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Essay on just war theory for and against
Concept of just war
Concept of just war
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INTRODUCTION: Can war ever be “Just”? If you ask this question of a 100 people, you will get a hundred different responses. You would receive responses against such as, “War is never just - it is brutal and nasty, War can’t be just all war does is creates an entire generation of people who want revenge for their country, God said thou shall not kill and war is killing, God is love he doesn’t want us killing each other, or the favorite slogan of the 60’s “Make love not war””. You will also receive response affirming such as, “An example of a just war was World War 2 because we were attacked and then declared war on Japan, A just war is a war against an evil regime that killed your friends and family, and was fixing to kill you, A war is just if it ends tyranny such as slavery, fascism, Nazism, communism, and preserves freedom, Just war is a war to wipe out the enemy in order to stop them from killing innocent people, or A war is just if you have no choose but to fight or let people be murdered.” (http://www.justwartheory.com/) Although, we may argue to justify wars declared by man, there is no arguing the justification of wars declared by God. God is always just, therefore even when God declares war he just in doing it. We find this in Jeremiah chapters 4-6. Here is Jeremiah, he has been created by God; conditioned by God; called by God; and commissioned by God. He is sent into a society, not unlike the one in which we live today, and God declares war. Now as we examine and see what we can extract from it, let’s take note of “War Is Just When God Declares It.” I. THE CHANCE TO AVOID THE WAR (Ch. 4 vs. 1-4) God clearly give a chance to the nation to avoid the coming war. He says in essence repent and prosper or con... ... middle of paper ... ...nd gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.” God wants to be reconciled with you, he wants to forgive you. He doesn’t want to go to war with you, even though he is just in doing so! “It has been said that the average person in the world today is without faith, without God and without hope. They are in a desperate search for the meaning and purpose of life. The sad commentary is that they are living on borrowed time, borrowed money and borrowed strength and they already know that in the end they will surely die.” (Declared Wars of God pg 34) You can turn against Him and fight or you can turn to Him and be forgiven, He is just either way! My suggestion if it matters is don’t go to war with God, you’re sure to lo
2) The cause must be just. This is jus ad bellum because you decide if
“For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” John 3:17
In conclusion, the author points out that God’s grace is available to anyone and it is never too late to ask for forgiveness. O’Connor shows that even the battle between good and evil could be misleading because there is always good in people even those who mislead the way can always ask for clarity from God.
“Never think that war, no matter how necessary, nor how justified, is not a crime.” As depicted in the quote by Ernest Hemingway war is a difficult situation in which the traditional boundaries of moral ethics are tested. History is filled with unjust wars and for centuries war was not though in terms of morality. Saint Augustine, however, offered a theory detailing when war is morally permissible. The theory offers moral justifications for war as expressed in jus ad bellum (conditions for going to war) and in jus in bello (conditions within warfare).The theory places restrictions on the causes of war as well as the actions permitted throughout. Within early Christianity, the theory was used to validate crusades as morally permissible avoiding conflict with religious views. Based on the qualifications of the Just War Theory few wars have been deemed as morally acceptable, but none have notably met all the requirements. Throughout the paper I will apply Just War Theory in terms of World War II as well as other wars that depict the ideals presented by Saint Augustine.
John 17 v9, Christ prays for his people, they are the ones he atones for. Justice has been done in that sense.
The limits that a ‘just’ war places on the use of aggression between states for both states
Morality is hard to define, and nearly impossible to agree upon; however, when it comes to war, there is a single “widely accepted moral theory” that reaches beyond borders . Just war theory, a doctrine originally attributed to the Christian theologian Saint Augustine , postulates that certain circumstances can lead to the justification of war, particularly if war is used to prevent even greater atrocities from occurring in the future. In its fundamental charter, the United Nations even articulates that every state has the right to go to war in its charter. In its broadest definition, just war theory declares that war may be justifiable if the states involved have both jus ad bellum, or just cause, and jus in bello, or just conduct in war;
Moral dilemmas are in every decision we make as humans. However, war makes normal everyday rational thoughts irrational, absent minded, and all together altered. Emotion makes us weak, even vulnerable. In times of war, there is no room for emotion or morals. The fact wars are won and lost based on how far a side will push to win proves that emotion plays no part in war. In order to be the most productive, one must push harder than the other. This kind of emotionlessness is more often than not the deciding factor in who wins or loses the game of war. Will letting your opponent win because you feel bad come back to stab you in the back? Is that a risk one is willing to make when defending a nation? Regardless, war on any level is impossible without first burying personal principals and destroying the moral compass.
