Saint Martin's Cloak

At the Secretary of Defense’s personally-led, monthly worship service in January, he quoted Psalm 144 in conjunction with a military operation.  Blessed be the LORD, my rock, who trains my hands for war and my fingers for battle, my rock and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield, in whom I take refuge, who subdues the peoples under me. … Bow your heavens, O LORD, and come down; touch the mountains so that they smoke. Make the lightning flash and scatter them; send out your arrows and rout them. … May our sons in their youth be like plants full grown, our daughters like corner pillars, cut for the building of a palace. May our barns be filled with produce of every kind; may our sheep increase by thousands, by tens of thousands in our fields, and may our cattle be heavy with young. May there be no breach in the walls, no exile, and no cry of distress in our streets. Happy are the people to whom such blessings fall; happy are the people whose God is the LOR...

On May 15, 2023, the U.S. State Department released its 2022 Report on International Religious Freedom , including a report on North Korea . If you are a TLDR type of person, here’s the bottom line. It’s bad. It’s very, very bad.  Anti-religious indoctrination, surveillance, imprisonment, torture, sexual violence, forced labor, forced disappearance, and execution are standard tools of the regime. Punishment extends to the families of violators. The social environment is oppressive, with people encouraged to turn in anyone who shows any signs of religious practice.  Christianity, Buddhism, Shamanism, and Neo-Confucianism all have roots in North Korea, but none are allowed to practice openly or freely. Christians are special targets of regime hostility, according to the State Department report. Open Doors describes North Korea as a “brutally hostile place for Christians to live.” The report contains numerous quotations from several human rights organizations, includin...

There were two demonstrations on July 27 commemorating the 70th anniversary of the Korean War armistice, one in Washington and one in Pyongyang. Both served North Korea's interests. A handful of protestors marched in Washington, ostensibly demanding a peace treaty to bring the war to a formal end. Naturally, the protests laid the impasse at the feet of the United States, its military forces, and its joint defensive military exercises with South Korea. Among the groups promoting the march and its causes was the United Methodist General Board of Church and Society . Of course, no similar demonstration took place in Pyongyang where protest is unthinkable. There is no freedom of association, assembly, travel, communications, religion, or speech in North Korea. Even a casual comment can lead to your arrest. The peace groups protesting in Washington are unwilling to address the Kim regime's gross violation of human rights. If you want lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula, work f...

Classic just war theory concerns itself with jus ad bellum (just resort to war) and jus in bello (just conduct in war). Recently, theorists have also begun to write about jus post bellum , or the just resolution of a military conflict. I think that’s a helpful addition to the discussion. I think it would also be helpful to think about jus ante bellum , or the ethics of preparation for war. <!--more-->In an earlier era, there were two types of armed forces, standing armies and militias. Standing armies consisted of professional troops who were equipped and trained to deploy when necessary. Militia were more in the nature of, “Hey, grab your flintlock. Let’s go. There’s an emergency.” Standing armies consume a large amount of society’s resources and come with a number of risks to both civil freedom and international peace. The early American distrust of standing armies is clearly evident in the U.S. Constitution. When you have a dominating military force at the ready, it is temp...

A pro-Russian, anti-Ukrainian propagandist has linked to this page for some unknown reason. I am not affiliated with that site and strongly denounce the unjust and immoral invasion of Ukraine. The Orthodox Church does not share the the western Christian theory of "just war". In Orthodox Perspectives on Peace, War and Violence, Philip LeMasters summarizes the Orthodox position. Orthodoxy’s distinctive stance on peace, war and violence does not view war as unambiguously good or holy. Orthodoxy has neither a crusade ethic nor an explicit just war theory. Instead, the church tolerates war as an inevitable, tragic necessity for the protection of the innocent and the vindication of justice. The canons of the church suggest a period of repentance for those who have killed in war, which indicates both that taking life is spiritually damaging and that bloodshed falls short of Christ’s normative way of non-resistant, non-violent love. Peacemaking is the common vocation of all...

Recently, the blog of United Methodist bishop Will Willimon published an essay on the non-violent resurrected Jesus (reprinted from The Best of Will Willimon) : This consistent, right to-the-end, to-the-point of-death nonviolence of Jesus has been that which Jesus’ followers have most attempted to modify. When it comes to violence in service of a good cause, we deeply wish Jesus had said otherwise. There are many rationales for the “just war,” or for self-defense, capital punishment, abortion, national security, or military strength. None of them, you will note, is able to make reference to Jesus or to the words or deeds of any of his first followers. You can argue that violence is sometimes effective, or justified by the circumstances, or a possible means to some better end, or practiced by every nation on the face of the earth—but you can’t drag Jesus into the argument with you. This has always been a source of annoyance and has provoked some fancy intellectual footwork on the ...

Pictured is the memorial tablet one sees as one enters Soldier Memorial Chapel on Camp Walker in Daegu (or Taegu), Korea. It may look like just another memorial plaque, but here on this land U.S. forces made a real difference for the 50 million people now living in the Republic of Korea (ROK). If someone asks if the use or threat of armed force ever does any good, one need look no further than the Korean peninsula. After the U.S. liberated Korea from a half-century of Japanese occupation at the end of World War II, the Soviet Union made a land-grab to gobble up as much territory as it could in the Pacific. Soviet forces entered the northern half of Korea and effectively divided the nation at the 38th parallel. Stalin trained and equipped the army of his hand-picked dictator - Kim Il Sung - to dominate the region. Unsurprisingly, in June 1950 the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK) invaded the unprepared and virtually unarmed republic to its south. Were it not for the combine...

