Thomas Aquinas, outlining the classical theory of a ‘Just war’—argues that it must be for the sake of the common good of the city or kingdom, and therefore must be called by the sovereign, it must be done for a just cause, such as to avenge a wrongdoing or to restore what has been seized, and it must also be intended for the advancement of good. He then replies to scriptural and theological objections to war by distinguishing between a private person taking the sword and one who is working on behalf of the state, claiming that the scriptural objections only apply to the former. He also claims that sometimes committing violence against wrongdoers may be actually for their benefit, in that their evil is stopped, and that it is sometimes necessary to commit violence in order to achieve peace.[1]
Continue reading “Return your sword”Tag: Violence
Love and Solidarity in the Light of Death and Eternity
The Early Christians and the Military
In modern times it may not even seem like an issue if a Christian can or cannot serve in the military, clearly Christians today and for many centuries do, so what would the issue be? On the other hand, anyone who has honestly read the gospels must recognize that the issue of violence is at the very least problematic in Jesus’s teachings. One would simply have to point to the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:38–47) or the Sermon on the Plain (Luke 6:27–31), or his teaching on the one taking the sword dying by the sword (Matthew 26:52), to recognize that Jesus tended to reject violence.
Musing on Theology 