3b Analyse the significance of religious beliefs and texts for the development of Just War Theory. (20)
3b Analyse the credibility of the view that no war can ever be justified. (20)
3b Analyse to what extent is it reasonable to claim that there are never good reasons to go to war. (20)
3b Analyse the weaknesses of the claim that the Just War theory is a more realistic approach to the problems raised by going to war.' (20)
3b Analyse the strengths of one conflict or war success of named wars in achieving their goal. (20)
3b) Analayse the importance of the claim '‘A nation or state must be able to make the decision to go to war on some occasions’ with reference to just war. (20)
3b Analyse the strengths and weaknesses of the Just War Theory as a means of assessing whether to go to war. (20) 2018 Q
3b Analyse the significance of the view that it may be possible to justify involvement in war on some occasions. (20)
3b Analyse the extent to which religious beliefs be used to justify the Just war Theory. (20)
3b Analyse the reasons why pacifism may be a persuasive position. (20)
3b Analyse claim that a pacifist can never accept the principles of Just War. (20)
3b Analyse the extent to which religious beliefs be used to justify pacifism. (20)
3b Analyse claim that A religious believer could never justify war. (20)
Many scholars would agree with this statement. Christians, for example, follow the teaching and example of Jesus, and so take into account relevant Gospel teachings about how humans should treat each other. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God” (Matthew 5.9); also in Matthew, Jesus seems to revise the old rules laid down in Leviticus: “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth’. But I say to you, Do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also”. These teachings seem to imply a pacifist position – Jesus teaches acceptance of aggression, advising that if you are attacked then you should offer no resistance against the attacker but submit to them. Therefore, war would not be justified.
A similar view is found in John’s Gospel. John makes it clear that he believes it is a Christian’s duty to behave in the same way Christ did. Jesus did not fight his enemies but gave himself up to be crucified. It is not only the Gospels that suggest a pacifist position. Peter Brown has shown that there is a martyrdom complex running through the early Christian texts. Christians are called on not to resist their enemies but to accept their fate. There is much evidence to suggest that many of the first Christians were pacifists in this sense, not prepared to fight in war in any circumstances, since the Kingdom of God would be ruled over by the Prince of Peace. They would not have justified waging a war.
Many Christians would also argue that violence only leads to more violence – as Jesus taught: “Those who live by the sword shall die by the sword”. Modern day Quakers, for example, believe that it is only by a Christian example of love and peace that real change will occur. They are active in promoting non-violent conflict resolution, peace building, disarmament and human rights. Others argue that the concepts of war and justice have no place together because they are wholly incompatible. The theologian Walter Wink, for example, condemns Augustine’s teaching of the Just War theory for leading Christians on the wrong path. He believes that there can never be just reasons for war – justice is brought about by equality and fairness, something which war can never achieve, so the idea of a Just War is a contradiction in terms.
However, other scholars disagree with this statement. Many Christians throughout history have supported war, justifying it on a number of grounds, and testing their decisions in light of the Just war theory developed by Aquinas and Grotius. They may wish to defend the lives of innocent victims of tyrannical regimes, even though the material cost of war will be high, or they may accept that in some situations the use of force is the lesser of two evils. Reinhold Niebuhr, for example, argued that because human nature is evil, human communities have to use force to maintain a just and ordered society. The usual moral rules that restrict individual actions, such as those that stop us harming or killing each other, do not apply to communities or states, which have special rights necessitated by their status. War that serves the national interest is therefore morally just. George Orwell went so far as to claim that to be a pacifist during Hitler’s rule was like being a collaborator with Nazi ideology. These writers are not only saying that war can be justified, but that in some situations it is morally necessary.
The rules laid down by the Just War theory are considered by some to be a useful tool for Christians when considering whether a war is justified. The theory recognises that although life is sacred, it may, at times, be taken in order to protect or defend the lives of others, and that the divine cause of justice may be related to political concerns which, without glorifying it, nevertheless necessitate war. Christians will see war as a last resort and question carefully the reasons given by a government for starting a military campaign. Many Christians will want to balance the material and personal cost of conflict with the justice of the cause. However, the principles of the Just War theory have come under criticism by those who maintain that it is an impractical approach to warfare in the modern age. The reality of nuclear war, for example, goes way beyond the conditions of war envisaged by Augustine. Modern weapons are capable of destroying the whole of human civilization, and attempts to refine attacks to hit only military targets are open to human error. In a nuclear age, religious believers may feel that they have no option but to revert to pacifism. For those who hold that the principle of the sanctity of life demands that all deliberate acts of killing are forbidden, the just war theory can never legitimize military action. So, war can never be justified.