Vol. 42, No. 06
06/01/2026
Is It a Just War — or Just a War?
AT A GLANCE
• There is a “time for war and a time for peace,” just as the Bible informs.
• No nation should go to war except as a last resort.
• G.K. Chesterton observed that “the only defensible war is a war of defense.”
• Augustine of Hippo and Thomas Aquinas are credited with developing a set of principles informing us of when war is morally permissible and how a just war should be fought.
“War is not the best way of settling differences,” noted Christian apologist G.K. Chesterton in 1915. “It is the only way of preventing their being settled for you.” He also insisted that the “only defensible war is a war of defense.” Put these two principles together and add a few ingredients, and you have Just War doctrine.
Conflict is part of the natural world, with animals often fighting over territory, mates, and food. Man is no exception, though as a rational being he can organize his violent campaigns. And, just as he builds on a grander scale, he can cause destruction on a grander scale. Man has long struggled with war, too, not only trying to become more proficient at it so that he can prevail over his enemies, but also, when heeding his better angels, trying to devise ways to forestall conflict. And these priorities have led to extremes. On one hand, there are the staunch militarists such as the ancient Spartans. Then there are the Amish and Quakers, famous for their strict pacifism; the former might be said, if it can be said, to represent a “quaint heresy.”
Yet, in truth, as Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 states:
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