Archive Tag: Just War: From Augustine To George W. (In Progress)

Thinking Like A Christian & An American

There’s a tug-o-war between theology and pragmatism going on inside every Christian in every nation. American Christ followers are no different. Never have been. The American Revolutionary War was not a “just war” – not the way Aquinas or Augustine defined “just.” More importantly, it wouldn’t begin to meet the… Read More

Just War Part 15: Vietnam & Desert Storm

The World Wars veered us away from traditional Just War doctrine by rewriting its jus in bello (how a war is fought justly). Vietnam, on the other hand, stretched its jus ad bellum (just reason to war). Many Americans voiced moral concerns with the war in Vietnam. Henry Kissinger wrote…… Read More

Just War Part 14: Holy War Protest

Neither America’s nor Britain’s population protested on a large scale Allied bombing campaigns during World War II. Many historians say that a sort of holy war mentality had taken over, overriding any moral outrage the population would have ordinarily expressed. Americans and Brits are said to have “feared the consequence… Read More

Just War Part 13: American Bombers in WWII

What exactly was America’s war ethic during World War II? Depends. There’s the official policy stated at the beginning of the war: American military leaders announced they would be differentiating noncombatants from combatants. The air force declared it would bomb only facilities which directly supported the enemy’s military. “During World… Read More

Just War Part 12: Total War

Billy Mitchell General William “Billy” Mitchell, sometimes called the Father of The U.S. Air Force, flew against Germans over France in World War I. He returned home convinced that air power would make land and sea power obsolete in future wars. Fighting wars from the air, he also predicted, would… Read More