COMMENT: On the visit of HH Pope Benedict XVI to Australia
Posted on July 12th, 2008 by MichaelFrom ‘Holy Wars’ to ‘Just Wars’. Time for a change!
An Australian army general on returning from the war in Iraq said that, whether they like it or not, Australian soldiers are widely referred to as ‘Crusaders’ along with their US allies.
Has the time come to escape from the concept of ‘Holy Wars’ and to return to the concept of ‘Just Wars’?
Since the ‘Holy War’ concept was invented by Augustine of Hippo, such a move could be accomplished by Pope Benedict XVI who is not only a thinker but also an Augustinian scholar. In fact, with his first encyclical, Deus Caritas Est, he may have already begun to do so.
Just Wars
Before Augustine, Aristotle coined the phrase ‘Just War’ in Politics to show acceptable warfare categories. ‘War must be for the sake of peace’ and was acceptable in instances such as self-defence to avoid the state’s enslavement; or to obtain an empire to benefit the inhabitants of the state. There was no concept of a holy or religious war. Then the Romans built on Aristotle’s ideas and added causa belli, wars for a just cause. In God’s War, Christopher Tyerman says: “The practical consequences of these theories lent an aura of justice to all Rome’s wars against external enemies.”
Holy Wars
Later, Rome evolved into a Christian Empire under the authority of the popes. Pax Romana came to mean Christian Peace. To the enemies of the State were now added the enemies of the Faith. Now, even heresy could be positioned as treason. Then, along comes Augustine and to ‘just cause’ he adds ‘just intent’ and that means ‘the authority of God’. Now we can have ‘Holy Wars’ because … Deus Vult! God wills it
This began the disastrous move from ‘Just Wars’ to ‘Holy Wars’. Although Augustine was no warmonger himself, his new premise provided the basis for later warmongers to up the ante. Tyerman says: “Nonetheless, Augustine had moved the justification of violence from lawbooks to liturgies, from the secular to the religious.”
In the 9th century, Pope Urban II preached the First Crusade as a ‘Holy War’ and it’s been on for young and old ever since. Holy War became an enduring obsession of the papacy, part of the papal programme … bellum Dei, a war of God.
I think we have outlived Augustine’s concept of Holy War and it would be much better if we returned to Aristotle’s earlier concept of Just War. If we could manage such a move it would be a big step on the way to the ultimate humanitarian goal … of no wars at all!
Deus Caritas Est (God is Love)
No-one is in a better position to facilitate this than the current pope. Imagine if he undid the work of his predecessor, Urban II, and preached not that “God wants war” but that “God wants peace”. What a contribution Rome could make!
He already seems to be changing the position of the church from the ‘ownership of TRUTH’ to the ’search for TRUTH’ and from ‘God is Vengeful’ to ‘God is Love’. This is indeed revolutionary stuff for a pope. Maybe he can go one more step and discredit the whole concept of ‘Holy War’ once and for all. Watch this pope, he is a world class thinker and a quiet revolutionary.
Sir Steven Runciman in his modern epic, History of the Crusades, closes with, “Holy War itself was nothing more than a long act of intolerance in the name of God.”
From ‘Holy Wars’ to ‘Just Wars’. Time for a change?
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd shows the Sydney Opera House to the Pope
as his wife, Therese Rein looks on, in Sydney on July 17, 2008.
July 18th, 2008 at 4:40 pm
“God wants Peace”. Great idea. But peace on whose terms? Every warmonger starts a war with God on his side. If God doesn’t support you, how “in heaven” do you expect to gain the support of the people. If the people don’t support you then you can’t have much of a war. So, before starting a war, you have to confer with God & get His full backing; then you communicate this to the people & you’re off & running. Unfortunately, God hates losers & always backs the Winner…So, lose the war & you will know, along with your suffering people, that God deserted you in your time of need. Perhaps if God would stop meddling in human affairs there’d be fewer wars; perhaps in time none.
