Just Wars
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Activism claims that it is always right to obey one's government in war, and pacifism says it is never right to kill. Selectivism, on the other hand, holds that it is only sometimes right to go to war. This leaves one important question: When?
Wayne Grudem list a common set of criteria that can be used to decide if going to war in a specific situation is right.
8 Criteria for a Just War
8 Criteria for a Just War
1. Just cause - Is the reason for going to war a morally right cause, such as defense of a nation?
11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war.
Norman Geisler adds, “A war in defense of the innocent is just. It is just to fight a war in defense of the innocent; a war against aggression is a just war. Normally, this means the invader is wrong, unless he was invaded first. Genesis 14 is a good case in point. The kings of the Valley of Siddim had invaded first. Abraham's reinvasion was really in defense of the innocent. The initial aggressor is wrong. However, the invaded country does not then have the right to permanently occupy the invading country. It simply has a right to retrieve its citizens and possessions and ensure justice. Two wrongs do not make a right. There is a moral duty to restore the independence of the country that was subdued, in spite of the fact that the other was the aggressor. The way Germany and Japan were restored after World War Il is an example of what should be done.”
2. Competent authority - Has the war been declared not simply by a renegade band within a nation but by a recognized, competent authority within the nation?
1 Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God.
This is one I personally have to push back against. We can still hold the governmental lead accountable. We don’t always have to go the way of the majority.
It is possible that the “competent authority within the nation” could be unjust.
Though i have to agree with Norman Geisler when he says, “A just war must be fought by a government. God gave the sword to governments, not to individuals (Rom. 13:4). Therefore, individuals within a country cannot engage in just military activity without the approval of their government. The war must be declared by those in power for it to be a just war. Yet not every war engaged in by a government is a just war. Only government-declared wars are just wars.”
3. Comparative justice - Is it clear that the actions of the enemy are morally wrong and the motives and actions of one's own nation in going to ware, in comparison, morally right?
3 For rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have no fear of authority? Do what is good and you will have praise from the same;
4. Right intention - Is the purpose of going to war to protect justice and righteousness rather than simply to rob and pillage and destroy another nation?
2 Every man’s way is right in his own eyes, But the Lord weighs the hearts.
Norman Geisler adds, “Wars fought to execute justice are just. A just war may be punitive in nature. It is sometimes just to take military action against, and even invade, a nation that has assaulted another nation. Hitler was the aggressor in France and other European countries. Thus it was right for the Allied forces to invade Germany in order to subdue the Nazis. Likewise, countries engaged in terrorism against others should receive appropriate military retaliation. The principle behind this kind of penal action is the same as the one behind capital punishment (see chap. 12): a life for a life. Justice demands that the punishment fit the crime, whether the criminal is an individual or a nation.
5. Last resort - Have all other reasonable means of resolving the conflict been exhausted?
9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men.
Norman Geisler adds, “Fought only after failure of nonmilitary attempts at peace. Israel was to offer peace to the enemy cities first (Deut. 20:10 “When you approach a city to fight against it, you shall offer it terms of peace.”), before Israel attacked them. Also, Paul urges, "If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all" (Rom. 12:18 RSV). As applied to war, we should try war only after all efforts at peace have failed; we should not wait to try peace after all efforts at war have failed.
6. Probability of success - Is there a reasonable expectation that the war can be won?
31 “Or what king, when he sets out to meet another king in battle, will not first sit down and consider whether he is strong enough with ten thousand men to encounter the one coming against him with twenty thousand?
I also have to push back on this this as well. What about the time in the Bible (ex. Gideon) where God use a few bring down great armies. We celebrate Cinco De Mayo were 2,000 loyal men—many of them either Indigenous Mexicans fought off 6,000 French troops, and won.
Norman Geisler adds, Reasonable prospect for victory. If one does not calculate a reasonable prospect for victory, then undertaking a war, no matter the justice of the cause, can be can be tanmount to mass suicide. This is implied in Jesus's statement Luke 14:31-32.
Some wars for freedom against tyranny will certainly involve risks worth taking-even great risks. But even then the commander in chief should opt for surrender over mass suicide of the troops.
7. Proportionality of projected results - Will the good results that come from a victory in a war be significantly greater than the harm and loss that will inevitably come with pursuing the war?
21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
4 for it is a minister of God to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil.
8. Right spirit - Is the war undertaken with great reluctance and sorrow at the harm that will come rather than simply with a "delight in war," as inPsalms 68:30
30 Rebuke the beasts in the reeds, The herd of bulls with the calves of the peoples, Trampling under foot the pieces of silver; He has scattered the peoples who delight in war.
Norman Geisler adds, “A just war must be fought justly. Not every act in a just war is a just act of war. Chemical warfare is inhumane. Torturing or starving prisoners is morally wrong. Intentionally destroying innocent women and children is unjustified. Yet if a woman or even young child is part of the military, then they can be resisted by whatever force necessary. For example, a child with a hand grenade or bomb tied to the body is a legitimate military target. But shooting babies in mothers' arms is not a just act, even in a just war.
Wayne Grudem also adds;
In addition to these criteria for deciding whether a specific war is "just,” advocates of just war theory have also developed some moral restrictions on how a just war should be fought. These include the following:
4 moral restrictions
4 moral restrictions
1. Proportionality in the use of force - Can no greater destruction be caused than is needed to win the war?
10 “When you approach a city to fight against it, you shall offer it terms of peace. 11 “If it agrees to make peace with you and opens to you, then all the people who are found in it shall become your forced labor and shall serve you. 12 “However, if it does not make peace with you, but makes war against you, then you shall besiege it.
2. Discrimination between combatants and noncombatants - Insofar as it is feasible in the successful pursuit of a war, is adequate care being taken to prevent harm to noncombatants?
13 “When the Lord your God gives it into your hand, you shall strike all the men in it with the edge of the sword. 14 “Only the women and the children and the animals and all that is in the city, all its spoil, you shall take as booty for yourself; and you shall use the spoil of your enemies which the Lord your God has given you.
19 “When you besiege a city a long time, to make war against it in order to capture it, you shall not destroy its trees by swinging an axe against them; for you may eat from them, and you shall not cut them down. For is the tree of the field a man, that it should be besieged by you? 20 “Only the trees which you know are not fruit trees you shall destroy and cut down, that you may construct siegeworks against the city that is making war with you until it falls.
3. Avoidance of evil means - Will captured or defeated enemies be treated with justice and compassion, and are one's own soldiers being treated justly in captivity?
14 Depart from evil and do good; Seek peace and pursue it.
4. Good faith - Is there a genuine desire for restoration of peace and eventually living in harmony with the attacking nation?
Matt. 5:43-44
18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men.
43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 “But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,