President Bush has often called upon Christian
principles in defense of his actions and declared Jesus Christ to be his
favorite political philosopher. Additionally because of his stated belief
in these principles strong support has been given to him by many Christians
in our country. Based on this, I think it is absolutely necessary to make
the argument that it is the moral obligation of all Christians to oppose
the war with Iraq.
Two positions have been held by Christians on the matter of a just war. The first which was certainly the dominant view for the first few centuries of Christianity is that all war is inherently unjust. This position holds as a basic tenet of Christianity (vigorously defended by the present Pope) that it is never allowable to do evil, even in the hope of accomplishing good. Early Christians refused military service to their great peril based on this principle and because military service in the Roman army was linked with pagan worship. This tradition of Christian non-violence continues today with people from all Christian communities and is defended as just by Pope John XXIII is the encyclical Pacem in Terris. For those Christians who have such a belief no further argument is needed -- an invasion of Iraq is morally unjustified.
The second position which was first espoused by Saint Augustine is that a war must meet criteria to be a just war. I shall show that the present situation does not meet these criteria.
The two tenets of a the just war theory that Bush's argument most egregiously fails are the the tenets of proportionality and the tenet that war must be a last resort.
The tenet of proportionality indicates that the damage inflicted must justify the resulting good. Is the removable of one man ruling his country from a position of weakness, hampered by sanctions with enemy planes patrolling the skies over the majority of his country daily worth the loss of life of tens and probably hundreds of thousands of lives. Moreover, there is a significant possibility that the war would spill over into other countries and cause even greater destruction and instability in the Middle East.
The argument made by President Bush is that the present leadership of Iraq is dangerous and should be removed and that they are not disarming -- even though we have have no evidence at all that they are not disarming. Saddam Hussein is in no position to attack his neighbors nor is he in a position to reach outside his borders. The removal of a bad leader who has very limited power and who is not in a position to invade any other country is hardly proportional to the devastation of an American invasion and a possible escalation of war throughout the region.
It is clear that the war at this time is not a last resort. Quite to the contrary it seems to be a first resort. Almost nothing has been done other than threats. Diplomacy and international cooperation seem absent from any attempt to solve this dispute.
On September 11, 2001, an act of terrorism hit at the very soul of our country. Our citizens were devastated by the hate that emanated from this terrible act. Frantic calls were made across the country to find out if their family and friends were spared from this destruction. Strangers consoled each other on the street and people grieved for the dead. Americans felt the anguish of being attacked. After remembering the feeling of that day and the time that followed is it possible to conclude that we now want to unleash this on the people of Iraq. This is exactly what they will experience, only the bombing will last longer and they will lose many, many more people.
Proportionality and last resort are not mere words. War is an awful, terrible, horrific occurrence. These tenets have to make us ask if we are justified in unleashing this horror, a horror that we have experienced, on the innocent people in Iraq in order to punish the guilty.
In addition the President's position does not meet the just cause or competent authority criteria.
The just war theory requires that a competent authority authorizes the war. In this case it is clearly the United Nations that would be that authority since it is the claim of our government that our justification comes from their defiance of a United Nations resolution. The United Nations has not agreed that war should be declared -- nor is it likely to do so in the near future.
The just cause which President Bush believes justifies our attack is the safety and security of the United States . An unprovoked attack against Iraq would only serve to increase the world's anger against our country. It would make our enemies stronger and would make our allies cool in their support. This war would not provide us with greater security but rather with far less.
All Christians have a moral obligation to work against evil and to do whatever they can in their power to prevent the innocent from being harm ed. Many Christians supported George Bush during his campaign on the idea that he would respect life, from the moment of conception to the natural end of life. We cannot defend life in our own country if we do not respect the lives of people who do not live here. The life of each Iraqi citizen is sacred. Yet our government acts as if it were not. They are treating war as if it is a matter of political strategy like raising interest rates or levying taxes. It is not. War is the destruction of human life. Christians see each human as the image of God on earth. Are we justified in destroying thousands upon thousands of these sacred images of God for the sake of national policy.
Christ told us that whatever we do to the least of His people we do to Him. Imagine what we are now preparing to do to Him as we plan to invade a country causing death and destruction to on an unimaginable level.
If the teachings of the Prince of Peace are to guide our
political philosophy, we are bound to respect the liv es of all people
and we must work to protect the innocent. The present policy of this administration
is not only unjustified; it is barbaric. It is the moral obligation of
every Christian to oppose this war.
Steven Dougherty, Ph.D.
Old Forge,
Pennsylvania