War and Peace

• Early Christian beliefs

  Early Xians were pacifists, following the principle of non-retaliation.

  When Xianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire, xians were expected to fight if necessary... leading to the development of the Just War Theory
• What is the Just War Theory?

  A Christian theory that outlines guidelines on how to behave before, during and after war.

  Contributed to today's guidance seen in the UN and Geneva Convention.

  Augustine -->Aquinas
• Just ad Bellum (When is it right to go to war?)

  Just cause:

  • Only moral reasons to go to war: To remedy injustice, to save life and to confront a real and certain danger.

  Right Intention:

  • The moral motive, the aim of war cannot be to decimate.

  Legitimate Authority:

  • Eg. Prime Minister or President, IRA and ISIS were unjust because a legitimate authority did not start them.

  Last Resort:

  • Often risky, unjust peace is sometimes preferred.

  Likelihood of Sucess:

  • There must be an equal chance

  Proportionate:

  • Force used must be proportionate to the original threat

  Comparative Justice
• Jus in Bello (How the war should be fought)

  Plato on proportionality:

  • Not touching those not to blame

  Discriminate:

  • Between those in war and civilians eg. Russia ISNT.

  Obey all laws on weapons

  • Nuclear weapons are only a deterrent.
• Jus post-Bellum

  Restoring Peace after war:

  • Restore human rights
  • Give war criminals a fair trial
  • Allow countries to reform
  • Help countries recover from war
  • Reestablish the financial situation to help countries
• John Stewart Mill


  "War is an ugly thing."
• Thomas Aquinas


  "War is never a good thing but sometimes a necessary thing."

  "The lives of innocent people may never be taken directly."
• Problems w/ the criteria


  Just Cause

  • Subjective and vague, both sides think they are just.

  Right Intention

  • Subjective and it is hard to tell people's intentions.

  Just Authority

  • May be an unjust dictator, some Russians disagree with Putin.
  • Civil wars do not have an authority.

  Proportionality

  • You cannot be sure what resources other people have
  • May stop you from doing the right thing

  Discrimination

  • Hard to do all the time
  • Grey area w/ Politicians
  • Nuclear weapons cannot discriminate.
• How is modern warfare different?

  Precision and Discrimination

  Decline of religious relevance

  Introduction of media and internet to spread hate and hysteria

  Cyber warfare eg. the ability to stop flights

  WOMD

  Terrorism

  Larger platform for radicalisation

  UN and NATO allegiances ability to advise and restrict countries
• For Pacifism


  The cost of war is too great

  'God dwells within all of us'- George Fox (Quaker founder)

  Sanctity of life principle

  Xians should be a 'community of peace'- Rev. John Stot

  Violence isn't a long-term solution, people hold resentment- MLK
• Against Pacifism

  'Doing nothing can be morally wrong'- Vardy

  The state has a duty to protect its citizens.

  Pacifism is an ideological belief and doesn't work in the real world. Refusing to defend against tyranny can lead to 'Consequences worse than war.'- Niebuhr

  Cannot be a national policy because it leaves countries open to attack>

  People have a right to be protected against aggression.

  OT
• Buddhism teaches that in times of war, Buddhists must show compassion (Kaurna) and help all living beings, implementing the principle of non-violence (Ahimsa).

  
  

  They must abandon any fight that crosses their path. The view expressed almost unanimously in the texts is that since war involves killing, and killing is a breach of the first precept, it is morally wrong to fight in either offensive or defensive wars.

  
  

  Buddhism condemns war unreservedly as evil and attests to its utter futility in gaining a meaningful solution to any conflict.
• Pacifism in Buddhism

  Peace and non-violence are central to Buddhism. The belief is that violence destroys inner peace and that without inner peace a Buddhist cannot reach enlightenment.

  
  

  The eightfold path links to JWT and contributing to war as a member of the military is not a right livelihood etc.

  
  

  "I don’t think in any way one could justify, on Buddha’s principles, even by stretching them to a great extent, the idea of a just offensive war"- Bikkhu Bodhi