Theological War Theories

This paperg ives an overview of how war theoriesi nC hristianity changed during the different periodso fw estern Christianity from the late antiquity to modern times.T he basic thesis is that, in contrast to the relationship between war and cult in ancient religions of the old Orient, Greece,and Rome,Christian war theories had not only one,but two functions to fulfill. On the one hand, the Christian religion had to cope with the inheritance of their traditional role models:priests and prophets had to support military force and to secure the victory by divine aid. Bellumiustum in this sense was the cult that pleased the Goddesses/God ande nsured their/his backing. On the other hand, bellum iustum in early Christian theology,and ever since,was aproblem of peace,restrictionof power,a nd ethically-based self control. After the conversion of Constantine to Christianity,Christian emperors, kings,and princes were inclined to emphasize the first target of Christian religion, while the theologians still had to interpret the moral restrictions on warfared evised by St Augustine,S tT homas Aquinas,F rancisco de Vitoria, and the philosophers of the Early modern international law.T hese competing expectations concerning the relationship of Christianity and warfare led to many ambiguities, all too oftenprecluding asubstantial contributionofChristian religiontoamore peaceful world.

American Constitutional Law and Politics · Philosophy · Religion and Society Interactions