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.
“When two of the brightest minds around put their insights
together on questions about war, peace, and Christianity, you get
this remarkable book. Employing a question-and-answer format, the
authors seek to prompt readers of all kinds—whether philosophers,
historians, statesmen, theologians, combatants, or individuals—to
consider carefully the complex issues before them and to foster
further investigation. When might war be right and peace be wrong,
or vice versa? No question, regardless of difficulty, is off-limits
for Charles and Demy, whose own perspectives are generously rooted
in the natural moral law inscribed on the human heart, in a
Christian worldview revealed in Scripture, and in the classic
just-war tradition, which eschews both militarism and pacifism. War
is hell on earth and the stakes are extremely high. This book
provides much-needed theoretical and practical wisdom on this sadly
perennial issue. In our post–Cold War, terroristic, and morally
ambivalent era, it couldn’t be more timely.”
—David K. Naugle, Chair and Professor of
Philosophy, Dallas Baptist University
“Charles and Demy have done a masterful job not only of posing
the most important moral questions surrounding war but also of
proposing trenchant and sophisticated answers to these questions
firmly grounded in the natural-law tradition. As if that were not
reason enough to purchase the book, the added benefit for
theologians, church historians, ethicists, religious educators, and
seminarians is that both authors, who write as evangelicals, find
that the notion of natural law is resolutely affirmed in the work
of the Protestant Reformers, who themselves were deeply concerned
about issues of just governance, legitimate authority, civil
society, and the common good, in addition to matters of faith, the
church, and ecclesiastical culture. This book’s treatment of these
issues and far more is itself an excellent example of the equity
that the authors think is characteristic of the just-war tradition.
I highly recommend this book.”
—Stephen J. Grabill, Senior Research Scholar in
Theology, Acton Institute for the Study of Religion
“As one who has written about just-war theory in the media
during times of conflict, I find it refreshing to be able to
recommend a book that explains that just war is not a theory that
gives license to the use of violence, but one that attempts morally
and responsibly to address the issue of the proper use of force.
This book is well done and repays the time one gives to grapple
with the difficult area of human conflict.”
—Darrell L. Bock, Executive Director of Cultural
Engagement, The Hendricks Center, Dallas Theological Seminary
“The new threats to international peace and security have cried
out for moral clarity, for a fresh appraisal of the relevance of
the Christian just-war tradition. In War, Peace, and
Christianity, J. Daryl Charles and Timothy Demy have answered
the call admirably. Unlike most of what passes for ‘biblical
ethics,’ their careful analysis refuses to use the Bible as a proof
text for political propaganda. With great intelligence and common
sense, the authors have assembled the insights of natural law,
historical experience, political realism, and biblical theology.
Those who hope to impose utopian schemes for world peace will find
no comfort here. But those who seek justice as part of the command
to ‘love thy neighbor’ will find much wisdom to light the
way.”
—Joseph Loconte, Associate Professor of History,
The King's College; author, God, Locke, and Liberty
“Far too much recent commentary emanating from the Christian
community on matters of war and peace has been ad hoc, sentimental,
and ill-informed, without any grounding in the church’s profound
and nuanced tradition of moral and practical reflection on the
subject. Charles and Demy have sought to address this problem,
answering even the most knotty questions with lucid and learned
essays that provide Christians of various backgrounds—philosophers,
historians, statesmen, theologians, combatants, and ordinary
individuals—with an inviting point of entry into that rich
tradition. The result is a book to be grateful for, one that has
the potential to improve the quality of our thinking on these
essential matters.”
—Wilfred M. McClay, G.T. and Libby
Blankenship Chair in the History of Liberty, University of
Oklahoma
“This is an important book. In an era when Christians are
tempted to think that pacifism is the biblical and responsible
position of a Jesus-follower, this volume makes a reasoned and
erudite argument to the contrary. It makes available to readers a
wealth of scholarship in a format that is inviting to the
nonspecialist. I recommend this book for university courses in
political science and ethics, to Sunday school classes on
contemporary issues, and to thinking Christians considering one of
our most urgent societal debates.”
—Gerald R. McDermott, Former Anglican Chair
of Divinity, Beeson Divinity School
“Warfare as I knew it in the 1980s and ’90s has changed forever.
My son, an Army Infantry officer on his third deployment to
Iraq/Afghanistan, is dead center in the middle of this country’s
modern-day warfare—international terrorism. In light of the
statement ‘there will always be evil men, and thus there will also
be the need to restrain evil men,’ authors Charles and Demy tackle
the tough questions: Are we justified in responding to and
intervening in this global threat? What is our just-war theory
toward rogue groups that target innocent people and our military?
Does the United States of America have a moral obligation to
militarily respond to global terrorism? Is all use of force just?
What is the definition of classic just-war tradition and war
against evil and injustice? This in-depth volume will answer these
and many other pertinent questions that face our country
today.”
—Robert J. Keneally, Lieutenant Colonel (Retired),
United States Air Force
“Charles and Demy have authored a book that carefully and
clearly offers answers to some of the most important questions of
our time concerning justice, war, and pacifism. Unlike some other
Christian authors who approach these and similar questions, Charles
and Demy maintain that justice, rather than the mere absence of
conflict, should be the working principle that animates both
citizen and soldier. In that sense, the authors hearken us back to
the nonpacifist and non-‘realist,’ indeed Christian, roots of the
just-war tradition.”
—Francis J. Beckwith, Professor of Philosophy and
Church-State Studies and Associate Director of the Graduate Program
in Philosophy, Baylor University
J. Daryl Charles (PhD, Westminster Theological Seminary) is an affiliated scholar of the John Jay Institute and the author, editor, or co-editor of fourteen books.
TIMOTHY DEMY (PhD, Salve Regina University), a retired US Navy commander, is an associate professor of military ethics at the US Naval War College.