Models of God and Just War Theory
Document Type
Contribution to Book
Language
eng
Format of Original
10 p.
Publication Date
2013
Publisher
Springer
Source Publication
Models of God and Alternative Ultimate Realities
Source ISSN
9789400752191
Original Item ID
doi: 10.1007/978-94-007-5219-1_82
Abstract
It may seem that a model of God, or of any ultimate structuring principle for reality, is irrelevant to the conceptual shape or practical application of just war theory. This essay argues the contrary: our ultimate frame of reference for ordering of the cosmos and our human place in it bears significantly on how we construe human responsibility for establishing an international order that will bring warfare to an end. In particular, a model of God enabling us to take human freedom seriously as an effective power to bringing about peace as a lasting human good makes it possible to re-orient the finality of just war theory from that of merely minimizing the harm of war as an evil inevitably woven into human social dynamics to that of active peacemaking, i.e., of pursuing conditions that foster a stable order for peace that will render war an “unnecessary evil.”
Recommended Citation
Rossi, Philip J., "Models of God and Just War Theory" (2013). Theology Faculty Research and Publications. 320.
https://epublications.marquette.edu/theo_fac/320
Comments
"Models of God and Just War Theory," in Models of God and Alternative Ultimate Realities. Eds. Jeanine Diller and Asa Kasher. Dordrecht, NL: Springer, 2013: 991-1000. DOI.