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For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer (Romans 13:3-4, ESV).
I’ve heard political leaders say, “This is a just war!” One historian notes that all American wars were considered “just” and all wars fought by the West (even both sides of World War II) were described by the participating governments as “just.”
No country wants to declare that it is fighting an “unjust” war.
It all goes back to the Just War Theory first proposed by theological heavyweight Augustine and, about 800 years later, given more formal criteria of what constitutes a just war by another theological heavyweight, Thomas Aquinas.
There are two basic concepts for a just war…
Jus ad Bellum (Latin, not Greek or English) for conditions that must be met before starting a war, including just cause, legitimate authority within a government, the right intentions of ultimate peace, last resort, and the good achieved should outweigh the bad.
That’s a lot, take a breath. Now let’s think about…
Jus in Bello (Latin) for just rules governing behavior during warfare, of not targeting non-combatants and civilians, that violence used must be proportionate, not causing unnecessary harm, and prohibiting evil like torture, rape, and illegal weapons.
Most Western Christians have supported just wars for the hundreds of years since Augustine, and often the West fights against nations and cultures who don’t believe in Jus a Bellum and Jus in Bello — and today, with “on time” media we have witnessed executions and tortures while thinking, “How can they do such things?” while not realizing that the culture of some nations and religions do not promote “Just War Theory.”
Long paragraph, so another pause.
James Madison, a Founding Father also known as the Father of the U.S. Constitution, when discussing the “Just War Theory” that undergirds the Constitution (a Constitution which gives Congress, not the President, the authority to declare war), wrote that the theory of Just War in the Constitution “clogged” the processes of war-declaring to give time for more scrutiny.
Many Western politicians and scholars now question the expediency of Just War Theory. In the age of ballistic missiles taking just minutes to destroy a nation, drones flying in flocks of hundreds or thousands, instantaneous cyber-attacks taking out power grids, weaponized viruses, and surgical bomb strikes, many experts ask the legitimate question, “Who has time for endless discussions?”
And they have a point: if you wait too long, you are no more!
The Just War Theory, centuries old, endlessly discussed by theologians and politicians, and now coming to grips with modern warfare, does it make sense, and can it be adapted?
Jesus said 2000 years ago, “You will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet.” The condensed timeframes and destructive potential of modern warfare require wisdom, well-thought-out scenarios, and appropriate applications of Just War Theory.
Soon Jesus will come! Then and only then will there be peace on earth.