent and wicked enemies both within a country and in other countries. It is the duty of a father to protect his family against intruders, it is the duty of different levels of government to protect their peoples against criminals within and enemies without. When Yahweh blessed Israel through King David it was emphasized that success in these endeavors was a hallmark of a righteous king.One further mention. The Bible does indeed parse the promise of a day when the need for war has been vanquished and is no more, but that day is not brought about through relinquishing the sword before the appointed time. It is not brought about by Christians misinterpreting their role in the world and using wordly implements to advance the gospel. It is clearly stated that this era of bliss and peace will be brought about by the direct intervention of God to destroy the wicked and set up his eternal kingdom where only righteousness dwells.
The way of the Bible is not pie-in-the-sky pacifism. It lives in the world of reality. Yeshosha predicted a time (after his death) when they WOULD need a sword. Of course he meant used within its proper bounds.
For those who enjoy the Wiki, here is a substantial list of war theorists.
The Indian epic, the Mahabharata, offers one of history’s first instances of a just war. In the prelude to this war, one of five ruling brothers asks if the suffering caused by war can ever be justified, and then a long discussion ensues between the siblings, establishing criteria like proportionality (chariots cannot attack cavalry, only other chariots, no attacking people in distress), just means (no poisoned or barbed arrows), just cause (no attacking out of rage), and fair treatment of captives and the wounded.The concept of justification for war under certain conditions originates, or harkens in the Western world, at least to Cicero. However its importance is connected to Christian medieval theory beginning from Augustine of Hippo and Thomas Aquinas.
Thomas Aquinas used the authority of Augustine‘s arguments in an attempt to define the conditions under which a war could be just:
The School of Salamanca
Imanating from the Aquinas arguments came another more detailed the School of Salamanca, which expanded on out Thomistic understanding of natural law and just war. Given that war is one of the worst evils suffered by mankind, the adherents of the School reasoned that it ought to be resorted to only when it was necessary in order to prevent an even greater evil. A diplomatic agreement is preferable, even for the more powerful party, before a war is started. Examples of “just war” are:
A war is not legitimate or illegitimate simply based on its original motivation. It must comply with a series of additional requirements…
To be continued…
—GT
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Much discussion of just war is based on the Old Testament which was written by man portraying a god with all the weaknesses of man (hate, vengence, jealousy, war, killing etc). Look around and observe just how perfect nature is. Could that be the product of some imperfect, petty god as described in the Old Testament. Christians would do much better to recognizing the Old Testament as a self serving history written by man to justify actions and guess about what they had no chance of understanding. Christians would do much better by living the example of Jesus. Just and unjust wars just ain’t part of it.
Amen, brother! The “religious right” is so far intoxicated with this belief that the USA is some kind of “godly” or “chosen” nation, that it is hammered into our children from the time they are born. That is why it becomes so easy for us to follow such an interventionist foreign policy. It’s basically seen as us (God’s new favorite nation one earth) versus the evil-doers. It then becomes our godly duty to promote democracy around the world. Most of the churches that propogate this fairy tale have American flags in them, and there is this constant repetition of, “God bless America!” that has contaminated our society as a whole. Jesus never said, “God bless Rome!” This is a secular nation, and as such will face the same judgement as the rest of the world when the end times come.