Just war  is a theory devised Thomas Aquinas (c.1225-74) and Francisco de Vitoria (1483-1546). It is a kind of guideline for having just reasoning to go to war and how to behave when at war. I am going to explore how and if the bible or the church support the clauses outlined by just war theory. Just war theory can be used either as outline for going to war or a guide on how to behave when at war.

The first of the clauses “it must be fought by a legal recognised authority e.g. a government”. This means that someone like Osama Bin Laden has no right to wage a war because he is not a recognised authority. In my opinion this theory is flawed because if someone starts a civil war, not in a position of power, and wins, is it then alright. This clause supported by the bible in Romans 13:1-4, “Everyone must obey the state authority… Gods permission”. This teaching supports the first clause because it states that all authorities are put forth by god and that they have the right.

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The second clause is “the cause of the war must be just”. St Augustine believed that there were only three just causes:

  • defending against attack
  • recapturing things taken
  • punishing people who have done wrong

These are all just because they deserve to be harmed because they have done wrong.

The third clause “the war must be fought with the intention to establish good or correct evil”, this means that there has to be good intentions like creating, restoring or keeping peace, righting a wrong or assisting the innocent, not for reasons such like ...

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