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Columnist in Good Company with Aquinas, Augustine, Paul and Jesus
by
Gregory J. Rummo
“Dear Mr.
Rummo, My husband and I wanted to write and thank
you for your article ‘What
Would Jesus Do?’ We thoroughly enjoyed reading it.
We've read so many articles on the opinions of
this war our country is in and it was great to read
a Christian point of view...”
So began an e-mail written to me earlier this year
about a column that stirred controversy in
several newspapers, one in particular, where it
appeared on Easter Sunday with the headline “Jesus
Would Have Bombed Baghdad.”
At least one person managed to read past the
headline and intellectually assess the merits of
the column while keeping both knees from jerking.
I don’t dictate to newspaper editors when to run my
columns. I write 2-3 times per week
thus affording editors the option of several
columns to pick from. And they always can run
someone
else.
And the headlines I write for my columns rarely
make it to the final copy of the newsprint you
are now reading. Editors reserve the right to craft
their own creative headlines for other columnist’s
work and admittedly, in almost every case, they are much better at it than I am.
Nevertheless, it was an interesting exercise to
read the negative reactions that blasted me for
making the case that Jesus, being the eternal God
and author of both Old and New Testaments,
would have sanctioned America’s war in Iraq as a “just war.”
I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised at the
number of “One-Minute Theologians” that
sprang up and tried to explain who Jesus was (or
who Jesus is, as another letter writer pointed out
to
me—the tomb was after all empty on the third day.)
When it comes to religion, in particular
Christianity and specifically its founder and leader
Jesus Christ, I am stunned at the lack of
knowledge. Apparently, opinions have been shaped by
too
many Cecil B. DeMille movies.
But what else to expect from a culture that gave us
“The One-Minute Apology” and that
breeds blasphemy like the recently released “Bruce
Almighty,” in which Jim Carrey plays God. The
ground has opened up and swallowed people alive for
less.
The idea of a “just war” is well established in
Christianity. Thomas Aquinas—no philosophical
lightweight—presented in his Summa Theologicae a
general outline of what has come to be known
as the just war theory. He discussed not only its justification but also the kinds of activity that
are
permissible in war.
Augustine of Hippo also outlined the requirements
for a just war.
In a paper entitled “Just War Theory and the Recent
Air Strikes Against Iraq,” Mark Edward
DeForrest, a candidate for juris doctorate degree
at Gonzaga University School of Law, Spokane,
WA makes the case:
“Augustine held that ‘[t]he natural order, which is
suited to the peace of moral things, requires
that the authority and deliberation for undertaking
war be under the control of a leader.’ For
Augustine, war is a permissible part of the life of
a nation, and the power of prosecuting a war was
part of the natural powers of a monarch, ordained
to uphold peace. War, far from being something
which Christians should shun, is part of the life
of a nation, ordained by natural law, a law which
according to the New Testament is ordained by God.”
Paul the apostle didn’t mince words. In his letter
to the church in Rome, he wrote, “Let every
soul be subject to the governing authorities. For
there is no authority except from God, and the
authorities that exist are appointed by God… For
rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil…
But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear
the sword in vain; for he is God's minister, an
avenger to execute wrath on him who practices
evil.” Paul may have been the instrument to pen
these words, but they were written under the
inspiration of the Holy Spirit and are therefore as
though
spoken by Jesus himself.
Jesus is “The Word” that existed from the beginning
as the apostle John explains in his
Gospel. Jesus was with God, was God and “became
flesh and dwelt among us.”
Tradition claims that it was John who laid his head
on Jesus’ breast during the Last Supper.
For an interesting contrast, read John’s
description in Revelation Chapter 1 of Jesus as he
now
appears. The visage so terrified the apostle he
“fell at his feet as dead.”
Jesus said many things during his brief 3-year
public ministry that ticked a lot of people off. In
fact his claim to be God was what eventually got
him crucified—at least that was the excuse the
religious leaders of his day used to falsely accuse
him, have him arrested, tried in secret and brought
before Pilate for execution.
The misunderstandings persist to this day.
Gregory J. Rummo is a syndicated columnist. Contact
him at www.GregRummo.com
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