with Rev Dr Chris Walker
Just War, Just Peace
On 24 April I had the opportunity to speak on Radio National as one of a panel of three on John Cleary’s Sunday night program. It was the day before ANZAC day. The Catholic Church had recently held a significant conference in Rome calling for a move away from their traditional “Just War” approach to a Gospel non-violent emphasis. So a Catholic, a Quaker and I shared our thoughts on war, non-violence and peace.
The move away from the “Just War” theory is due to a twofold consideration. First, the principles of the just war theory are readily broken in modern warfare, especially since the horrors of the First World War. The principles are often used to endorse rather than limit war. Some of the main conditions are as follows. There should be a formal declaration of war and it should be waged by a constituted authority. Aggrieved groups ignore this. There must be a just cause, the primary one being that it is a defence against unjust aggression. Yet modern war is not just defensive but aggressive against the perceived enemy. There must be a right intention, namely to establish or re-establish a positive state of affairs. So revenge should be avoided. In the reality of war retaliation is inevitably a strong motivation. There must be reasonable grounds for believing that the good achieved by the war will outweigh the suffering and destruction caused by the war. War causes a great deal of destruction and pain not only on humans but on other creatures and the environment as well. War is meant to be waged in accordance with natural law and international law. These are readily broken in the desire to win the war. Civilians who are meant to be avoided are often major casualties. War is meant to be a last resort after every means to arbitrate the conflict have been tried. Yet war is readily resorted to even to the point of justifying pre-emptive strikes. So the just war theory is not really helpful especially when its principles are readily disregarded.
Second, it is being increasingly recognised that Jesus’ way was that of non-violence. He rejected any use of violence on the part of his followers and deliberately acted as a peaceful Messiah proclaiming a peaceable kingdom of God. He was prepared to endure great suffering at the hands of his opponents to the point of death on a cross and refused to have his disciples take up arms. The early church was largely pacifist for its first three hundred years. Those who became Christians in the Roman legions mostly confined themselves to police duties or left the forces on their conversion. If we are to be true to the way of Jesus then non-violence is what we should be practicing and promoting. All churches are seeing the importance of emphasising Gospel non-violence and advocating alternative means of putting pressure on unjust situations instead of resorting to violence and war. Rather than continuing to use the ways and means of war with all their destructiveness there is the need to develop non-violent alternatives.
The World Council of Churches has produced a significant document entitled, “An Ecumenical Call to Just Peace.” It recommends moving away from Just War theory to Just Peace. By this it means that we have to see the close connection between justice and peace. There is the need for justice if lasting peace is to be achieved. Without justice peace can only be imposed which is not peace in its fullness. With justice the seeds for conflict and disputes can be dealt with and the danger of people resorting to violence and war averted. Jesus called his followers to be peacemakers. The churches can encourage peacebuilding among the peoples of the earth. Non-violent resistance can be fostered to bring attention to situations of oppression, dispossession and abuse. If peace is to be achieved then there is the need to overcome fear and want, enmity, discrimination, and oppression. Just relations should mean a particular concern for the most vulnerable and respect for the integrity of creation. The WCC document recognises that the journey towards just peace is difficult. Reconciling enemies and restoring broken relationships is a lengthy process. Transforming conflicts involves truth telling and uncovering the causes for the serious disagreements. In some situations the document recognises that “just policing” may be required for there is a “responsibility to protect” especially vulnerable people. The challenge is to move towards peace in the community, peace with the earth, peace in the marketplace and peace among the peoples.
A major contributor to war and violence is the production and spending on weapons and instruments of violence and war from hand guns and automatic rifles to submarines and jet aircraft. Weapons are sold across the world making money for those who manufacture them but end up in the hands of those who use them to bring about violence on those they consider enemies. If the nations of the world were serious about limiting violence and war then greatly reducing the production of weapons and restrictions on their sale would make a significant difference.
The prophet Micah has a magnificent vision of the mountain of the Lord in the last days. “Many nations will come and say, ‘Come let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths.’ The law will go out from Zion, the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He will judge between many peoples and will settle disputes for strong nations far and wide. They will beat their swords into ploughshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore”(Micah 4: 1-3).
That vision is not unrealistic thinking. It is a goal worth pursuing. The churches in particular can promote just peace and Gospel non-violence as an alternative to the way of violence and war which only creates the conditions for future conflicts.
Chris Walker
(National Consultant Christian Unity, Doctrine & Worship)