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Recommended: The role of religion in war
The just war is a war that is deemed to be morally or theologically justifiable. It is a term created in order to reason about how nations should act within or before a war, such like a guideline. Of course, not every party who participates in a war tends to follow each guideline but, it is a way to keep things clean and fair. The guidelines or central features of a just war falls under two categories, jus ad bellum meaning before war and jus in bellum meaning while in war. Jus ad bellum basically says that it should consist of having right authority, just cause, right intention, proportionality, and hope of success. All of this means that there should be a head of state making the calls on declaring a war, not just anyone apart of the group. There should also be a reason you are calling on a war and it needs to be the …show more content…
The views of Muslims and Christians in on just war tradition in fact contains mostly similarities than differences. They both in a way believe that the intention of starting a war should be the same, it should have an end goal of making peace. They both also believe in having authority rule for a war instead of just any regular person. Discrimination is also something that sticks with the two because treating the opposing side a certain way when captured or imprisoned is crucial to setting an example. However, some differences would be that there is a such thing as individual duty for Muslims. Christians might feel the need to back down if they are missing their authority when it is time for war, but Muslims feel they have an individual duty to keep going or to fight on regardless. Another big difference is Muslims conversion factor that takes place. They believe in converting the opponent in exchange for making peace or even just forcing tribute to Islam. Christianity on the other hand does not stress converting those they go to war
The idea of war and how it can be justified, is a rather trick topic to touch on, as there are diverse ethical and sociological implications that have to be weighed on every step. Mainly we could look at the “Just War Theory” and see how that could possibly apply to the real world. To be able to enter a “Just War” nations must meet six criteria in Jus ad Bellum (Going to War). The criteria is as follows: “Just Cause”, “Right Intention”, “Proper Authority and Public Declaration”, “Last Resort”, “Probability of Success”, and lastly “Proportionality”. However the tricky bit of the Just War theory, is that all six of those elements must be met, to go to war in a morally justifiable way. This could make an easy blockade for nations to veto another nation's effort to enter a war, even if morally justifiable. The problem with an internationally mandated “war-committee”, means that the fate of another nation's well-being could very well be in the hands of a nation with an ulterior motive. It could also fall into the grounds of new found illegal activity. Lets give a hypothetical situation, say nation 'X' wants to go to war with nation 'Y' in an act of self-defence, but it doesn't meet some of the requirements for “Just War theory” and is thus blocked by the war-committee. Then as a consequence, nation 'X' is invaded and annexed due to lack of defence. Nation 'X' could have made an effort to prepare for war, but at the cost of possibly being condemned and sanctioned by the war-committee. In an overall view, it's easy to see why the UN or other major international coalitions will not adopt a system based around Just War Theory.
“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.
The Just War Theory has been shaped over the centuries by historians and philosophers. However, the most systematic account of the Just War Theory was formulated by Saint Thomas Aquinas in his Summa Theologicae. According to the Just War Theory, the moral reality of war is divided into two parts. Wars are judged twice, first with reference to the reasons nations have for fighting and secondly, with reference to the means they adopt in the actual fighting. (Walzer, 21) The first judgment is referred to as jus ad bellum, or justice of war. The second judgment is referred to as jus in bello, or justice in war. Jus ad bellum provides guidelines for assessing whether a war is just or unjust while jus in bello outlines proper conduct in war. Jus ad bellum does not imply jus in bello. Likewise, jus in bello does not necessitate jus ad bellum. It is possible for a just war to be fought unjustly just as it is possible for an unjust war to be fought justly.
Many, including the Catholic Church, judge the justifications of a war based on several factors given in the “just war theory,” which is used to evaluate the war based on its causes and means. The first required factor is a just cause, meaning that a nation’s decision to begin a war must be due to “substantial aggression” brought about by the opposition which cannot be resolved through non-violent solutions without excessive cost whereas armed conflict is not hopeless or excessively costly (“Just War Theory”1). In most cases, wars are started for a reason; however, many of these reasons are for the benefit of the governments who start the wars. The just war theory is widely accepted as a way to determine the moral standing of the reasons. This part of the theory is to ensure that the objective of a war is a reasonable and moral one. It prevents the needless bloodshed and loss of human lives over petty disputes while still protecting the rights and lives of the innocent by acknowledging the necessity of war in dire situations.
The just war theory can be broken down into three components: jus ad bellum, jus en bello, and jus post bellum. Translated from Latin, these mean “justice before war, justice in war, and justice after war.” In this way, the Catholic Church is able to reconcile Jesus’s lofty teachings about loving your neighbor and causing no harm with protecting the innocent (Massaro 104).
