For God and Country, Part 1: Christian Patriotism
Works by C.S. Lewis and Tim Keller can help us understand the outlines of a healthy Christian patriotism—a righteous love of one’s imperfect country and home, including the people there and much more.
Mark MeltonJanuary 22, 2019
The Vice of Nationalism
There seems to be something of a movement to revive the “virtue of nationalism” today, both in America and—with Brexit the apparent battle flag—the rest of the world. This is a mistake.
Jared Morgan McKinneyJanuary 18, 2019
The Nations after Christmas
Christianity’s political theology tips its hand at Christmastide. What’s in the cards for world order? Tidings of a coming “Desire of the Nations.” Songs of how “He rules the world with truth and grace, and makes the nations prove the glories of his righteousness and wonders of his love.” Promises of “peace on earth.” Juxtapose all this with our time, when trumpeting “America first” sounds to some like jingoist nationalism and to others like the return of national sovereignty.
Nathan HitchenJanuary 16, 2019
Pope Francis, World Day of Peace
Since 1967, the Catholic Church has marked January 1 as the “World Day of Peace,” and popes from Pope Paul VI to Pope Francis have used the day to deliver messages of peace to the world. This year, Pope Francis has centered his comments around the timely message of the good of politics.
Joseph E. CapizziJanuary 4, 2019
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
