As Americans become less demographically European, will American foreign policy focus less on traditional European allies?

Two Christian schools of thought might support covert operations and espionage: the just war tradition and a kind of “dirty hands” moralism. The dirty hands view says all those in political power must unavoidably resort to evil for the common good. The just war tradition has a different approach.

Today we see forces against liberalism at home and abroad. We need statesmen who understand liberalism and who can make the case for limited, representative, and accountable government.

Recently, the legacy of John Howard Yoder has come under scrutiny in light of his prolific sexual misconduct. Mark Tooley argues that these revelations further demonstrate that Yoder twisted his theology to suit his lifestyle.

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.”

Are we, in fact, seeking through foreign policy to protect ourselves from a pre-millennial apocalypse—or, perhaps, to bring about a post-millennial one? The intellectual and spiritual resources of Protestant Christianity have a great deal to add to this debate. But up until now, I haven’t seen much evidence that these resources have yet been brought to bear on these questions.

James M. Dubik’s argument in Just War Reconsidered is straightforward: current just war theorizing is insufficient insofar as it “omits a major part of the conduct of war.” A “new addition” to jus in bello theory is urgently needed.

Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Bathsheba—all strong-willed women with clever minds, courageous hearts, and, not incidentally, pleasing forms—are listed in the genealogy of Jesus. Those four women, along with Queen Esther, were not only heroic and notable for their cleverness and courage. They were also involved in somewhat risqué escapades. In our day, they would be thought of as women with a past.

As the Book of Job illustrates, there are those who simply cannot be deterred from particular behaviors or compelled to “change one’s mind”.