“The just war tradition is typically evoked when discussing the decision to launch a war (justice of war) and when evaluating the conduct of forces during war (justice in war). But the tradition does not explicitly specify principles for assessing justice after war, nor does it discuss state obligations upon achieving military victory.”
requirements for a ‘just’ war. Walzer defines a ‘just war’ as a ‘limited war,’ and that just
Walzer understands that his ideas are theoretical and probably idealistic in some ways but he also understands that to allow wars to be anything but just is to legalize and encourage aggressive and self serving wars of conquest. Walzer is interested in the development of the idea of what it is for a war to be just. He writes, “Some political theories die and go to heaven; some, I hope, die and go to hell. But some have a long life in this world, a history most often of service to the powers-that-be, but also, sometimes, an oppositionist history. The theory of just war began in the service of the powers” (Walzer 3). The rise of a modern state and the idea of state sovereignty have clouded and wrongly employed the idea of “just war” in using
The Just war theory is a doctrine that has been studied by all sorts of leaders, religions, and especially military leaders. Basically it is a doctrine that consists of all sorts of military ethics of war and broken down into two parts, Jus Ad Bellum and Jus in Bello. Just ad bellum is consisted of 5 parts, the first part is legitimate authority and what that means is that the people who are making the decision of war are recognized officials and understand the strategies of war. The second reason is for a just cause, having the right reasons for going to war and understanding that violent aggression is not the plan. The third is that the last resort is going to war, and being able to understand that before a country starts a war that can be solved in less violent ways. The fourth option is prospect of success, yes winning the war is a success but how many lives can be lost and still count that as a success. The final option is the political proportionality and that is when the wrong of war is proportionally less then the wars cons. I believe that if all non violent options of Just ad bellum have been tried and were given a fair shot and the only viable option is to go to war then going to war is acceptable. But if all non violent option shave not been exhausted and war is nothing but a quick decision this can be considered wrong and
Christianity and Islam are two religions that grew from the same central idea of one divine being; they also originate from Jerusalem. However, the two religions bear great disparity but they also hold a few similarities. Both Islam and Christianity believe in Abraham as the forefather of both religions; they believe Him to be the founder of the two religions. The two religions have a holy book; Islam uses the Quran while Christians use the bible. Even though the two books do not bear the same teachings they are considered sacred in both religions. However, Christianity and Islam share a great deal of differences starting from the holy books, their beliefs, and the information contained in the respective holy book (Kavanaugh, 5).
There are three parts of a just war: justice before, during and after war. “Jus in bello is justice in war, referring to correct conduct in battle once the decision to go to war has been made, usually the concern of combatants, generals and soldiers” (Emba). Also, wars “cannot cause harm disproportionate to the amount of good it is expected to achieve”, to maintain the status of justice in war (Emba). In February of 1945 the Allies dropped firebombs on the city of Dresden, Germany. Dresden was filled with refugees seeking safety from other parts of the war.
The world religions of Islam and Christianity may have their differences to the naked eye, but when you take a closer look into their histories similarities arise. They both went through transformations that had drastic impacts on the way they were controlled and the way that the religion was taught to the followers. Christianity and Islam have both experienced splits between their members due to the fact that followers thought that their beliefs were the correct way to practice the religion. While these transformations are long in the past, the splits that have occurred within each religion continue to have lasting effects on Islam and Christianity to this day.
Islam and Christianity Conflicts When you are born into a world in which the two biggest religions on the globe are fighting the same battle they have been fighting for a thousand years, you start to question the beliefs of these two religions. If they both preach peace, why do we get war? I wonder what Jesus or Muhammad would say if they were alive today? Christianity, Islam, and Judaism are three of the most closely related religions in the world because they all see Abraham and other patriarchal figures in the Bible as their spiritual ancestors. However, their points of similarity are no guarantee the followers will get along.
Although there are some aberrations in Christianity and Islam, there are many more similarities between the two. Those who practice Christianity consider being Muslim taboo because they are said to have renounced Jesus Christ, the founder of Christianity. Aside from that factor, most practices are equal. Sadly, most Muslims and Christians will never get along because in their eyes, the few differences are colossal enough to keep them divided. Each side is too blinded by the error of the others ways to see how analogous to one another they actually are.
Islam and Christianity have a vast amount of similarities and differences. Islam searches for guidance from the Qur’an and Christianity depends on faith in Jesus. Islamic faith believes in the God, Allah. Above anything else, all religious Muslims obey Allah and his commandments to obtain peace. However, Christianity puts faith in Jesus who is the son of God.