Jesus’ Radical Countercultural Teaching About War
“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 the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic,[h] let him have your cloak as well. And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. . .You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect (Matt. 5:38-48)
The head of the Russian Orthodox Church reportedly promised Russian soldiers that if they died in the war against Ukraine, “this sacrifice washes away all their sins.” If such reports are correct, this incident illustrates how perilous it is for the church to come under the influence of worldly politics.
This incident and similar developments made me reflect on what constitutes a just war. Over time, Christian thinkers such as Augustine and Ambrose have made significant contributions to what has come to be known as “just war theory.” More recently, the Conference of Catholic Bishops have made helpful contributions to the conversation.
Some of the principles by which a war can be assessed are listed below. A just war should be:
Defensive Is the war aggressive or defensive in nature?
Necessary Have all other means of conflict resolution, such as negotiations, been exhausted?
Preportional Is the response proportional to the original offense?
Legitimate Is the war lawfully declared by the legitimate authority?
Just Cause Is the purpose to correct a public evil or unjust gain?
Reasonable Hope of Success Does the action have a realistic hope of achieving its intended good outcome?
Good End Are the motives righteous and is the ultimate end in view good?
Jesus said “And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet” (Matt. 24:6). In a ruined world, wars are inevitable.
It’s interesting that Jesus never offered just war principles. Such principles are the best efforts of theologians and philosophers to regulate a very ugly business. Given that wars will happen, honorable people ought to do their best to conduct them in an ethical manner to the extent possible. But in the real world it is extremely difficult to conduct such a grim business in an ethical manner. The Allies’ defensive war against the Nazis would qualify World War II as a necessary, defensive war.
But Jesus calls us to something much more radical. You could almost imagine his saying “You have heard it said “Conduct your wars justly” but I tell you “Love your enemies.”
Why would Jesus command his followers to do something that seems to defy common sense and is seemingly impossible?
It defies common sense only if we assume that we are here to serve our own interests. But we who belong to him are here to bear witness of the living God, who loved us and sent his Son to die for us even when we were his enemies (Rom. 5:10). And even though it is impossible for us to do these things in our own power, Christ living in us and working through us brings them about.