The Debt Christian Foreign Policy Owes Thomas Aquinas
St. Thomas Aquinas’ ideas about just war still affect how Americans feel about wars, including World War II and the Persian Gulf War.
Jimmy R. LewisSeptember 10, 2018
The Church and Nicaragua’s Crisis
While Nicaragua’s government has resorted to repressive tactics like organizing paramilitary forces to fight protesters, the church is one of the remaining institutions that still enjoys popular support and legitimacy.
W. Alejandro SanchezJuly 9, 2018
Just War & National Honor: The Case of Vietnam
Just war theorizing has typically left the issue of national honor untouched, although warriors and statesmen routinely emphasize the importance of vindicating the sacrifice of the fallen. Does prolonging a war in order to assuage or vindicate national honor comport with the just war tradition?
Eric PattersonApril 23, 2018
Blessed are the Peacemakers
Force is always only the form love takes against terrible evil in the last resort when nothing else will protect the innocent, restore justice, and bring about the conditions for peace. The old Chestertonian nugget remains: “The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.”
Marc LiVeccheMarch 28, 2018
Can Evil Always Be Overcome With Good?
Foretelling a time of cultivation, Isaiah prophesies, “They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks.” One cannot plow a field with a sword, nor prune a tree with a spear. In this article, originally published in Christianity and Crisis on March 8, 1943, John Knox contrasts the promotion of good with the destruction of evil, particularly in conflict. Promoting good is insufficient; the conduct of war and the creation of peace are distinct phenomena to be pursued with discrete tools.
Christianity & Crisis MagazineFebruary 8, 2018
Colombia and the FARC: Problems with Creating Peace
The peace agreement between the Colombian government and the FARC is slightly over a year old, but there are a number of issues that will continue to be a concern from a practical and moral perspective.
W. Alejandro SanchezDecember 18, 2017
Just Prudence: Defending Aquinas on Preemption, Prevention, & Decisiveness in War
St. Thomas Aquinas knew more than his modern emendators do about grounding his just war deliberations—and much else—in the cardinal moral virtue of prudence.
Robert G. KaufmanSeptember 27, 2017
Justice in Historical Context
Love of justice presumes a love of truth, for justice without truth is a contradiction in terms. And love, to the extent it matters in the procurement of justice, is only effective when purified by truth.
Robert NicholsonAugust 8, 2017
A Faith Vocation: Skills and Opportunities for Peacemaking
For young American Christians aspiring to a vocation intersecting faith and public life, a career in peacemaking and statecraft can afford the opportunity to positively influence US national attitudes in this area, if such aspirations are paired with proper training and certain cardinal virtues.
Wayne A. SchroederJuly 12, 2017
