Evil Afoot

Yesterday I got caught up in a discussion with some Christians agitating for military intervention in Syria, and when I pointed out that Jesus said “Love your enemies” Mathew 5: 43,44 something occurred that happens so often in these disagreements. They began quoting (mostly) Old Testament scripture to support their positions. And when I called them on that asking “Do you believe Jesus is Lord, and if so are you a believer or just a fan?” they got quite irate.

You see, as Tim Tully puts it, if Jesus is Lord, when the Bible describes the example Jesus sets, and when the Bible narrates the commandments from the mouth of Jesus, I understand these as the highest revelation of the Father.  There is no quoting Old Testament prophets out of context to explain away the words of Jesus.

Those Christians were basically espousing “Just War” theology which basically states:

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.

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.

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.

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 justifiable.

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.

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.

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 of a deliberate attack on a military target.

And there is an allure to "Just War" theology that appeals to many compassionate Christians.  There is, after all, real evil afoot and defenseless innocents must be protected. There are no easy answers to the dilemma between a call to protect the innocent and the words of Jesus.

I do know this, just war never stays that way. In World War Two the battle against the evils of Hitler ended with the mass slaughter of civilians in the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan and the fire bombing of Dresden in Germany.

So for right now I’m sticking with Jesus is Lord, and I believe He meant what He said.