In order for a war to be just, three things are necessary. First, the authority of the sovereign by whose command the war is to be waged.This is an important doctrine that has been ignored— again. Why are we so afraid to declare war in a Constitutional manner? Not declaring war has a deleterious effect on every side: logistics, combat and general morale. Let’s declare war against (Islamic) terrorists and get on with it. I don’t care what the UN or some other third-world dictator says.
Secondly, a just cause is required, namely that those who are attacked, should be attacked because they deserve it on account of some fault.Here we are finally able to align with the proper course. We have been unjustly attacked and have every right, as a nation, to declare war against these cowards. Let’s declare war!
Thirdly, it is necessary that the belligerents should have a rightful intention, so that they intend the advancement of good, or the avoidance of evil.Here we get into those despicable gray areas. The advancement of evil is apparent, but is our own “goodness” so apparent? We are afraid to even call evil by its name. We seem almost preoccupied by revenge rather than the advancement of peace.
Or is it just that we spread the false peace that Jesus warned against? Is our freedom given for licentiousness—sexual immorality, theft, idolatry, lying and murder? An America unrestrained by Christian morality is the greatest danger the world has ever known. Imagine Nero with nukes . . .
Even so, come, Lord Jesus.
This is an important doctrine that has been ignored— again. Why are we so afraid to declare war in a Constitutional manner? Not declaring war has a deleterious effect on every side: logistics, combat and general morale. Let’s declare war against (Islamic) terrorists and get on with it. I don’t care what the UN or some other third-world dictator says.I agree that we should declare war, if nothing else on Osama and his merry men. I would go for the Taliban too, since in all reality we are fighting a war with them. Might as well be official about it. I think this element of the Just war theory is met anyway, Bush clearly has Congress’s approval. There is no Christian requirement that a democratically elected Congress declare the war, it is still being waged by the proper government. We just should dot our Is and cross our Ts.
Here we get into those despicable gray areas. The advancement of evil is apparent, but is our own “goodness” so apparent? We are afraid to even call evil by its name. We seem almost preoccupied by revenge rather than the advancement of peace.Very true for some. With occasional exceptions, I do think that the government is going about this fairly well. They are putting effort into forming a better government, feeding the people (which I admit is the right thing to do even though I detested it at first), and targeting the leadership that is most responsible for that evil. There will be gray areas, black ops and all that.
One big just war question remains for me, and that is the prospect for victory. My big beef with Clinton’s follies was that the things he did in response to terrorism had no, absolutely no, chance of winning the fight. They only prolonged it and increased suffering.
We don’t know what all Bush & Co. have planned for down the road, but we need to do more then we see coming now. We need to take down the roots of terrorism and recognize that we have many perpetual enemies in some parts of the world. Calling people who do nothing to help us allies won’t get us anywhere. Appeasing one group of terrorists to aid our fight against another group won’t help either. We seem to be operating about 20 years behind the times. Once the terrorist groups had all of their cells in one country, and you could kill them by concentrating your efforts on that one country. Today you can’t do that, these terrorists intermingle. Dismantle the groups in Afghanistan and their refugees just turn up in another country and start using the established terrorist apparatus there. We need to take a global view of this thing, and remove it globally, rather then locally.
An America unrestrained by Christian morality is the greatest danger the world has ever known. Imagine Nero with nukes . . .Yes. Islam can’t beat us. Communism can’t. Secular humanism can.
Dominus Vobiscum
patent +AMDG
Have you seen Cheney's comments to the effect that the U.S. has become involved in a battle that most likely will extend beyond most of our lifetimes? This has much to do with why there will never be a formal declaration of war; the national expectation from such a declaration would be that there would be CONCLUSION to such a war. No one in Washington wants to be pinned down in such a fashion. It would behoove all conservatives to question the motivation for such reticence.