Just War As Christian Discipleship

by Bell, Daniel M.

• ISBN13: 9781587432255
• ISBN10: 1587432250
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2009-10-01
• Publisher: Brazos Pr

Summary

"By reframing just war as a discipline of Christian discipleship, Bell has breathed new life into the discussion surrounding this important topic. This book is accessible to those well versed in the debates as well as those who are confronting these issues for the first time." Stanley Hauerwas, Duke Divinity SchoolThis provocative and timely primer on the just war tradition connects just war to the concrete practices and challenges of the Christian life. Daniel Bell explains that the point is not simply to know the just war tradition but to live it even in the face of the tremendous stresses and difficulties associated with war.Just War as Christian Discipleshiprecovers contexts and specifics of the just war tradition that have been widely forgotten. Instead of seeing the tradition as a checklist to complete that justifies a proposed or ongoing war, Bell looks back to the aspects of the tradition that were about forming, supporting, and holding accountable Christians as just warriors. He shows how just war practice, if it is to be understood as a faithful form of Christian discipleship, must be rooted in and shaped by the fundamental convictions and confessions of the faith. The book includes a foreword by an Army chaplain who has served two tours in Iraq and study questions for group use.

Author Biography

Daniel M. Bell, Jr., is associate professor of theological ethics at Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary.

Table of Contents

Foreword	p. 7
Acknowledgements	p. 11
Introduction: Living Faithfully in a Time of War	p. 13
Love and Evil in the Christian Life: The Emergence of just War	p. 23
Can War Be Just? A Brief History of Just War	p. 39
Just War as Christian Discipleship: Presuppositions and Presumptions	p. 71
Who's in Charge? Legitimate Authority	p. 101
Why Fight? Just Cause	p. 127
Why Fight? Right Intent	p. 153
When Fight? Last Resort and Reasonable Change of Sucess	p. 183
How Fight? Discrimination and Proportionality	p. 209
Conclusion: Spirituality and Just War	p. 237
Appendix: Two Just War Traditions	p. 245
Notes	p. 247
Reference List	p. 257
Index	p. 265
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