JUST WAR PART 2: THE THEORY OF AUGUSTINE
PREVIOUS POSTS IN THIS SERIES:
PART 1: THE TIMES OF AUGUSTINE
"In Augustine's theory, three kinds of war were morally defensible: a defensive war against aggression, a war to gain just reparations for previous wrong, and a war to recover stolen property."(1) There may be biblical foundations for Augustine's deciding only to accept these three kinds of wars, or to accept any war at all, but none are given by the many sources I've read on the subject. Instead, what I've found most often given in Augustine's defense, as his rationale, is his seeking a practical logical compromise between rejecting all wars as evil and accepting all wars as virtuous.
"By limiting war to these categories the great theologian and bishop believed he had been faithful to both his religious doctrines and his civic duty."(2)
Augustine adapted church doctrine on war, largely accepted but not without it's detractors, and made it easier for Rome to swallow - whether this was his intention or not. Christians fearing for their lives and the Emperor fearing for his empire were now given permission by God's representative to wage three kinds of war. This change in doctrine had momentous repercussions, for the Catholic Church was soon the dominant institution in the West, posing less threat to principalities fond of the sword.
"In midieval Europe the writings of Augustine acquired a status next to the Bible and became the chief authority in matters of faith and ethics...And so, for hundreds of years the writings of Augustine provided Western civilization with its notion of the morality of war. The chief feature of this understanding was that at times a nation had a right, indeed a duty, to go to war."(3)
SOURCES:
1. George Weigel, Tranquilitas Ordinis (new York: Oxford University Press, 1987), p29
2. Air Power History, Vol.39, No.3, Fall 1992, p38. Copyright and published 1992 by the Air Force Historical Foundation
3. Ibid
Inset picture: ca. 1490 "Saint Augustine in His Study" by Sandro Botticelli
Got thoughts? Post a comment below or discuss on my message-board.
PART 1: THE TIMES OF AUGUSTINE
"In Augustine's theory, three kinds of war were morally defensible: a defensive war against aggression, a war to gain just reparations for previous wrong, and a war to recover stolen property."(1) There may be biblical foundations for Augustine's deciding only to accept these three kinds of wars, or to accept any war at all, but none are given by the many sources I've read on the subject. Instead, what I've found most often given in Augustine's defense, as his rationale, is his seeking a practical logical compromise between rejecting all wars as evil and accepting all wars as virtuous."By limiting war to these categories the great theologian and bishop believed he had been faithful to both his religious doctrines and his civic duty."(2)
Augustine adapted church doctrine on war, largely accepted but not without it's detractors, and made it easier for Rome to swallow - whether this was his intention or not. Christians fearing for their lives and the Emperor fearing for his empire were now given permission by God's representative to wage three kinds of war. This change in doctrine had momentous repercussions, for the Catholic Church was soon the dominant institution in the West, posing less threat to principalities fond of the sword.
"In midieval Europe the writings of Augustine acquired a status next to the Bible and became the chief authority in matters of faith and ethics...And so, for hundreds of years the writings of Augustine provided Western civilization with its notion of the morality of war. The chief feature of this understanding was that at times a nation had a right, indeed a duty, to go to war."(3)
SOURCES:
1. George Weigel, Tranquilitas Ordinis (new York: Oxford University Press, 1987), p29
2. Air Power History, Vol.39, No.3, Fall 1992, p38. Copyright and published 1992 by the Air Force Historical Foundation
3. Ibid
Inset picture: ca. 1490 "Saint Augustine in His Study" by Sandro Botticelli
Got thoughts? Post a comment below or discuss on my message-board.
posted by Shaun Groves @ 8/05/2005
12 comments
12 Comments:
shaun, just wanting to get from these two entries something clear. Are you setting up your argument against a just war on the basis that the doctrine of a just war came out of the marraige of the church and roman empire, where Christianity got big chuches and lots of land, therefore causing Augustine at this point to think that the church had a lot to loose by just kicking back and letting the barbarians burn everything, threrfore justifying retaliation with his just war doctrine?
Seth
Seth, I'm using so many quotes from other people so that it's not much of my idea at all. I don't know Augustine's entire thought process so all I, and the folks I've read, can go on is a broad knowledge of his times and circumstances. We don't KNOW what was going through his head exactly. I've tried to post only what we can be certain of: He wrote at a time when Constantine had accepted Christianity and was using Roman funds and man power for a massive ecclesiastical building project. Also, Rome was under attack, a lot, from within and without. And under these circumstances Augustine began thinking about whether war was right or wrong, when and why. Seems like good questions to ask at such a time.
I'm not making an argument against JUST WAR, yet.
SG
gotcha,
if your interested there is, i think, at least some insight to what was going on in his head in the first part of book I of his City of God.
thanks
Seth
I've read that Seth, but it's been so long. I'm pretty old you know? Maybe you can summarize for us the parts you think shed better light on the circumstances surrounding the acceptance by Augustine of these two wars.
