Today’s Scripture Reading (November
27, 2014): 1 Thessalonians 5
St. Thomas
Aquinas developed an idea that we have played with ever since his time – the idea
of a “Just War.” According to Aquinas, war was sometimes necessary, but when it
was necessary it had to be fought in a certain way. This basic idea has been
developed further in the 750 years since Thomas Aquinas lived. But according to
Thomas, the idea of a just war hinged on three concepts. First, for a war to be
just it had to be fought with the proper authority. In other words, war must be
declared. Sneak attacks are never just. And war is never taken up over a
personal slight; it can only be fought on a national basis. Secondly, a just
war must have a just cause. This is one of the areas where I think we struggle.
Why is it that we go to war? During the days of the First Gulf War, the
accusation made against the United States was that it only fought the war
because of Kuwait’s oil. The war was based on national self-interest, the
desire to make oil easily obtained by the West so that we didn’t have to pay
more for it at the gas pump, or to heat our houses. If the situation that
existed between Iraq and Kuwait had happened in the poorer areas of the world,
the United State would never have gone to war. And if that is true, then the First
Gulf War was an unjust conflict because it was based on national self-interest.
But while the accusation existed, this was not the reason that was given for
American (and others) involvement in the war. The reason that was given
publically was the defence of human rights and the threat of Iraq to carry the
war that they visited on Kuwait to the rest of the world. By definition, if
this is true, then it would be a just cause because it would be a war that was
not carried out for national self-interest, but for global harmony and human
protection. But our problem is that we just don’t know what the true reasons
for the war really were – and maybe war is too complex for us to ever really
know. For Aquinas, the final hinge of the just war rested on the idea that a
war, even in the midst of its violence, must be fought for peace. The purpose
or intention of everyone involved must be that peace would somehow result from
the conflict.
Since the
days of Aquinas we have added ideas like proportionality and the limiting of
civilian casualties, ideas that probably had no impact in a world that fought
war with a sword and to whom weapons of mass destruction was a nightmare that
couldn’t come true. But for Aquinas, there was at least the possibility of a
just war. Critics have argued that our reality is that a just war has never
been fought, that somehow it is an impossible concept for us to follow, but at
least in theory, the idea of a just war exists.
Paul is
really just stressing the idea of a just war in this passage. According to
Paul, whether we are operating on an interpersonal level or on an international
level, there are principles of peace to which we must adhere. And part of that
idea is that we don’t pay back evil for evil. The popular idea of the Hatfield
and McCoy feud was an unjust conflict because it was based on the idea of
revenge. But Paul goes beyond the idea of just not returning evil for evil, but
rather openly states that as Christians we are responsible to bring good to
each other. If conflict was going to happen, our purpose throughout the
conflict had to be to restore what is good – not to us – but to the one with
whom we are in conflict.
It is probably
one of the hardest things for us to do. I know, when people do something wrong
to me, I want to give it back to them. The hardest thing in my life is to have
someone wrong me, and in the middle of that pain to get down on my knees and
ask God to pour out his blessing - on them. Yet this is exactly what Paul says
that God is asking of us.
And this is
the reason why living the Christian life just isn’t for wimps. It takes
strength of character, and the power of God, to live this Christian life. We
are being sent out on a daily basis, by God, to make this world a better place –
and absolutely nothing else will suffice.
Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: 2 Thessalonians
1 & 2
No comments:
Post a Comment