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War, Peace, and Christianity: Questions and Answers from a Just-War Perspective
With issues of war and peace at the forefront of current events, an informed Christian response is needed. This timely volume answers 104 questions from a just-war perspective, offering thoughtful yet succinct answers.
Ranging from the theoretical to the practical, the volume looks at how the just-war perspective relates to the philosopher, historian, statesman, theologian, combatant, and individual--with particular emphases on its historical development and application to contemporary geopolitical challenges. Forgoing ideological extremes, Charles and Demy give much attention to the biblical teaching on the subject as they provide moral guidance.
A valuable resource for considering the ethical issues relating to war, Christians will find this book's user-friendly format a helpful starting point for discussion.
Ranging from the theoretical to the practical, the volume looks at how the just-war perspective relates to the philosopher, historian, statesman, theologian, combatant, and individual--with particular emphases on its historical development and application to contemporary geopolitical challenges. Forgoing ideological extremes, Charles and Demy give much attention to the biblical teaching on the subject as they provide moral guidance.
A valuable resource for considering the ethical issues relating to war, Christians will find this book's user-friendly format a helpful starting point for discussion.
- GenresTheologyPhilosophy
416 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 2010
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
August 23, 2016
In my circles people talk about just war all the time. But rarely was it defined or described. What is a just war? I bought this book hoping for two things: 1. It would give me the basic parameters of just war theory. 2. It would give a me a lot of footnotes that would point me to other sources. I got both of these in spades.
The authors use a question and answer format to describe what just war is, what it is not, some questions that still need answered, and the history of just war. They talk about just war in relation to philosophy/natural law, history, the statesman, the theologian, the combatant, and the individual.They rely heavily on Aquinas, Grotius, Vitoria, and Suarez. The also use a lot of O'Donovan and a current just war writer named James Turner Johnson. They address terrorism, nuclear war, humanitarian intervention, the UN, post war development of countries, non-lethal weapons, "turn the other cheek," does war violate the command to not kill, did Jesus change our approach to war, is just war only a Christian idea or it can it be found in non-Christian sources, Bonhoeffer's attempt on Hitler's life, Ghandi's pacifism, C.S. Lewis' writings on war, supreme emergency, the early church on war, including Roland Bainton's pacifistic reading of the church fathers, criteria for going to war, criteria within a war, private military contractors, ethical development of weapons, Romans 13, etc. etc. The great value of this book is how much ground it covers. You will not get an in depth chapter length discussion of terrorism and just war, but you will get some basic ideas on it. It is an excellent introduction to just war thought, though I doubt any reader will agree with all.
The only drawback I would note is there is a quite a bit of repetition. The reason would seem to be the nature of the book where the questions and answers in various sections overlap with questions and answers in other sections. There are other areas that I would have like more discussion on, such as what makes an authority legitimate, but the sources cited should give provide those if the reader wished to pursue them.
The authors use a question and answer format to describe what just war is, what it is not, some questions that still need answered, and the history of just war. They talk about just war in relation to philosophy/natural law, history, the statesman, the theologian, the combatant, and the individual.They rely heavily on Aquinas, Grotius, Vitoria, and Suarez. The also use a lot of O'Donovan and a current just war writer named James Turner Johnson. They address terrorism, nuclear war, humanitarian intervention, the UN, post war development of countries, non-lethal weapons, "turn the other cheek," does war violate the command to not kill, did Jesus change our approach to war, is just war only a Christian idea or it can it be found in non-Christian sources, Bonhoeffer's attempt on Hitler's life, Ghandi's pacifism, C.S. Lewis' writings on war, supreme emergency, the early church on war, including Roland Bainton's pacifistic reading of the church fathers, criteria for going to war, criteria within a war, private military contractors, ethical development of weapons, Romans 13, etc. etc. The great value of this book is how much ground it covers. You will not get an in depth chapter length discussion of terrorism and just war, but you will get some basic ideas on it. It is an excellent introduction to just war thought, though I doubt any reader will agree with all.
The only drawback I would note is there is a quite a bit of repetition. The reason would seem to be the nature of the book where the questions and answers in various sections overlap with questions and answers in other sections. There are other areas that I would have like more discussion on, such as what makes an authority legitimate, but the sources cited should give provide those if the reader wished to pursue them.
September 6, 2024
I had been looking forward to reading this book for a couple years, and the wait was well worth it! Though it is a dense work, it’s Q&A format organizes it into bite-size pieces based off very real questions that readers might be asking. Not only do the authors EXTENSIVELY cover the just-war perspective (to the point where you can really no longer mistake the standards and criteria of this view), but I found their work to also be extremely generous when taking time to address other perspectives on war, such as pacifism. For those asking serious questions about the history, morality, philosophy, politics, and theology related to war and peace, this is the FIRST book I would recommend!
January 10, 2012
War, Peace, and Christianity is an excellent examination of Just-War theory, Christianity and War, and Christianity and Violence. The material is thoroughly researched and the authors provide a wealth of sources for further investigation.
April 16, 2024
A helpful and detailed guide to the Just-War Tradition in Christianity, using a question-and-answer format. There are 104 questions, covering philosophical, political, historical, biblical and theological matters, and the range of sources cited is impressive, offering a good guide to further reading from a mix of perspectives. The authors place the Just-War position as a mediating one between the extremes of pacificism and militarism, which offers a framework for the legitimate use of force in the interests of producing a justly-ordered peace.
I do feel the philosophical/historical sections are stronger than the biblical discussions, and the Old Testament is almost entirely bypassed, which is unfortunate given the amount of military narratives through the first part of the Bible. The Q&A format also inevitably produces some repetition, which is especially noticeable at the end. But it is a good volume for explaining Just-War approaches, and correcting some misunderstandings.
I do feel the philosophical/historical sections are stronger than the biblical discussions, and the Old Testament is almost entirely bypassed, which is unfortunate given the amount of military narratives through the first part of the Bible. The Q&A format also inevitably produces some repetition, which is especially noticeable at the end. But it is a good volume for explaining Just-War approaches, and correcting some misunderstandings.
October 3, 2011
Reads like a textbook...
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews