Thomas Aquinas

Pope Francis calls out the language of war. He speaks against “war” as a solution. In this, he echoes many prior popes.

For Hildegard, rulers who blatantly violate the virtuous example set by Christ lose their authority to rule. Following from that, an unvirtuous ruler would necessarily fail to be a right authority that can legitimately wage war.

Van Drunen’s Politics after Christendom doesn’t convincingly defend liberalism from a biblical perspective. Readers wanting a compelling Reformed defense of ordered liberty will have to keep waiting.

There are three important reasons why Paul Ramsey’s “The Just War” should be remembered and read by those who haven’t yet encountered it, or reread by those who have.

Last month marked the seventy-fifth anniversary of the failed bombing intended to assassinate the German Führer Adolf Hitler at his Wolf’s Lair field headquarters in what is now Gierłoż, Poland. The anniversary offers the opportunity to reflect not only on the nature of courage in dark times, but on the character and limits of Christian resistance to political evil.

Just war theorists should agree that war must be waged according to the rule of law if it is to be considered an exercise of “legitimate authority.” The American system, with its marbling of war powers between the executive and legislative branches, usually requires authorization based on the deliberative consent of the popular will expressed through the people’s representatives in Congress.

On PBS News Hour, David Brooks quoted St. Augustine to criticize President Trump’s response toward the Saudis for the murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Was Brooks right about Augustine?

St. Thomas Aquinas’ ideas about just war still affect how Americans feel about wars, including World War II and the Persian Gulf War.

When is lying permissible in war? Mark Coppenger indicates several instances in the Christian just war tradition but insists there is no room for perfidy or treachery.