Is There Such A Thing As A 'Just' War?

Commentary by Bryan Litfin

As the United States [is presently engaged in] military action against Iraq, many Christians are struggling to put the conflict in context and to understand it from a biblical perspective. They know the Gospel is a message of love and peace, but the rough-and-tumble politics of the real world sometimes necessitate military action. Is war, especially a pre-emptive war, ever justified by the Bible?

The History of the Just War Doctrine

The biblical writers no-where offer a theoretical discussion of the ethics of war. Therefore, the theological question of the morality of war must be framed against the backdrop of debates that began in the early church and continue even today.
The earliest church fathers did not oppose war per se. Instead they prohibited Christian participation in war due to its violation of Jesus’ ethic of love, and also because of the idol worship associated with military service at the time. While not denying the legitimacy of Rome having its armies, theologians generally believed it was inappropriate for Christians themselves to serve in the military. Still, it appears Christians did in fact exist within the ranks.
It was primarily through the writings of Augustine (354-430) that a moral justification of Christian involvement in warfare entered the theological tradition. Augustine argued that war sometimes becomes a Christian duty, and is in fact an act of love by which evil is restrained. He defined just wars as “those that avenge injuries,” in other words, “to punish wrongs done by [another society] or to restore what it had wrongly seized.” In addition to the just cause of avenging injuries, he said that war must only be waged by legitimate authorities, and with righteous intention.
In the Middle Ages, Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) articulated Christian just war theory in a systematized way for the first time. War is not opposed to peace, Thomas claimed, but is an effort directed toward attaining peace. In fact, if war were contrary to God’s will, Scripture would not have recorded John instructing soldiers to be content with their pay (Luke 3:14).
Thomas offers the same three criteria for just war as did Augustine: legitimate authority, the just cause of righting a wrong, and the righteous intention of securing the common good. Later thinkers such as Spanish theologians Francisco de Vitoria (1483-1546) and Francisco Suárez (1548-1617) expanded on Thomas’ legacy by adding other criteria such as proportionality, war as the last resort, and reasonable hope of success.
During the Reformation, both Martin Luther and John Calvin supported the classic doctrines of just war. In contrast, the Anabaptist movement, which began in 1525, rejected war per se as immoral and contrary to the teachings of Jesus. These respective voices can still be heard today within the Christian community.

More Recently

When God Says War Is Right, a recent book by Darrell Cole, professor of religion at Drew University, lays out the parameters of a just war. Cole, an evangelical, emphasizes that the Warrior God of the Old Testament must be reconciled with the Crucified God of the New. He suggests contemporary pacifist theologians wrongly take an evolutionary approach to the Bible in which the Gospel proclamation of peace replaces rather than augments the Old Testament depiction of God.
Against suggestions that war is always evil, Cole vigorously maintains that war can be a manifestation of divine love and Christian virtue. In sum, the Christian just war tradition defines five criteria by which warfare may be justly waged:

1. proper authority,

2. just cause,

3. right intention,

4. war as the only way to right the wrong, and

5. reasonable hope of success.

If all five are met, Christians have a duty to fight; and if any one cannot be met, Christians must abstain.
In every case, the overriding ethical concern is the same: Christian just war theory demands that no innocent persons be intentionally or wantonly harmed. Moral evil must not be carried out for the sake of some good which might come of it.

Is War With Iraq ‘Just’?

Cole believes the current situation in Iraq likely meets every requirement for just war. Because Saddam Hussein possesses weapons of mass destruction with a demonstrated intent to use them, the threat he poses simply cannot be ignored. “Disarming him won’t do any good unless you get rid of him,” Cole said. “He is a power-mad tyrant. He has broken more agreements than Hitler. You have to take him out.”
Faced with such a credible threat, a pre-emptive strike qualifies as a defensive move. “If someone is about to hit you, to stop him you have to hit him first,” Cole asserts. “The danger is real and imminent.”
The only criteria for just war which Cole sees as potentially problematic is the demand for reasonable hope of success. While the American military can defeat Iraq’s army, the United States may not be able to prevent Saddam from adopting a “bunker mentality” and launching biological or chemical attacks against Israel or American invasion forces. The cost of victory could outweigh the gains.

Not all Christians today adhere to the theory of just war summarized by Cole’s book. Many believers within the Anabaptist tradition continue to take an uncompromising pacifist stance.
John Stoltzfus, a Mennonite pastor in Lombard, Ill., said the basic position of his church “is that any resistance which involves violence is not acceptable. All war is sin, or somehow not in accordance with what Jesus came proclaiming in the Kingdom of God.” Stoltzfus roots his pacifism in the Gospel, or “the good news of salvation to all” which includes not only receiving forgiveness through accepting Christ as Savior, but also embracing a life of Christian discipleship. The “hard sayings” in the Sermon on the Mount concerning loving one’s enemies provide the basis for Stoltzfus’ absolute rejection of warfare. “We view Scripture through the lens of Jesus and the New Covenant,” he said. “Christ brought a new way of relating.”
While the Gospel did introduce a radical change, Jesus’ revelation of the Father must always accord with the Old Testament. Only in this way can the fullness of the biblical witness be taken into account. Absolute pacifism, then, remains difficult to reconcile with the totality of the scriptural evidence.

How God Used War

The God of Israel clearly used warfare to accomplish His purposes. Deuteronomy 20 laid out the principles by which the Israelites were to wage a just war. When going into combat, the priest was to remind the army, “Hear, O Israel, you are approaching the battle against your enemies today. Do not be fainthearted. Do not be afraid, or panic, or tremble before them, for the Lord your God is the one who goes with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you” (vv. 3-4 nasb).
The Old Testament also treats favorably men of war like Joshua, Gideon, and King David. Though not without their faults, these warriors always functioned in the biblical narrative as instruments of the divine will.
Jesus’ coming ushered in a new arrangement for God’s interaction with humans. In the Sermon on the Mount, the Lord reinterpreted the Mosaic command of “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth” with the exhortation, “Do not resist him who is evil; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also” (Matt. 5:38-39). Christ’s ethical teaching does offer a powerful presumption against any act of violence directed toward another human being.
Nevertheless, the New Testament makes clear in Romans 13:1-7 that God has ordained human government to fulfill His purposes. Verse 4 reminds us that political authority “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 upon the one who practices evil.” Paul’s reference to “the sword” suggests he believed the Roman government legitimately possessed the right to use military force.
Hebrews 11:32-34 likewise celebrates as heroes of faith those who “conquered kingdoms,” “became mighty in war,” and “put foreign armies to flight.”
At the very least, this text affirms that war can be waged in a God-honoring way, expressing faithful obedience to His will.
When taken as a whole the Bible teaches that there is such a thing as warfare waged justly. It can serve as an outworking of God’s justice and love by achieving righteous ends. At the same time, there is ample room in the church for those who make a personal conscientious objection to warfare.

Reprinted from the Jan/Feb 2003 issue of Moody Magazine. Bryan Litfin is a historical theologian.