Christian Just War Theory: Terrorism Versus Pacifism

Ethics is defined as “moral principles that govern a person’s behavior or the conducting of an activity”. The ethical approach to the ways in which wars are conducted has changed considerably. Despite the changes in ways wars have been conducted in the last century, the Christian Just War Theory is still relevant in addressing modern conflicts, including the issue of terrorism. In an age of total warfare and terrorism, Just War must be maintained as its conservative approach forces us to study the operation of violence defended by conventional Just War Theory. The religious, historical and sociological background of Just War Theory in regard to terrorism differs within Christianity, thereby drawing on a wide range of materials including sacred texts and religious teachings/documents.

While it is closely identified with Catholicism, the understanding of “just war” antedates Hebrew scripture and the writings of St. Thomas Aquinas and St. Augustine of Hippo in the fifth century. First developed by Aquinas, the Just War Theory originated from the rules of classical Roman and Greek philosophers like Plato. Augustine’s reflections were codified by Aquinas (1225-1274) into the unmistakable principles that remain the foundations of Just War Theory as it is applied now. The theory of “just war” arises in the writings of St Augustine and the prime essentials that are to be satisfied if recourse to war is to be morally justified. Cardinal Peter Turkson, the head of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace has called for a “deep felt” dispute on the query of Just War Theory (Catholic Herald, 2016). The historical aspects or “just war” practice, deals with the historical rule set or deals with the arrangements that have been practiced in different wars across the ages (Moseley, 2001). Formed in paragraph four of the Catechism of the Catholic Church in 1992, the just war doctrine lists four severe situations for “legitimate defense by military force” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1992). Based on a vast “just peacemaking” ethic that provides greater thought to identifying the sources of non-violent combat verdict, Just War Theory does have a future in Catholic teaching (Shadle, 2016). The weight of evidence would suggest that it is proven that the Christian Just War Theory is still relevant despite the changes in the ways wars have been conducted.

Furthermore, religious terrorism is terrorism implemented, formed upon targets and motives that may have a principal theological or leverage nature. However, political scientists Terry Nardin and Robert Pape have argued that religion must be considered one secondary factor. “We have suffered terror and pitfalls, ruin and destruction” (Lamentations 3:47-48). Pape has formed a case for profane motivations and logic as being the base of terrorist attacks, which are often designated as “religious”. “A basic problem is whether religious terrorism really differs, in its character and causes, from political terrorism… defenders of religious terrorism typically, reason by applying commonly acknowledged moral principles… political terrorism can also be symbolic” (Nardin, 2000). A prime example of Christian Just War Theory is portrayed in the film, Eye In The Sky. Whilst Just War Theory is not raised in the film, numerous problems represent the way people have come to evaluate the virtue of war in a world of international terrorism. The cardinal quarrel in the context of Eye In The Sky is whether Government can pursue its own citizens if they are hatching an act of terrorism within the boundaries of a sympathetic province (Hood, 2016). People who engage in terrorism, irrelevant of their distinct religious or profane ambitions, seek to affect alteration through trepidation and undermine the code of conduct. As reported by terrorism expert, David C. Rapoport, a “religious wave” or cycle of religious terrorism dates from 1979 to the present (Refer to Appendix 1). On balance, the evidence supports the opinion of Rapoport that this encompasses terrorism by Christians.

Kantian Ethics is an ethical philosophy, deontological in nature. A global community showing unanimity in the fight against terrorism will fortify their Kantian characteristics. Kantian Ethics can be conducive to the reformulation of worldwide regulations in order to grant a valid suppression of terrorism according to frequently agreed regulations and under the guidance of the United Nations. Utilitarian Ethics is another ethical philosophy, teleological in nature. A review of the tradition’s ethical foundation considering the war on terrorism proves that the convenient way to recognize the just war theory is from a utilitarian view as opposed to the regular rights-based, deontological viewpoint. As a result, the substantial device of torment investigation in limiting terrorism must be elucidated by utilitarians instead of being surmised.

Terrorism has become the most important peace timetable of the UN Secretary-General following the rise in the United Nations workforce and vicious aggression against non-combatants, in conjunction with the exacerbated focus of Member States. The power of the Western-centric Just War Theory is tarnishing the United Nations Security Council representatives’ ability to coordinate and the United Nations’ capacity to prevent and intervene in modern conflict. The principles of Just War Theory are incorporated in the Charter of the United Nations, which reaffirms the inadmissibility of the acquisition of terrain by force. In presenting the statement, the Secretary-General communicated that he wished for a collective universal endeavor to fight terrorism – an effort bringing together the economic sector, national society, worldwide management, the United Nations, and Governments, each using their relative benefit to supplement the others’ efforts.

There has been an interest in a number of sociological customs connected with terrorism; for example, social outrage after the September 11 attacks, organizational response, news attention, and counterterrorism (Refer to Appendix 2). As attested by Professor Douglass Pratt, a universal expert in religious terrorism from the University of Auckland, the Christchurch Mosque Shootings that killed 51 and hurt 50 people at Linwood Centre and Al Noor Mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand was a style of white supremacy and “Christian terrorism”. Over the years, sociological and criminological hypotheses have been evolved to motivate a host of investigation that has supplanted prior intuitive but wrong theories of terrorism. “It is absolutely critical that Christians not turn away from the Christian theological elements in such religiously inspired terrorism”. International Law has created a piecemeal style, with treaties based on distinct wrongdoings regarded as symptomatic of religious terrorism – e.g. hostage-taking and aircraft piracy. Hence it is proven that modern warfare has changed the way wars are conducted.

By contrast, the Mennonite Church, views in Jesus’ teaching as nothing less than pacifism. The Mennonite church has slowly evolved from facile apolitical pacifism (non-resistance) to a more worldly political pacifism (nonviolence). Following their promise to pacifism, Mennonites, over time have appeared as one of the historic peace churches. A tenacious Mennonite view is a pacifism or nonviolence (ThirdWay, 1998). Although a majority of Mennonites respect conventional pacifism rooted in conservative biblicism, a minority don’t. Contrastingly, it is viewed by religious scholars that Pacifism is not the better approach as war is not always evil because the world is not flawless. The Just War Theory is still relevant as it is a principal Christian philosophy that aims to resolve defending righteousness, defending residents and the slaughter of humans. Accordingly, it is synthesized that the key concepts of ethical theory are substantiated by the Mennonite Church’s approach to terrorism.

Thusly, it is evident that the Christian Just War Theory whilst an ancient idea is still prominent and useful in the ethical investigation and evaluation of modern conflict. The hypothesis argued that in an age of total warfare and terrorism, Just War must be maintained as its conservative approach forces us to study the operation of violence defended by conventional Just War Theory. The religious, historical and sociological background of Just War Theory in regard to terrorism differs within Christianity. It has been critically analyzed through the utilization of a divergent range of research sources that the diversity of viewpoints on Christian War Theory is strikingly reflected in the public opinion of Christianity.