Just War Proponents Vs Pacifists
“War, what is it good for”? The lyrics to the 60’s pop song, provokes the question that Just War proponents and Pacifists have wrestled with throughout history, reaching opposite conclusions. Those in favor of Just War theory, say war is only good insofar as it is fought for the right reasons and brings about the right end. Whereas, Pacifists reject war completely, preferring peaceful means to resolve conflict. But which one is morally and ethically right? Which one should be adopted and practiced by the Nations of this World? Upon examining the logic and philosophical implications of each ethical stance, one is able to sympathize with them both, seeing their values and virtue. In Question forty of the Summa Theologica, Saint Thomas Aquinas
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A quotation is cited by Augustine as the basis for a just war “"A just war is wont to be described as one that avenges wrongs, when a nation or state has to be punished, for refusing to make amends for the wrongs inflicted by its subjects, or to restore what it has seized unjustly." It would be cruel to let the innocent suffer harm from malicious belligerents, especially if one had the means to protect the innocent and suppress the malicious (Reichberg 235).
In order to maintain justification for your cause, the State must have the right end goal in mind, because revenge for revenge sake, causes you to become malicious like your adversary if not more so. Moreover, since Aquinas viewed all states ideally as being keepers of peace, if one engages in a just war, the end goal must be to ensure and enable sustainable peace within and between the two nations (Reichberg …show more content…
In The Politics of Jesus, John Yoder’s over aching claim is that since Jesus is the Lord over humanity and defeated the ways of the world through non-violence, therefore we should be pacifists in the way. He claims that Jesus non-violent methods were seen as a threat to the established Jewish and Roman customs of His day (Yoder 59), showing how pacifism can pose a non-harmful threat towards the malevolent systems of this world. Responding illicitly to illicit conduct, according to the pacifist, is just as if not more detrimental to society, for violent “Resistance merely creates further evil and adds fuel to the flames (Bonhoeffer 141). Perhaps Dietrich Bonhoeffer describes the approach of pacifism the best in his book The Cost of Discipleship, by explaining that “Evil becomes a spent force when we put up no resistance. By refusing to pay back the enemy in his own coin…Violence stands condemned by its failure to evoke counter-violence… Suffering willingly endured is stronger than evil, it spells death to evil” (Bonhoeffer 142). An example, is when the Jewish people resisted the Romans, who were trying to eliminate Jewish laws and customs, the Jews, using peaceful means were successfully able to stand up to the Romans and preserve their law twice within a decade (Yoder 91-3). Whereas, when the Jewish Zealots tried to reinstate Jewish sovereignty in 66AD
A quotation is cited by Augustine as the basis for a just war “"A just war is wont to be described as one that avenges wrongs, when a nation or state has to be punished, for refusing to make amends for the wrongs inflicted by its subjects, or to restore what it has seized unjustly." It would be cruel to let the innocent suffer harm from malicious belligerents, especially if one had the means to protect the innocent and suppress the malicious (Reichberg 235).
In order to maintain justification for your cause, the State must have the right end goal in mind, because revenge for revenge sake, causes you to become malicious like your adversary if not more so. Moreover, since Aquinas viewed all states ideally as being keepers of peace, if one engages in a just war, the end goal must be to ensure and enable sustainable peace within and between the two nations (Reichberg …show more content…
In The Politics of Jesus, John Yoder’s over aching claim is that since Jesus is the Lord over humanity and defeated the ways of the world through non-violence, therefore we should be pacifists in the way. He claims that Jesus non-violent methods were seen as a threat to the established Jewish and Roman customs of His day (Yoder 59), showing how pacifism can pose a non-harmful threat towards the malevolent systems of this world. Responding illicitly to illicit conduct, according to the pacifist, is just as if not more detrimental to society, for violent “Resistance merely creates further evil and adds fuel to the flames (Bonhoeffer 141). Perhaps Dietrich Bonhoeffer describes the approach of pacifism the best in his book The Cost of Discipleship, by explaining that “Evil becomes a spent force when we put up no resistance. By refusing to pay back the enemy in his own coin…Violence stands condemned by its failure to evoke counter-violence… Suffering willingly endured is stronger than evil, it spells death to evil” (Bonhoeffer 142). An example, is when the Jewish people resisted the Romans, who were trying to eliminate Jewish laws and customs, the Jews, using peaceful means were successfully able to stand up to the Romans and preserve their law twice within a decade (Yoder 91-3). Whereas, when the Jewish Zealots tried to reinstate Jewish sovereignty in 66AD