Second World War (WWII)

The Problem of Post Hoc Ethics
The Problem of Post Hoc Ethics

But what struck me about reading The Most Controversial Decision is how we now superimpose our judgments on Truman’s decision post hoc, and we do this with great zeal, certainty, and righteous superiority.

Stauffenberg and Tresckow: Consciences in Revolt
Valkyrie Revisited​: Stauffenberg and Tresckow, Consciences in Revolt

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.

Evangelicals’ Foreign Policy Views Are More Diverse than Academic Portrayals | Book Review of Timothy D. Padgett’s Swords and Plowshares
Evangelicals’ Views on Foreign Policy and War Are More Diverse than Many Assume | Review of Padgett’s Swords and Plowshares

Modern authors tend to view American evangelicals as a monolithic assembly, rarely describing the varying facets of their beliefs. In his book “Swords and Plowshares: American Evangelicals on War, 1937–1973,” Timothy D. Padgett attempts to dispel this misconception.

And Still They Came: Reflections on Normandy and the Holiness of Sacrifice
And Still They Came: Reflections on Normandy and the Holiness of Sacrifice

I was honored to offer the invocation at Colleville-sur-Mer, France, for the seventy-fifth D-Day anniversary memorial ceremony on June 6, 2019. This, of course, is the town name of the place that many Americans know simply by the more infamous moniker of Omaha Beach.

An American Airman in Oxford: Reflections on D-Day, Major John Howard, and the US-UK Alliance
An American Airman in Oxford: Reflections on D-Day, Major John Howard, and the US-UK Alliance

Veterans of the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry Regiment, more commonly known simply as the “Ox and Bucks,” hosted our small US military contingent. The locus for the day’s ceremony was the gravesite of Major John Howard, commander of D Company of the Ox and Bucks.

D-Day & the Triumph of Human Being
D-Day & the Triumph of Human Being

Today should be a reminder, especially, perhaps, to Christians, that sometimes fights need to be fought. We worship a God who mandated governments to use the sword to deploy violent action, in the last resort and in measures sufficient to win the fight, when nothing but proportionate and discriminate force will protect the innocent, take back what has been unjustly taken, or punish sufficiently grave evil.

Reality of Peace
The Reality of Peace

Much of the human experience is consumed in the pursuit of peace. It is a universal human longing. The peace we pursue is not merely the quiet enjoyment of life’s little pleasures, but the restoration of the real life we were created to enjoy.

What Does Trump’s State of the Union Mean for Foreign Policy?
What Does Trump’s State of the Union Mean for Foreign Policy?

Promising that America will never apologize for advancing its national interest, Trump used national security arguments more for his domestic goals than international agenda.

Do Power Transitions Always Lead to War? Book Review of Kori Schake’s Safe Passage - They Can't Fight - US UK Special Relationship
Do Power Transitions Always Lead to War? Review of Schake’s Safe Passage

In Safe Passage, Kori Schake details how transitions in geopolitical power lead to violence, except when the United States slowly and peacefully took over the hegemonic role Great Britain played.