July 18th, 2008 at 1:59 pm
If you look into all wars it has more to do with vested interest. These vested interests corrupt religion to provide emotional support for their cause. It is simply an easy way to win the masses to accept the unpleasant journey and for them to pay with their lives. Religious heads make only puerile sounds that approximate objection to preserve their morale high ground.
The soldiers in Iraq, Afghanistan and the the suicide bombers are all pawns of vested interest. Look at the money flow behind and it will add clarity to numerous wars including those led to the partitioning of former countries (eg Cyprus), sectarian strife (Sri Lanka and until recently in Northern Island), the current occupation of Iraq…the list goes on and on.
Reasons are easy to invent, and religion is often a store of prejudice that can be easily tapped by those wishing to protect their power, often with religion lending willing support because it serve their own needs. Religion for example was one of the tools used to open up China for purely commercial reasons. Persecution of missionaries and local converts the reason often used to squeeze concessions. Religions often invent their own “just” logic for what is convenient for them.
Other than self-defence and protection of “INNOCENT” lives there cannot be any justification for fanning the fires for war.
July 18th, 2008 at 8:07 am
Whatever the pope says will not matter. Religion, by definition, is anti-thinking, anti-reality - it is subjective, hence arbitrary (witness thousands of gods in human history). Objective (scientific) disputes are resolved by reference to the real facts, what can the religionists refer to? If they create more than one god (or interpretation of god), they are left with only one way to resolve their disputes - force.
July 15th, 2008 at 10:50 pm
(1)there has never been a good war, or a bad peace
(2)War starts where human intellect stops
July 14th, 2008 at 8:01 am
having just visited the Australian War memorial it highlights what an unforgivable waste of life war is
July 13th, 2008 at 4:53 pm
Dr Peter Vardy speaks a great deal about ‘just war’ and maintains that throughout history there have been weapons of war and acts of war that have been seen to be acceptable (for the greater good) while others have been classified as unacceptable. The Geneva Convention sets out rights and obligations. So, for example, it is acceptable to question prisioners but not submits them to torture. Other examples of unacceptable weapons in the current climate would include the use of cluster bombs, land mines and nuclear bombs.
It seems to me that many of the wars and conflicts in the past have centred around the religious rather than on principle.
I wonder what the middle east conflicts would be like currently had the United Nations taken action against Saddam Hussein rather than backing away from taking action and thereby leaving open the chance for George W Bush to act. Saddam was responsible for the deaths of hundred of thousands of Iraqis and should have been overthrown by the UN following his complete refusal to comply with UN resolutions at the time. Instead I think most Iraqis believe the war was based upon religious differences between Christianity and Islam. Pity!
The Pope could use his foray into Australia to preach the issue of ‘just war’. But I suspect much of his fleeting visit will centre upon paedolphilia within the Church and or on the pseudo schism being promoted by fundamentalist Christians.
It will be interesting to see what the media make of it all!
July 13th, 2008 at 3:17 am
VERY ENLIGHTENING! PEACE TO YOU AND TO ALL THOSE DIFFERENT FROM OURSELVES (MYSELF). UNITY (ENTANGLEMENT) IS OUR COMMON DENOMINATOR, WHETHER WE KNOW IT OR NOT.
July 13th, 2008 at 1:04 am
Religion does have a lot to answer for.
Every war is fought because someone has a belief that the war is necessary.
What an argument for the power of the right beliefs.
Ultimately all wars are destructive by their very nature.
Yet the majority of religions have peace as the ultimate goal.
Spot the paradox.
If only we could all believe in peace, truth, fair-play and love then the need for settling differences through fighting might disappear. Many’just wars’ have indeed been fought against those who have no interest in peace and love. Until we can turn all men’s thoughts to the need for ultimate world peace, I fear this will always be so.
July 12th, 2008 at 6:08 pm
It would be nice to think this pope is the start of a new era. Convincing those hell bent on war in areas that do not recognise the pope may be another story
July 12th, 2008 at 1:28 pm
It’s about time. Most of the world’s problem have been created by flawed thinking. Non-integrated thinking is the cause of the “Anticivilization” which consists of war, starvation, greed and self destruction.
It is time for a change!