War and Peace

On this page you will find:

Just War

Pacifism

Christian evidence in support of war:


The Lord you God will drive out those nations before you little by little. You will not be allowed to eliminate them all at once, or the wild animals will multiply around you. But the Lord your God will deliver them over to you, throwing them into great confusion until they are destroyed. He will give their kings into your hand, and you will wipe out their names from under heaven. No one will be able to stand up against you; you will destroy them.

Deuteronomy 7:22-24

Christian evidence against war:

You shall not murder

Exodus 20:13

If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.

Matthew 5:39

Just War Theory

In the 13th century, St Thomas Aquinas decided that it was time to set out some rules, so that people could decide whether or not a war should be fought.  Using the ideas from other thinkers, such as St Augustine, he said that it would only be right to go to war if certain criteria were met.  This became known as the Just War theory.  A war was right only if it matched the following:

• War should be declared by a proper authority such as a goverment or a king, not by any ordinary group of people.
• There must be a good reason for starting a war, not simply greed.
• The reason for going to war must be a desire to do good.
• War must be a last resort, when everything else has been tried first.
• The good that is likely to come out of the war must amount to more than the harm done.
• It must be possible to win.  Wars should not be fought against an opponent who is obviously more powerful.
• The war must be fought fairly.  The amount of force used must be only enough to succeed.  There must not be deliberate unnecessary cruelty.

However, Aquinas lived a long time ago, which led to a group of modern philosophers reorganising the criteria:

• Going to war must be in defence after an unjust attack - Christians should not be the first to declare war.
• There must be a realistic chance of success.
• There must be some proportion between the costs of the war and the agreement made after the war - the surrendering country should not be made to pay so much money that the people living there can never recover.
• Only military targets should be attacked, not civilians.
• The force used should be for a good reason.

Pacifism

The Religious Society of Friends, otherwise known as Quakers, take a different view.  Quakers believe that war can never be justified.  They recognise that there is evil in the world, but they say that evil can never be overcome by weapons that harm and kill.  They believe that Christians should use 'weapons of the Spirit' - love, truth, peace - to overcome evil.  People who hold these views, Christian or not, are known as pacifists.

Quakers, and other pacifists, point out that pacifism is not the same as doing nothing to resist evil.  Pacifists do fight against injustic and aggression, but in a non-violent way - see the story of Gandhi.

People who are firmly opposed to any form of warfare in any circumstances are called, in times of war, conscientious objectors - their consciences tell them to object to war.  During a war they refuse to fight as soldiers or work in the production of arms, but instead aim to promote peace in other ways such as driving ambulances etc.

Not all pacifists are Christian, but Christians might decide to be pacifists because of the teaching in the Bible that emphasises peace (see above).