War and Peace

The Christian life, at its best, is one that’s committed to love and the protection of each individual’s dignity. This commitment extends to loving strangers in faraway lands — even our enemies. In this fallen world, military force is sometimes necessary to defend our nation and pursue humanitarian aims. But force must always be a last resort.

Key Points

• Christianity calls nations to work together to promote the common good throughout the world.
• Christians must take seriously Jesus’ call to love one another, including the stranger and even our enemies. This means that military force should only be used as a last resort to defend ourselves or the human rights of others.
• Americans who want to be part of God’s “city on a hill” (Matthew 5:14) must demand that our nation restore its moral standing in the world.
• The war in Iraq fails all of the above tests: nations aren’t working together, force wasn’t a last resort, and the U.S. has lost its moral standing in the world.

Issue Analysis

The world is ablaze with hatred and bloodshed. The people of Iraq live in chaos. Thousands of innocent people have been massacred in Darfur. The Taliban is on the rise in Afghanistan. Terrorism continues to rise in the Middle East. And North Korea and Iran continue to pursue nuclear weapons. At the same time, America’s moral standing in the world has never been lower. Gone are the days of a great Pax Americana throughout the globe. It is has been replaced by growing Anti-Americanism, due in part to our government’s own actions, including repeated instances of torture and an apparent indifference to the concerns of the rest of the world.

In foreign policy, we draw upon the intellectual tradition of just war theory — a guide to military action that requires three things:

• Just cause for using force,
• A reasonable probability of success in the war, and
• A “proportional response” to the misdeeds of other nations.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church limits “just cause” to circumstances in which the “damage inflicted by the aggressor on the nation or community of nations [is] lasting, grave and certain.” Furthermore, the use of force must have “serious prospects for success” and “must not produce evils and disorders graver than the evil to be eliminated.” This progressive-realist tradition should guide our nation’s foreign policy, calling us to be “witnesses and agents of peace and justice.”

Sadly, the war in Iraq fails to satisfy the requirements of just war. The Bush administration exaggerated the cause for war, never seriously attempted diplomacy and weapons inspections, refused to undertake the planning required to ensure a reasonable chance of success, and has enflamed terrorism in the Middle East and around the world — thus making our nation and our world even less secure. Moreover, our moral standing has eroded around the world. The go-it-alone, false-advertising approach to foreign policy is just plain wrong.

In the end, America is stronger — and better — when it stands with others, cultivating the common good of all of mankind, than when it arrogantly stands alone. As evangelical leader Jim Wallis has put it, we must commit ourselves, as a nation, “to draining the swamps of injustice and hopelessness in which the mosquitoes of terrorism breed.” And as President Bill Clinton has argued, “We live in an interdependent world in which we cannot possibly kill, jail, or occupy all of our potential adversaries. So we have to both fight terror and build a world with more partners and fewer terrorists.”

Christians must therefore envision a world where America once again joins the international community to build a future that defends human rights and the dignity of all people. Then, and only then, will we be seen as part of God’s “city on a hill.”

What Scripture Says

Scripture is filled with passages that paint a picture of the world that we are called to create — a world so radical that it may not be possible today, but must remain an ideal toward which humankind constantly strives:

“Many nations shall come, and say, ‘Come, let us climb the mount of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, That he may instruct us in his ways, that we may walk in his paths.’ For from Zion shall go forth instruction, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He shall judge between many peoples and impose terms on strong and distant nations; They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; One nation shall not raise the sword against another, nor shall they train for war again. Every man shall sit under his own vine or under his own fig tree, undisturbed; for the mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken. For all the peoples walk each in the name of its god, But we will walk in the name of the Lord, our God, forever and ever.” (Micah 4: 2-5)

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” (Matthew 5:9)

“You have been told, O man, what is good, and what the LORD requires of you: Only to do right and to love justice, and to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8)

“You have heard that it was said to your ancestors, ‘You shall not kill; and whoever kills will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment, and whoever says to his brother, ‘Raqa,’ will be answerable to the Sanhedrin, and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ will be liable to fiery Gehenna.” (Matthew 5:21-22)

“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, offer no resistance to one who is evil. When someone strikes you on (your) right cheek, turn the other one to him as well. If anyone wants to go to law with you over your tunic, hand him your cloak as well. Should anyone press you into service for one mile, go with him for two miles. Give to the one who asks of you, and do not turn your back on one who wants to borrow.” (Matthew: 38-42)

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father, for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have? Do not the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brothers only, what is unusual about that? Do not the pagans do the same? So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect. (Matthew 5: 43-48)

Christ also calls his followers to serve as a positive moral example to others:

“You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:14-16)