When God Says War Is Right: The Christian's Perspective on When and How to Fight

Professor Cole canvasses the historic just war position with clarity, urgency, and cogency. He not only surveys the material, but advocates the just war position as biblically sound and morally superior to its rivals. In this, he appeals principally to Ambrose, Augustine, Aquinas, and Calvin. Cole challenges the commonly asserted idea that pacifism was the dominant position in the first three centuries of Christianity. Although the position was voiced by some, it was not the consensus. As Cole notes, "We have little evidence that any early Church Father (besides Tertullian, who was later declared a heretic) held an unambiguously negative view of war. In fact, there little evidence of any unified Christian attitude toward war during the earlier years of the Church era. It simply cannot be demonstrated that early Christians, in general, viewed either the military or the state as inherently evil, and hence completely off-limits to their participation" (p. 8). While the Christian understanding of just war was first developed principally by Ambrose (339-397) and more systematically by the great Augustine (354-430) in the early part of the Fourth Century, seeds of the idea can be found much earlier.Cole notes that both Christian pacifists and Christian realists (such as Reinhold Niebuhr) "are in agreement about an essential point: Both assert that all use of force is evil and that the teachings of Christ forbid violence" (p. 7). The pacifist, therefore, shuns all military involvement, while the realist sanctions war only as a "lesser of two evils." Cole, and the just war tradition, employs another approach by arguing that the use of force is sometimes virtuous, not merely necessary. That is, some situations demand a proper use of force in the name of love and for the glory of God. It is true that there would be no war in a world without sin (see James 4:1-2), but in this sinful world force is sometimes required to protect the innocent and to right terrible wrongs. It can be, in fact, a positive good in a bad world. "Modern Christian pacifists have argued that a presumption against violence is what led Christians to create just war criteria in the first place. But this claim is historically false. Christians did not create just war criteria out of a disregard for violence but because they wished to bring some sort of justice and order to this temporal existence. Aquinas and Calvin certainly knew of no such presumption against violence" (p. 71).Pacifists argue that Christ's meekness under persecution is the normative model for all Christians with respect to war, and that his teachings in the Sermon on the Mount exclude any use of force. But Cole argues from Scripture and from leading theologians that this interpretation is mistaken. He cites Calvin to good effect on this issue. "For Calvin, Christ's pacific nature carries little normative weight for Christians, for that pacific nature is located in Christ's priestly office or reconciliation and intercess

Dr. Darrell Cole, assistant professor of religion at Drew University, has offered perhaps the finest overview of Just-War theory, examining Scripture along with he progressive, historic development of the theory by Catholic and Reformation scholars. Dr. Cole then applies the conditions to WWII, Vietnam, and Desert Storm ("the most cleanly fought modern war"). He also deals with the topic of Muslim terrorism, contrasting the concept of Islamic jihad to Christian Just-War theory. Some of the issues include: comparative justice, why human sin makes war necessary, treatment of prisoners, siege and embargo tactics, and the rules of engagement. Cole gives special attention to the criteria that has been developed. It is not enough to simply say one has "just cause"; there are numerous requirements that must be met before one can clearly regard a cause as just. Each condition is given thorough analysis. Special attention is focused on nuclear arms; Cole evaluates their use in WWII and questions whether the effectiveness of MAD/Mutually Assured Destruction during the Cold War will work with other regimes. Regarding nuclear deterrence, Cole warns that, "If the Unites States actually has to use nuclear weapons, those weapons fail in their purpose." He addresses the threat of escalation and the use of conventional weaponry, which he calls "just weapons only insofar as they can be used with discrimination."Refuted is the notion that war is at best a necessary evil. While he argues against a "my country, right or wrong" mentality, Cole regards just war as a positive good. Failure to protect and preserve peace through the use of force is not simply being irresponsible, but less-than righteous. Soldiers therefore have chosen a virtuous, "holy vocation". This is a post-9/11 book, and so there is a historic analysis of Islamic just-war theory, how it differs with Christian views, and how terrorists defend targeting non-combatants. Cole explains, "...if the enemy is attacked on account of unbelief, then we are likely to find no restrictions on who may be slain: All unbelievers are proper objects of attack." The non-Muslim world is regarded as the "territory of war" in which corruption must be eradicated. Perhaps this is why Moslem extremists claimed that all who perished in 9/11 were "guilty". It is a sobering worldview. Cole advises that we not sacrifice our ethical principles in our response to terrorism. This is must reading for all Chaplains, Chaplain Assistants, military ethicists, civilian clergy and anyone appraising the morality of warfare. When God Says War Is Right is an extremely well-written book that clearly answers the concerns of moral people grappling with the morality of war in general and striving to evaluate specific wars in light of the theory.

Dr. Cole satisfies graduate level professors in its thoroughness, and yet can be read and enjoyed by the average lay reader. His theological insights and use of current affairs make this book a must reading for thinking people and especially Christians who want a valid discussion and review of justifications for modern methods of waging war. (the Bush anti-terrorism campaign).