Just War

“Of course, the effects of the fall on creation, people, and nations will never be wholly erased until Christ’s return. Until then, as Ecclesiastes observed, there is indeed a time to kill.” - Breakpoint

“It may be that a given action—a particular search and destroy mission—is low on the necessity spectrum. On such occasions, if other values—such as force protection or noncombatant immunity, are sufficiently at risk then prudence might dictate standing down.” - Providence

“What both these views have in common is their agreement with the idea that vengeance belongs to the Lord….We should never act out of rage or for revenge. God requires justice but he tempers retribution with mercy.” - Premier Christianity

“ ‘Randomness and innocence are the crucial elements in the definition [of terrorism],’ he says. ‘The critique of this kind of killing hangs especially on the idea of innocence, which is borrowed from “just war” theory.’” - BPNews

“With such a lineage and so many queries in pursuit of justice, it may be hard to see why I believe just war theory is deeply flawed. Because, in one sense, there’s much to appreciate in this theory.” - CToday

Just War Doctrine, Israel, and Hamas - Breakpoint

“At its moral center, the just war tradition… helps to guide the political sovereign… in determining when, in the last resort, the discriminate and proportionate use of military force is the only means likely to protect the innocent, right wrongs, or punish evil.” - WORLD

“This essay is the third in a series looking at moral forms of resistance through the lens of just war statecraft. Some of these ideas are adapted from my forthcoming book” - Eric Patterson @Providence

“…in what is known as jus in bello, just war doctrine says that for a war, or even part of a war, to be considered moral, it must only be done for the right reasons and in the right ways.” - Breakpoint

“I have argued in numerous places … that the bombing of Hiroshima (and subsequently Nagasaki) was not only morally permissible, but, given the context of the times and the actually available options, morally obligatory.” - Marc LiVecche