Ethics and the War on Terrorism

by Vaux, Kenneth L.

• ISBN13: 9781579109417
• ISBN10: 1579109411
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2002-04-30
• Publisher: Wipf & Stock Pub

Summary

Dr. Kenneth Vaux, Professor of Theological Ethics at Garrett Evangelical Seminary, examines the U.S. led war on terrorism from an Abrahamic theological and ethical perspective.Ê Vaux examines just-war theory and applies various traditions to the current war in Afghanistan.ÊÊHis reflections range from holy war in the Hebrew scripture, the Qu'ran and Constantinian Christianity to the Crusades, Christian pacifism, the American War of Independence, and 20th Century Wars (World Wars I and II, Vietnam, Somalia, Bosnia and the Israeli-Arab wars).Ê Vaux ends with the fatal trifurcation: the disjunction among Christianity, Islam and Judaism as the challenge before us.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements	p. 6
Introduction	p. 7
Thesis	p. 9
A Darwinian view	p. 13
Resonant voices: Terkel, Walzer, Ramsey	p. 14
I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day	p. 18
Thomas Hardy, 'Christmas: 1924'	p. 19
The war on terrorism	p. 22
The inner contradictions of Abrahamic religion	p. 24
Concrete policies and actions	p. 36
Theological basis	p. 38
Moral basis	p. 38
Legal basis: international legitimacy	p. 39
The principles which Sabeel stands for	p. 40
Holy War in Israel	p. 46
The mixed legacy of Israeli Holy War	p. 48
Use and abuse	p. 50
The war adulation tradition	p. 51
War as the program for justice and peace	p. 52
Primal and Persistent Temptation	p. 61
The 20th-century wars against fascism and communism	p. 64
Overview of a century of war	p. 66
World War I	p. 66
World War II and Beyond	p. 69
Primitive Christian pacifism to Constantinian power	p. 75
Shoah	p. 78
Pacifism	p. 81
Persecution	p. 83
James	p. 83
Paul on the "Powers"	p. 85
The Cousins' Wars	p. 91
A Proviso	p. 91
The war history of Anglo-American Protestants	p. 94
The English Civil War	p. 97
The American War of Independence	p. 98
The American Civil War	p. 99
Conclusion	p. 105
The fatal trifurcation	p. 106
The Crusades	p. 110
Today: War in Iraq, Palestine, Bosnia, Kosovo, Somalia, and Chechnya	p. 114
Somalia	p. 115
Bosnia	p. 118
Dateline: the Second Sunday of Easter, 1994	p. 120
Dateline: April 15, 1994: The MacNeil-Lehrer News Hour	p. 120
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