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Unlock This CourseThe lesson Just War Theory, Holy War and Passive Resistance explained the conditions for a just war. This lesson looks at where the theory came from in Christianity and how Christians use it today. Remember, Just War theory says war is always an evil, but may sometimes be the lesser evil if strict conditions are met.
The theory is Christian in origin. The first Christians were often pacifists. In the fourth century the Roman Empire became friendly to Christianity, and Christians had to ask a new question: can a Christian ruler or soldier ever fight without sinning? Christian thinkers answered with Just War theory.
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Augustine taught that war is a terrible evil, but that a ruler may fight to protect the innocent and to put right a serious wrong. The aim must be peace. He wrote that people do not seek peace so that they can make war, but make war so that they can have peace. For Augustine the real evils in war are hatred, cruelty and the love of violence, so a Christian must fight without them.
Aquinas, about 800 years ago, set out three conditions. The war must be declared by a proper authority, such as a ruler. It must have a just cause: the people attacked deserve it because of a wrong they have done. And those who fight must have a right intention, to do good and avoid evil, not to gain power or take revenge.
Later thinkers widened just cause to include defending the innocent against attack, and added last resort, a reasonable chance of success, proportionate force and protection of civilians.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church sets out strict conditions for legitimate defence by military force. The harm done by the attacker must be lasting, serious and certain. Every other way of stopping it must have been tried and failed. There must be a serious chance of success. And the war must not cause greater evils than the one it is meant to stop. It adds that the power of modern weapons weighs very heavily when judging this last point.
Some Christians argue that a country attacked by an aggressor has a duty to protect its people, and that doing nothing would allow innocent people to suffer. They say a defensive war that meets all the conditions can be just.
Modern weapons can hit places far away and kill many people at once, and many of those killed in modern wars are civilians. It is also hard to know whether a war is truly a last resort. In 2003 Pope John Paul II spoke against the planned war in Iraq, saying that war is always a defeat for humanity.
So Christians who accept Just War theory still disagree about whether a particular war passes the test. Some go further and say that no modern war can be just. This is the pacifist view, which you will study in the lesson Peace and Jesus the Peacemaker.
The lesson Weapons of Mass Destruction and Terrorism explained what these weapons are. Christians test them against the conditions. They cannot tell soldiers from civilians, so they break the rule of protecting civilians. Their effects spread and last, so they break proportionate force. The Catholic Church's Second Vatican Council (1965) taught that any act of war aimed at destroying whole cities or large areas with their people is a crime against God and humanity.
Christians still disagree. Some say owning nuclear weapons as a deterrent can be accepted for a time, if it is a step towards disarmament. Others say even owning them is wrong because it threatens to do something that could never be just. Some Christian groups campaign for these weapons to be banned.
Terrorism is the use or threat of violence against civilians to create fear for a political or religious aim. Christians condemn it. It fails almost every condition: it has no proper authority, it is not a last resort, it deliberately attacks innocent people and it is not proportionate. The Catechism of the Catholic Church says that terrorism threatens, wounds and kills without discrimination and is gravely against justice and love.
Christians also look at the causes, as taught in Christian Attitudes to Conflict, Holy War and the Bible. Many work for justice, fair sharing of resources and reconciliation, so that people are less likely to turn to violence.
(a) Identify three conditions that must be met for a war to be a just war. [3 marks, AO1]
(b) Choose one religion. Outline two ways in which Just War theory is used in this religion. [4 marks, AO1]
(c) Explain why some Christians think weapons of mass destruction can never meet the conditions of a Just War. [6 marks, AO1 and AO2]
(d) "A Just War is no longer possible." Evaluate this statement, showing you have considered different points of view. In your answer you should refer to at least one religion. [12 marks, AO1 and AO2]
(a) 1. Just cause (1). 2. Declared by a proper authority (1). 3. Right intention (1). (Last resort, a reasonable chance of success, proportionate force and no deliberate harm to civilians are also correct.)
(b) Christianity. Christians use the conditions to judge whether a war is right (1), for example asking whether it is a last resort or whether it has a just cause (1). Church leaders use the theory to speak out against a war that fails the test (1), as Pope John Paul II did over the planned war in Iraq in 2003 (1).
(c) Some Christians think weapons of mass destruction can never be used in a just way because they cannot tell soldiers from civilians. This breaks the rule that civilians must be protected. Their effects also spread and last for many years, so they break proportionate force, because the harm is greater than the wrong they are meant to stop. The Second Vatican Council taught that destroying whole cities and their people is a crime against God and humanity. So these Christians say the conditions of a Just War can never be met.
(d) Plan. For: modern weapons can kill huge numbers of civilians, so proportion and protecting civilians are hard to keep; wars rarely seem a true last resort; the Catechism says the power of modern weapons weighs heavily; pacifist Christians say no war can be just. Against: the conditions of Augustine and Aquinas still work as a test, and a country attacked unjustly may have a duty to defend its people (legitimate defence); not all modern wars use mass weapons; without the theory there would be no way to judge a war. Conclusion. A strong answer could say that a Just War is rare but not impossible, because defence against clear aggression with limited force can still meet the conditions, while weighing the other view and giving the deciding reason.
In part (d), do not just list the conditions. Pick one or two, such as protecting civilians, and use them as evidence for or against the statement.