Every day we are surrounded by stories of war. In fact, we have become so accustomed to it, that we are now entertained by it. Video games, movies, and books filled with heroes who once dominated the battlefields. However it is constantly stated, “no good comes from war.” Even famous songs state “war... what is it good for… absolutely nothing.” But what if war was actually necessary? Throughout history, we see examples of the good things wars have brought. War has freed slaves, modernized medicine, brought down evil empires, and even brought countries together
The just war theory is described by Thomas Massaro in his book Living Justice as the “principle that warfare might be justified under certain conditions” (108). The complexities involved with international relations makes determining a just war very difficult. Even though historically pacifism hasn’t gained much traction within Catholic circles, it currently is gaining popularity with many mainstream Catholics. With so many differing views on military action, one might ask, “What determines a just war? How can we balance the need for peace with self-defense?” An examination of criteria for a just war and critiques written on this topic might shed light on these two questions.
War is a brutal act, often declared by people or countries that are power thirsty or looking to gain more land. Wars result in economically unstable countries, production of wastelands, and deaths of innocent people. With all of these consequences in mind, is there such a thing as a just war? Yes, there are just wars. Even if the outcome may leave countries economically unstable, produce wastelands and kill innocent people that does not mean all wars are fought over meaningless causes. There are several factors that are used to determine if a war is just. These requirements are the right intention, a legitimate authority declaring war, is a last resort, the war is proportional to the offense, and if there is a reasonable chance of success.
difficult concept to understand. The simple act of war in and of itself seems to
War is a mean to achieve a political goal.it is merely the continuation of policy in a violent form. “War is not merely an act of policy, but a true political instrument....” Moreover, the intensity of war will vary with the nature of political motives. This relationship makes war a rational act rather than a primitive and instinctive action, where war uses coercion to achieve political goals instead of use it only for destruction, and it cannot be separated from each other even after the war has started, when each side is allowed to execute its requisite responsibilities while remaining flexible enough to adapt to emerging
It’s around 2348 BC and there is violence everywhere. “The Lord saw that the wickedness of humankind was great in the earth and that every inclination of the thoughts of their hearts was only evil continually “(Genesis 6:5). God is saying that humans have stopped thinking (about the Lord) or following the Lord completely and going on about their business. When God saw this he “was sorry that he had made human-kind on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart” (Genesis 6:6). The word “sorry” in Genesis 6:6 is translated to the word “Nacham” in Hebrew. One of the definitions of this word is the word “repent”, and if we look at synonyms for repent we find the word “compassion”. In Genesis 6:7 God says “I will blot out from the earth the human beings I have created- people together with animals and creeping things and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.” Again we see the word “sorry” which leads us back to compassion. The definition of the word compassion in the dictionary is sympathetic pity and concern for the sufferings of others. This means that God changed his mind and was going to show compassion. These three verses show a lot of evidence that God is showing mercy and grace.
War has always been, and will always be, a necessary action perpetrated by the human race. There are many different reasons for war: rage, passion, greed, defense, and religion to name a few. When differences cannot be solved or compromised through mediation with an opposing party and anger burns with a fiery passion, war is the last remaining option. Obviously, the purpose of any war is to win. How are wars won? Perhaps if we were to ask a member of the Defense Department during the early stages of the war in Iraq, his answer might be, “To win this war we must force the enemy into submission by means of ethical warfare.” If we were to ask a marine in the Second World War what he was told by his commanding officer he would reply, “To close with the enemy and destroy him.” (Fussell, 763).