The national colors fly at half-staff today (May 15) in observance of Peace Officers Memorial Day. Today’s observance was first established by public Law 87-726 in a 1962 joint resolution of Congress: Whereas the police officers of America have worked devotedly and selflessly in behalf of the people of this Nation, regardless of the peril or hazard to themselves; and Whereas these officers have safeguarded the lives and property of their fellow Americans; and Whereas by the enforcement of our laws, these same officers have given our country internal freedom from fear of the violence and civil disorder that is presently affecting other nations; Whereas these men and women by their patriotic service and their dedicated efforts have earned the gratitude of the Republic: Now, therefore, be it Resolved by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the President is authorized and requested to issue proclamations designating May...

Matthew 5:1-12 - When Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on the mountain; and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him. (2) He opened His mouth and began to teach them, saying, (3) "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (4) "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. (5) "Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth. (6) "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. (7) "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. (8) "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. (9) "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. (10) "Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (11) "Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. (12) "Rejoice and be glad, for your rewar...

... for he does not bear the sword in vain ... Romans 13:4 Have you ever noticed that the root of the verb "enforce" - as used in the phrase "enforce the law" - is "force"? Law depends on the use or threat of force. All law is coercive. A law is not a suggestion or a recommendation. If you park illegally, you are fined. If you do not pay the fine, your property is confiscated or you are imprisoned. If you resist the confiscation of your property or resist your captors, the agents of the state will use whatever force is necessary to defend themselves and impose the will of the state. Even small crimes can escalate into lethal confrontations if the perpetrators will not submit. All government agencies are dependent upon the law for their existence. The Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Education are just as dependent on the rule of law as the Department of Defense and the Department of Justice. They enforce the nation's wil...

It was once said that only President Nixon could go to China. Perhaps only President Obama could accept the Nobel Peace Prize by defending the just use of force. Among the President's remarks: For make no mistake: Evil does exist in the world. A non-violent movement could not have halted Hitler's armies. Negotiations cannot convince al Qaeda's leaders to lay down their arms. To say that force may sometimes be necessary is not a call to cynicism -- it is a recognition of history; the imperfections of man and the limits of reason. I raise this point, I begin with this point because in many countries there is a deep ambivalence about military action today, no matter what the cause. And at times, this is joined by a reflexive suspicion of America, the world's sole military superpower. But the world must remember that it was not simply international institutions -- not just treaties and declarations -- that brought stability to a post-World War II world. ...

David Bosco writes in Moral Principles versus Military Necessity ( The American Scholar , Winter 2008). During the hot and desperate summer of 1862, a senior American commander found himself consumed with the question of insurgents. Major General Henry Halleck had become general-in-chief of the Union armies in July of that year, and he soon discovered that the army had no laws or regulations to govern its contacts with the bands of irregular Southern forces in the field. A lawyer by training, Halleck found the absence of guidance maddening. Union troops were encountering an array of rebel forces, some uniformed, some not. “The rebel authorities claim the right to send men, in the garb of peaceful citizens, to waylay and attack our troops, to burn bridges and houses and to destroy property and persons within our lines,” Halleck vented in a letter sent on August 6. Halleck’s correspondent was eager to help. Francis Lieber (1798–1872) was then a professor of history at Columbia C...

Speaking at Kansas State University, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said that “soft power” (diplomacy, strategic communications, foreign assistance, civic action, and economic reconstruction and development) are just as “hard power” in achieving our national interests and dealing with terrorism. In the Landon Lecture delivered November 26, 2007, Secretary Gates said: … my message today is not about the defense budget or military power. My message is that if we are to meet the myriad challenges around the world in the coming decades, this country must strengthen other important elements of national power both institutionally and financially, and create the capability to integrate and apply all of the elements of national power to problems and challenges abroad. In short, based on my experience serving seven presidents, as a former Director of CIA and now as Secretary of Defense, I am here to make the case for strengthening our capacity to use “soft” power and for better integrating i...

In a a 2004 article, Ronald Osborne of the Adventist Peace Fellowship addressed the disconnect between Bonhoeffer's pacifism in the 1930's and his conspiring with the anti-Hitler military leaders who attempted to assassinate Hitler in the 1940's. There are many who would like to retain Bonhoeffer in the canon of pacifist martyrs but struggle to explain his part in an act of intentional, lethal (and in my opinion, justified) violence. I am certainly not a Bonhoeffer scholar. I've only read the major works available to English speaking audiences – in English, I should add. Perhaps others have access to his private thoughts or unpublished writings. I'll venture, however, to address Mr. Osborne's arguments and wrestle a bit with Bonhoeffer's own writings. Combatant Bonhoeffer Bonhoeffer's role in the plot against Hitler must be something of an embarrassment to those who published his works. I read The Cost of Discipleship and Letters and Papers fr...