I know there's much of Augustine's theology I don't agree with and for which he gives no biblical backing. He makes a habit actually out of dispensing very wise thoughts based on logic and not scripture. (Women are not reflections of the image of God as man is, for instance) Nothing wrong with that kind of wisdom as long as it doesn't claim to be inerrant, unless future generations discover - as if we're wiser - that such wisdom contradicts the teachings of scripture - the standard for all time.
Teach me, Seth.
-SG
very interesting stuff. .thank you for taking the time to share this with us. leaders, followers, war, peace. . never ending from Cain till now. .
So, what about this?
\http://www.publicchristian.com/?p=286
whoa. maybee i came off a bit wrong. especially the second one. in re-reading them they maybee sound a little know-it-all, or thinks-he-knows-it-all-but-doesnt. sorry for that. on the second one i tapped in a quick type between lessons.
first of all, in the first comment i was trying to grasp your thoughts in two blogs. maybee jumped the gun a bit. second comment a response to when you said, "we dont know what was going on in his head exactly" i had JUST read this chapter and he was quite vivid of how he felt about the barbarians breaking into churches and murdering and raping anyone who was seeking sanctuary. there is even a short chapter on how he felt that if a woman were faced with loosing her virginity from rape and suicide he says that suicide is not an alternative. anywho, just thought it would be interesting if you hadnt read it. so there it is in a nutshell.
peace-
Seth
That's some of what I recall from Augustine's writing there as well. Again, been a while, but his mindset I think was affected by what these sources I'm relaying to you guys in this post say it was: barbarians, visgoths, crazy Christians with torches etc. The guys was scared, as I would be. His way of life was seriously threatened. That had to affect his thinking somehow.
SG
I think it is a fascinating thing how much the work of Augustine has impacted so many arenas of thought. His teaching on what a just war is are obviously still very pertinant to current debate and they still seem to be the standard for many people. I also love the impact that his theology has had regarding delight in God...as John Piper writes about in Legacy of Sovereign Joy and depicts in his biographical sermon on Augustine (http://www.desiringgod.org/library/biographies/98augustine.html). He was an amazing theologian and passionate follower of God with a tremendous testimony of God's saving grace (of course, this is not to say that he got everything right). I look forward to hearing more in your "Just War" series.
Lee
focalelement.blogspot.com
Here's a paper I discovered on the just war tradition.
ONWARD CHRISTIAN SOLDIERS?
...more thought provoking stuff for this debate.
Roger
Not an expert on Augustine by any means, but the particular example of women may have come from the gospel of Thomas, which in the period of 100-150 AD was in and out of what they considered true gospel material and that of apocrypha. Here's the quote:
114. Simon Peter said to them, "Make Mary leave us, for females don't deserve life."
Jesus said, "Look, I will guide her to make her male, so that she too may become a living spirit resembling you males. For every female who makes herself male will enter the kingdom of Heaven."
Some people believe it was this very quote that disqualified the gospel of Thomas as being 'canononical scripture'. I found a few of the quotes in this writing to be a bit shocking like this.
I think I remember reading that Augustine had quoted the gospel of Thomas several times in his writing, which may explain his aforementioned quote on women.
I'm coming in on the conversation quite late. I apologize -- life happens sometimes. :)
Thanks for posting what you have so far -- and I hope you continue with this topic if you have time. I think this is an issue that, espcially in today's world, all of us who follow Jesus need to seriously think through.
Lee mentions how much of today's thinking is influenced by Augustine's writings... I'd never really thought about it much. Mainly because I haven't paid any attention to Augustine. I'm sure there are pieces of my thinking, inspired by my growing up in church and living life with Jesus as an adult, that stem from his ideas. But, I've never read his writings or talked about Him at all (except for a few brief church history lessons and a history lesson on Northern Africa and the Middle East when I was briefly on the field there).
As I read through what you posted of his reasons for Just War, I found it wild that I agreed with his conclusions, someone who lived so long before me...
I came to those general conclusions simply by following Jesus, talking with Him and wrestling with Him over important issues such as this. In my own arrogance and pride, I sometimes wonder how anyone could come to conclusions different than mine, if they truly seek God on these matters. What a small-minded creature I am; to think that God is as simple as me and would only have one facet of life's rich complexity to show the world through His followers!
It's interesting to me that most sources seem to give as Augustine's rationale, not his biblical foundation, but "his seeking a practical logical compromise between rejecting all wars as evil and accepting all wars as virtuous." As if, perhaps, Augustine embodied that part of God's thinking that says, "I hate the killing! I hate the brutality and trauma it visits on my creation; and the evil that spawns it; and the evil it's brutality, unfairness and trauma spawns in men's hearts!"
And yet I know others who subscribe to his theory (and whom, undoubtably were impacted by Augustine's writings, as their education would have thrust them into their path), who come to those conclusion from a very different place. Theirs is more that it lines up with God's own heart for the downtrodden and abused, and His desire that His followers embody the part of Him that is angry over the injustices done by tyrants and elitists, or those who forcefully take power, take what is not their own and enslave others.
I wonder, did Augustine know just how vast and deep his impact would be, just how long we would be debating conclusions he came to long ago, borne from his own wrestlings with God?
There is much to think about here...
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