Seek Peace and Pursue It

I was reading Augustine earlier this fall, and I was struck by his stance on war. He ceded that war was sometimes justified and a legitimate use of force, legally. But that legal allowance does not erase the moral weight of taking life. When weighing what is legal vs. what is moral, we should choose the moral. In this, Augustine—who argues strongly for just war theory— seems to be making a case for pacifism.

Augustine clarifies that a soldier killing an enemy, an executioner killing a convicted criminal, or someone who accidently kills another are not guilty of murder. And he confirms that laws allowing defensive killing are just and legitimate. Killing in self-defense is not the same as killing in anger, greed, or revenge. However, he suggests that human laws can permit lesser evils to prevent greater ones, whereas God’s law can only permit that which is good. And the taking of life is never good. Augustine posits the possibility that someone can act within the boundaries of human law while remaining morally accountable before God.

Today, on Veterans Day, we remember those who fought. And indeed, I think most who fight in war do so with the belief that they are protecting their home and family, that they are stopping evil, that the fight is just. I know I am safer and more secure because of my ancestors who participated in war, from the Revolution on down through WWII. I acknowledge that for me, personally, I am the beneficiary of the fight of others.  

But I think we also should thank those who conscientiously chose not to fight, who believed doing so was crossing a moral line in which they could not go. They risked social shunning, imprisonment, and fines. They sacrificed safety. They believed submitting to a higher law was more important than anything, even their and their loved ones’ lives. That stance takes a strength and moral certainty too. I am also the beneficiary of that legacy.

Augustine emphasized that the ultimate objective is always peace. If Christians have a responsibility to care for their neighbors, might that include defending those communities, sometimes by force? Just war theory argues that war is a regrettable instrument for stopping evil and achieving peace in a fallen world. Pacifism argues that war is only meeting evil with more evil. I believe there is very little evidence in the sayings of Christ or the New Testament that allow the intentional taking of life. I admire my pacifist ancestors, and I want to fully embrace engaged pacifist ideals. But I also can’t let go of the idea that total pacifism would be to allow evil to overpower the good. Surely there is space for self-defense and for the defense of the weak and innocent.

Augustine ultimately makes the stance that the motivations and desires of the person who kills remain morally significant. We will be held accountable for what we do, but also why we do them. There are many who fight for peace; there are many who fight because they want to do harm to others. There are many who refuse to fight out of cowardice or greed; there are many who refuse to fight because they believe Christ calls us to nonviolence in any form. Christians should approach war with caution, making sure one’s intentions are truly defense and peace. “Just following orders” may be a legal defense, but it is not a moral one.