Romans 13

Part 3 of Eric Patterson’s series on Just War

Human societies do not “fall into” a libertarian peace, nor do they self-organize at the grass-roots level into peaceful communes. No, they fall into anarchy, which is an open invitation to tyranny.

The Christian challenge is to identify a role for good government to restrain evil alongside other God-given institutions while at the same time establishing robust means to check the evil of government.

While Orthodox Christianity lacks the historical tradition of just war theory to criticize war, it does have a theological resource it could draw upon to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine: personhood.

Toward the end of World War II, Americans contemplated the possibility of “world government” to prevent another catastrophe, especially after the United States dropped atomic bombs on Japan.

Eugene Cho’s “Thou Shalt Not Be A Jerk” has major shortcomings as an introduction to political engagement, even as it has significant contributions to make in coaxing believers to be more self-reflective about whether they are more loyal to their chosen political party than God’s Word.

The choice is not between open borders or Birkenau. The choice which lies before us is whether or not we will make a government which reflects the divine justice for which government exists. 

Most Christians, including most evangelicals, have been falling over themselves to denounce Jeff Sessions. But the way this immigration debate is carried out too often mirrors the political debate.

Does the American president possess divine sanction to use war to stop regimes bent on harming and threatening Americans?