Philosophy's Just War theory
(e) “The just war theory makes war fair” Discuss this statement. You should include different, supported points of view and a personal viewpoint. You must refer to Christianity in your answer. [12]
The Just War Theory was put in place by philosophers such as Plato but later on added to by people such as Christian monk, Thomas Aquinas. The aim of the Just War Theory is to provide a kind of framework as to what is the right way to act in a potential conflict situation. Christians have a fairly long history of refusing to take part in war and many of these Christians are pacifists in one way or another ranging in active pacifism, who are heavily involved in political activity to help promote peace, or those who are very difficult to convince that war is justified. One argument for pacifism is based on the idea of ‘What Would Jesus Do?’ Because Jesus had a very pacifist nature, many Christians believe that by following in his footsteps means that they too should have a pacifist nature. Believing this, results in the belief that a war is not and should not be justified. Specifically, Quakers are a Christian group with a total commitment of non-violence and in 1660 the Quakers declared, “…the spirit of Christ which leads us into all truth will never move us to fight and war against any man with outward weapons, neither for the kingdom of Christ, nor for the kingdoms of the world.” Another reason why a Christian may believe that the Just War Theory does not make war fair is by following the Ten Commandments. Within the Ten Commandments (found in the Bible, Exodus 20) it says that ‘you shall not kill’, many Christians follow this as a reason why war is never justified and if the Just War Theory is put in place or not, it does not make it fair to go to war and result in deaths, whether it may be a number of little or many. On the other hand, many people including Christians agree with this statement that the Just War Theory can do so much as to even
The Just War Theory was put in place by philosophers such as Plato but later on added to by people such as Christian monk, Thomas Aquinas. The aim of the Just War Theory is to provide a kind of framework as to what is the right way to act in a potential conflict situation. Christians have a fairly long history of refusing to take part in war and many of these Christians are pacifists in one way or another ranging in active pacifism, who are heavily involved in political activity to help promote peace, or those who are very difficult to convince that war is justified. One argument for pacifism is based on the idea of ‘What Would Jesus Do?’ Because Jesus had a very pacifist nature, many Christians believe that by following in his footsteps means that they too should have a pacifist nature. Believing this, results in the belief that a war is not and should not be justified. Specifically, Quakers are a Christian group with a total commitment of non-violence and in 1660 the Quakers declared, “…the spirit of Christ which leads us into all truth will never move us to fight and war against any man with outward weapons, neither for the kingdom of Christ, nor for the kingdoms of the world.” Another reason why a Christian may believe that the Just War Theory does not make war fair is by following the Ten Commandments. Within the Ten Commandments (found in the Bible, Exodus 20) it says that ‘you shall not kill’, many Christians follow this as a reason why war is never justified and if the Just War Theory is put in place or not, it does not make it fair to go to war and result in deaths, whether it may be a number of little or many. On the other hand, many people including Christians agree with this statement that the Just War Theory can do so much as to even