Just War...or just a war?
I'm going to quote extensively again from The Secret Message of Jesus(Brian D. McLaren, W Publishing)as I did in my last post, not because I can't speak for myself, but because others will respect the opinion of Brian D. McLaren long before they would respect my opinion or actually think for themselves and do their own research.
McLaren says in chapter 17 that "Christians developed the 'just war theory' in an attempt to grapple with the secret message of Jesus in the era after Constantine."
Before Constantine claimed to have been converted to Christianity in the fourth century, the Christian faith "had gone from being an unknown religion to a misunderstood religion, to a favored religion, to the official religion of the Roman Empire...Eventually-this is hard to imagine, but the full truth of it must be faced-the church itself used the sword to force conversions and execute heretics." (page 153-154).
McLaren paraphrases St. Augustine saying that he (St. Augustine) thought that a Christian couldn't take up arms to defend himself, but shouldn't he do so to protect his neighbor? (page 155) McLaren says "The just war theory gave seven criteria for a 'just war': a just cause for the war, (not a made up reason that changes when the facts come out), a legitimate authority declaring war, a formal declaration of war, the goal being a return to peace, recourse to war only as a last resort, (that would be after all diplomatic channels were exhausted), a reasonable hope of success, (at least Bush I knew better), and means proportional to the ends."
In addition McLaren points out that the the just war theory also presented three conditions for the prosecution of any war that met the seven criteria:" noncombatants must not be targeted, prisoners must not be treated with cruelty, and international treaties and conventions must be respected".
(parenthesized emphasis mine)
So, take a minute or more...think about it. Even if you agree that there's such a thing as a just war. And think about these three things McLaren points out:
"First, those committed to nonviolence based on the teachings of Jesus-if they are wrong now-will someday be right"...
"Second, in times of conflict whenever we are tempted to label someone as 'enemy' or 'evil', we must remember Jesus' climactic words in his kingdom manifesto-that enemies are to be loved".
and "Third, as one of Jesus' apostles said, we need to realize that both our enemies and we ourselves have a common enemy: the very internal darkness Jesus' secret message addresses-"...
Be like the Bereans who examined the Scriptures every day to see...if these things were true" (Acts 17:11)
McLaren says in chapter 17 that "Christians developed the 'just war theory' in an attempt to grapple with the secret message of Jesus in the era after Constantine."
Before Constantine claimed to have been converted to Christianity in the fourth century, the Christian faith "had gone from being an unknown religion to a misunderstood religion, to a favored religion, to the official religion of the Roman Empire...Eventually-this is hard to imagine, but the full truth of it must be faced-the church itself used the sword to force conversions and execute heretics." (page 153-154).
McLaren paraphrases St. Augustine saying that he (St. Augustine) thought that a Christian couldn't take up arms to defend himself, but shouldn't he do so to protect his neighbor? (page 155) McLaren says "The just war theory gave seven criteria for a 'just war': a just cause for the war, (not a made up reason that changes when the facts come out), a legitimate authority declaring war, a formal declaration of war, the goal being a return to peace, recourse to war only as a last resort, (that would be after all diplomatic channels were exhausted), a reasonable hope of success, (at least Bush I knew better), and means proportional to the ends."
In addition McLaren points out that the the just war theory also presented three conditions for the prosecution of any war that met the seven criteria:" noncombatants must not be targeted, prisoners must not be treated with cruelty, and international treaties and conventions must be respected".
(parenthesized emphasis mine)
So, take a minute or more...think about it. Even if you agree that there's such a thing as a just war. And think about these three things McLaren points out:
"First, those committed to nonviolence based on the teachings of Jesus-if they are wrong now-will someday be right"...
"Second, in times of conflict whenever we are tempted to label someone as 'enemy' or 'evil', we must remember Jesus' climactic words in his kingdom manifesto-that enemies are to be loved".
and "Third, as one of Jesus' apostles said, we need to realize that both our enemies and we ourselves have a common enemy: the very internal darkness Jesus' secret message addresses-"...
Be like the Bereans who examined the Scriptures every day to see...if these things were true" (Acts 17:11)
posted by Bob | 17.5.06
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