Just war theory

The Just War Theory 

The Just war theory provides a set of criterion which must be met in order for a war to be justified; this was because Christian principles from the Bible were totally against war especially as Jesus taught his disciples to turn the other cheek when they were faced with confrontation. However, when Christianity became the faith of the Greek empire they had to reject their pacifist beliefs in order to defend their empire. The Just war theory is based on the belief that, while life is sacred, it may, at times, be taken in order to maintain justice and to protect or defend the lives of others. The theory is split into two parts: Jus ad bellem (when it is right to go to war) and jus in bello (conduct in war).

Jus ad bellum, states that the war must be in a just cause and must carry sufficient moral weight, the just cause should attempt to put right a wrong or to prevent a wrong from happening. The second criterion is that war must be declared by a competent authority such as the government or head of state that carry the legitimate authority to declare war. if war is declared there must be a just intention such as creating peace, righting a wrong or assisting the innocent. This is as wars which do not have…