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
Sitting in Starbucks with my road manager Ben waiting to board a plane, Bob Dylan came through the speakers. I love his songs…when someone else is singing them. But, oh, his voice! Tin can in a blender to my ears. But I have lots of cool musician friends who swear… Read More
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
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
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
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
Shaun Groves