JUST WAR AND THE WAR IN IRAQ

Lesson 4: The War in Iraq (October 28, 1990)

LESSON OUTLINE

Here I stand: Unless I am convinced by imminent reason or by the testimony of Holy Scripture, my conscience is captive to the Word of God. (Martin Luther, 1521).

Review:

• If one's goal is to avoid suffering and establish peace, it is not always clear that non-war is preferable to war.
• Biblical view of war is not as clear as we might like. Nevertheless, the New Testament strongly supports the view that killing is wrong and is abhorrent to God, and that we are called upon to love our enemies.
• If there are circumstances where war is appropriate, the war would have to be initiated and fought in accordance with Christian principles. Over the centuries, these principles have been collected into the "just war" criteria.
• Both in theory and in practice (as seen last week), the just war criteria, if fairly analyzed and applied, would be formidable impediments to most wars.
• The role of the church is be a spokesman for God, to encourage believers to follow the lawful dictates of its country, while at the same time not to be "nationalistic" or to encourage obedience of decisions clearly contrary to Christian principles.

Today, we will consider the situation in Iraq.

1. Ground rules. We will try to work out the Christian view.

• DISCUSSION: How are "Christian ethics" different than secular ethics, or Jewish ethics, or Buddhist ethics? Give some examples of acts that a good Christian considers wrong, but a good atheist does not. [Complicated question -- Christian ethics mainly differ in attitude and method. One key difference -- Christian ethics are divinely oriented. The only question is, what does God want? Does not matter if the answer to that is old fashioned, new fangled, impractical, expensive, or anything else.]
• PERSONAL VIEW: Committing oneself to do God's will raises the issue of knowing God's will, and the frequent comment that God's will is too obscure or uncertain. There is a problem in this regard, but I do not believe that the problem is as significant as is claimed. People don't seem to do very good at abiding by God's wishes even when the commandment is perfectly clear. The real problem most of us have is not in knowing God's will, but in doing God's will, and the "uncertainty" in God's directive is often just an excuse.

Therefore, for today, for purposes of analyzing our position in Iraq:

• GROUND RULE NUMBER ONE: It is God's will only that we seek. Not relevant to consider price of oil, world economy, relations with Saudi Arabia, or the like (unless one wants to argue that the price of oil figures in some way in God's plan).

  DISCUSSION: One of the most shameful chapters in the history of the Church occurred during Nazi Germany. There, the church, although generally aware of the acts Hitler was committing and in general agreement that the acts were wrong, silenced itself. (For two reasons: (1) some prominent leaders who opposed the Nazis were taken off to prison and (2) criticism by the church was met by a "separation of church and state" argument, that the church should not impose its view on the country.) What do you think of that?

• GROUND RULE NUMBER TWO: If, humbly and with open and loving heart and mind, you believe you know God's will, stick to it! "Unless I am convinced by imminent reason or the testimony of Holy Scripture, ... my conscience is captive to the word of God. I cannot and I will not retract anything, since it is neither safe nor right to go against conscience. I cannot do otherwise."

2. The war in Iraq.

• DISCUSSION: Why are we there? [List reasons.] What is the only acceptable Christian reason for being there? How do these measure up? How are these affected by:
  • Would it matter if the Kuwait government were evil and corrupt? Would its reinstatement by the U.S. then produce peace? Is it legitimate to invade a country to remove an evil and corrupt government? (Recall the U.S. invasion of Panama.)
  • Would if matter if Iraq was legitimately wronged by Kuwait? (E.g., that Kuwait was part of Iraq, wrongfully parceled into a separate country by the British in 1961; or that Kuwait was been slant-drilling to steal Iraqi oil; or that Kuwait has rearranged the border; or that Kuwait has exploited Iraq's landlocked circumstance by refusing to deal on Bubiyan Island.) Suppose these threatened the Iraqi economy with severe harm? (On the other hand, all of these were on the negotiation table between Iraq and Kuwait when the invasion occurred.) If Iraq has a legitimate gripe, then what does the criterion of restoration require?
• DISCUSSION: What of the blockade? Is that just? If yes, what of the criterion for discrimination? If no, then what do we do to bring pressure on Saddam? Aren't some forms of economic pressure in fact called for by the principle of exhaustion?
• DISCUSSION: Have we met the criterion of exhaustion? How long must we wait? Is the criterion of exhaustion automatically met when American patience runs out? Could we launch a strike now? How long must we wait? Is a demand that Saddam withdraw prior to negotiations consistent with the criterion of exhaustion?
• DISCUSSION: If we initiate military action, how far can we go? Can we remove the Saddam government? Can we assassinate Saddam? What does the criterion of moderation require? the criterion of discrimination?

3. Conclusion:

In general -- Killing is abhorrent to God, and organized, state-coordinated killing is particularly so. Maybe there are circumstances where God will tolerate killing in order to prevent greater harm, but such circumstances are likely to be very rare, and the preconditions very demanding. Must always, always, always remember this. Human history is a shameful recital of blatant butchery and Christians must always, always, always be a voice against this. [Is this clear enough?]

At the same time, there may come a time, when the most loving thing a person can do is stand up against aggression and give his life as an act of charity for the sake of the weak and oppressed. [I don't know of a better way to determine if such circumstances are present than through thoughtful, prayerful consideration of the just war criteria.]

In particular -- In the Iraq invasions of Kuwait, we have a leader who is undeniably insane; we have an invasion that is blatant, naked aggression; and we have potential catastrophic effect on the world economy -- yet from a Christian view, the right response is not clear. Even if you think that the balance tips in favor of military action, have to admit at the very least that the counterargument is worth reconsidering from time to time and must keep an open mind.

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4/4/97