Between Pacifism and Jihad: Just War and Christian Tradition

J. Daryl Charles

InterVarsity Press, May 25, 2005 - Religion - 197 pages

Pacifism. Jihad. Militarism. Are these our only alternatives for dealing with global injustice today? J. Daryl Charles leads us to reconsider a Christian view of the use of force to maintain or reestablish justice. He shows how love for a neighbor can warrant the just use of force. Reviewing and updating the widely recognized but not necessarily well-understood just-war teaching of the church through the ages, Charles shows how it captures many of the concerns of the pacifist position while deliberately avoiding, on the other side, the excesses of jihad and militarism. Aware of our contemporary global situation, Charles addresses the unique challenges of dealing with international terrorism.

About the author

J. Daryl Charles (Ph.D., Catholic University of America and Westminster Theological Seminary) is associate professor of religion and ethics at Union University in Jackson, Tennessee. He is author of Virtue Amidst Vice (Sheffield Academic Press) and The Unformed Conscience of Evangelicalism (InterVarsity Press), and he translated Roots of Wisdom by Claus Westermann (Westminster John Knox).

Bibliographic information

• Title: Between Pacifism and Jihad: Just War and Christian Tradition
• Author: J. Daryl Charles
• Publisher: InterVarsity Press, 2005
• ISBN: 0830827722, 9780830827725
• Length: 197 pages
• Subjects: Religion / Christian Theology / Ethics; Religion / Ethics; Religion / Religion, Politics & State