Setting the Stage

Already, much ink has been spilled about the current U.S. war on Iran, acting in large part at the behest of Israel, to which our country seems powerless to oppose. Restraining Israel, rather than its neighbors, is inconceivable to many Americans though we will not dwell on this conspicuous fact. Rather, in this short analysis, mainly looking at the conflict from the lens of ethics or what is termed moral philosophy by many Catholic authors, we will hope to offer novel insight that is currently being overlooked, especially by the most ardent defenders (dare we say sycophantic?) of President Trump and his Republican administration.>Ignoring the eschatological danger this war contributes to, namely that “Antichrist will establish himself in Jerusalem where a great number of Jews will have gathered through some such movement as Zionism […] When Antichrist manifests himself to those in Jerusalem with his ‘lying wonders’ they will immediately proclaim him their king and Messias”, we will content ourselves with the moral dimension of the war — by all available evidence — and its being judged against the standard just war theory criteria. For those unfamiliar, these timeless criteria, famously outlined by Sts. Augustine, Thomas and Robert is objective, independent of the countries involved in any given conflict and flows from common sense.>It also must be said that what is offered below — in some parts — is our opinion of the war and its conduct. We do not dispute that, in prudential matters such as this, applying timeless principles to contingent circumstances, and especially absent the intervention of the Church and Her judgement, men of good will may reasonably disagree, one with another. That said, we are advancing our positions publicly and consider them worthy of merit. If someone should constructively disagree, we will certainly reconsider the relevant portion of this analysis.

Originally published in The Journal of American Reform. Read original article