on Just War Theory
One of the big problems with religion is that over time it distorts things, making them more human and less divine.
This is what Jesus was addressing in the Sermon on the Mount. He repeatedly says “You have heard it said” quoting the law and Jewish tradition, but then adds on “but I say unto you . . .”
The Pharisees had built a system that looked spiritual but actually allowed them to continue in sin. Jesus pulls back the curtain and reveals their hardness of heart.
Pope Leo is doing this kind of move with Just War Theory; the idea that as long as war is in self-defense, limited, and proportional it is allowable, but only after every other option has been exhausted. He is exposing how this has been used by nations to justify violence and the cardinals will soon gather to create a new approach from the church.
This is commendable. War is on the upsurge, with more violent conflict happening around the world than at any point since WW2. Making this even more important to address is the increasing use of remote and AI automated systems that make indiscriminate deaths of civilians more likely than ever before.
Post-Modernism
A lot has happened since Augustine first started thinking through how Christians should think about war or Aquinas refined it for the tapestry of European powers in the middle ages that all considered themselves Christian but still had conflicts with one another.
The tragedy of two world wars largely fought between Christians revealed the hollowness of many of the rationales people use to explain reality. Because of this much of religion, philosophy, economic, legal and social systems that were assumed in the modern era became suspect. Post-modern thinking deconstructed these assumptions and exposed their bankruptcy, especially how biased they were toward dominant cultures and left out or ignored others.
The critique was justified. But the result has been destabilizing in the extreme. The problem is that while Post-Modernism has been very effective at casting doubt on human systems, it has no remedy. It rejects any narrative that would pull things back together or provide meaning to a fractured world.
Formational Thinking
The challenge is formidable. This pope needs to find a new teaching that can guide Christians caught up in conflict in an age when all sources of truth are questioned.
There is documented in the Bible a conflict between Christians. The disciples were arguing with each other over who would be the greatest in the Kingdom of God. Jesus had a very insightful solution. He set a young child in the midst of the disciples.
This is what is lacking in every approach to conflict in the world today. We consider war in terms of strategic, economic, or political advantage but neglect the generational effects of war that poison the future of humanity.
Most societies have formed laws requiring studies on major developments to see how changes would affect their environments. New drugs go through rigorous testing to avoid unanticipated side-effects. The future can be and is affected by the actions that we take today. However, wars are often started without any consideration of how it is affecting the next generations.
The Child as Diagnostic
Even without resorting to Scripture, the child is the best diagnostic tool available to us to discern whether a course of action is right. Children are the most sensitive to change, unable to resist, and vulnerable. Because of these qualities they are like the proverbial “canary in the coal mine”; indicating what is a potential hazard long before it becomes otherwise apparent.
Children are constantly “under development”, being formed by their environment. What needs to be questioned is how war shapes children and whether that results in gains or losses in their ability to form and sustain relationships.
Nearly 1 in 5 children globally (453 million) currently live in or have been forced to flee from a war zone. Their development is profoundly affected by these experiences. Future Christian thinking on war must start by placing the little child in the midst of the discussion. How does war change their lives? How does that change our world?