Just War Argumentative Analysis

Multimodal Presentation – War and Peace Script

War, and its inherent destruction, “attack’s people’s rights to life, security, subsistence, peace and liberty” (Routledge, 2012) (Magliano, 2016). The just war theory is largely a Christian philosophy that involves issues of justice, on a philosophical, political and religious front. The theory draws from three main perspectives [show three perspectives on scree] – all of which are explicit in upholding the protection of human life (BBC, 2014). Ultimately, the just war tradition demonstrates the effort of western cultures to regulate and restrain all violence, and theoretically, the notion’s purpose is to answer whether a war is ethically just. Currently, the Australian Government deploys personnel
In the book titled, The Just War, St Augustine is quoted when speaking about the main idea of engaging in warfare, “We do not seek peace in order to be at war, but we go to war so that we may have peace” (Ramsey, 2001). Evidently, it becomes the Churches role to articulate the principles of the theory and insist the moral exercise of just war (Donovan, 2014). The Catechism of the Catholic Church also reinforces the just war theory through addressing safeguarding peace and avoiding war. At the beginning, it recalls the commandment “You Shall Not Kill” (CCC, p. 2302), requiring all humans to understand and adhere to the Church’s fundamental commitment to the respect of human life (ACSJC, 2003). It is important to also understand, that peace isn’t simply the absence of war, yet rather the “tranquility of order” or state of well-being that derives from the inherent respect for the dignity and rights of peoples and communities (ACSJC, 2003). Moreover, findings in the Old Testament support the just war theory when acknowledging that there is “a time to kill” (Eccles. 3:3). For example, God commanded the Israelites to defend their nation by force of arms. Here, peace was however the goal and force was the only remaining viable option. Additionally, the New Testament
Its purpose was to articulate the Catholic Church’s growing move from the just war theory as a “settled teaching”, in order to adopt a more “expansive call to proactive peacemaking” (Rynne, 2016). Specifically, five reasons were discussed that underlie the position taken [List 5 reasons on PowerPoint]. In recent decades, certain leaders of the Catholic Church have formed the belief that the theory is truncated and minimalist – as it focuses on the subject of war, not peace – and is essentially null and void by the massive, indiscriminate violence apparent in modern warfare. For example, in WWI, civilian deaths catered for 10 per cent of the death tally. However, the invasion of Iraq has seen civilian deaths now contributing to 80-90 per cent of all war casualties (Rynne, 2016). This call for peacemaking is reinforced when assessing the Sermon on the Mount, as it provides the vision for nonviolent resolutions, of which regimes have been found to be more effective, and more likely remain at peace after their struggles (Rynne, 2016). One of the key areas of the government’s purpose, is to reflect and act upon the morality of