Day 4 of 7
Augustine and the Just War
When love for the neighbor requires force
Scripture Readings
Today's Reading
Read Psalm 82:1-4: "God has taken his place in the divine council... Give justice to the weak and the fatherless; maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute. Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked."
Then read Romans 13:3-4: "For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad... For he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer."
Reflection
The Christian tradition has never been unanimously pacifist. From the fourth century onward, the dominant tradition — articulated first by Augustine of Hippo — has held that while violence is always tragic, it can sometimes be the lesser evil required by love.
Augustine developed the just war tradition not as an endorsement of violence but as a set of constraints on it. He argued that war could only be justified under strict conditions: it must be waged by a legitimate authority, for a just cause (typically the defense of the innocent), as a last resort, with proportional means, and with a reasonable chance of success. Crucially, the motive must be love — love for the victim, not hatred of the enemy.
Augustine put it plainly: "It is the wrong-doing of the opposing party which compels the wise man to wage just wars; and this wrong-doing, even though it gave rise to no war, would still be matter of grief to man because it is man's wrong-doing." Notice the grief. For Augustine, the just warrior does not celebrate violence. He mourns its necessity.
Psalm 82 provides the scriptural foundation: God commands the defense of the weak, the fatherless, the afflicted. "Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked." Sometimes that rescue requires force. To refuse to intervene when you have the power to protect an innocent person could itself be a failure of love — a sin of omission.
Romans 13 adds another layer. Paul describes governing authorities as servants of God who "bear the sword" to restrain evil. The state has a God-given role in maintaining order and punishing wrongdoing. This does not mean every war a state wages is just — far from it. But it does mean that the use of force by legitimate authority for the protection of the innocent has a biblical basis.
C.S. Lewis, who fought in World War I, was no warmonger. But he rejected what he saw as sentimental pacifism: "War is a dreadful thing, and I can respect an honest pacifist, though I think he is entirely mistaken. What I cannot understand is this sort of semi-pacifism you get nowadays which gives people the idea that though you have to fight, you ought to do it with a long face." Lewis's point was not that war is good but that if it is justified, it should be fought with courage and clarity, not hand-wringing hypocrisy.
But here is the critical point the just war tradition itself makes: very few wars actually meet its criteria. Most wars in human history — including many fought by Christian nations — fail the tests of just cause, last resort, and proportionality. The tradition that permits war under strict conditions also condemns most wars that have actually been fought.
Going Deeper
The just war tradition is not a permission slip for violence. It is a straitjacket designed to contain it. Before you invoke "protecting the innocent" to justify any use of force, ask whether every criterion has been met: Is it a last resort? Is the force proportional? Is the motive love, not revenge? Is there a legitimate authority? Most honestly examined cases fail at least one test.
Key Quotes
“It is the wrong-doing of the opposing party which compels the wise man to wage just wars; and this wrong-doing, even though it gave rise to no war, would still be matter of grief to man because it is man's wrong-doing.”
“War is a dreadful thing, and I can respect an honest pacifist, though I think he is entirely mistaken. What I cannot understand is this sort of semi-pacifism you get nowadays which gives people the idea that though you have to fight, you ought to do it with a long face.”
Prayer Focus
Pray for those in positions where they must make life-and-death decisions — soldiers, police officers, policymakers — that they would act with justice, restraint, and grief rather than vengeance.
Meditation
Psalm 82 calls for defending the weak and the fatherless. In what situations might this require physical intervention — and how would you ensure that intervention remains just?
Question for Discussion
Augustine argued that love for the victim could require the use of force against the aggressor — that refusing to intervene could itself be a failure of love. Do you find this argument compelling, and if so, how do you prevent 'protecting the innocent' from becoming a blank check for violence?