#9 What is it good for?- Jessica Sunnenberg

As a Christian, I believe we are intended to spend our time here on earth loving others, but I also believe that doesn't mean we shouldn't stand up for what is right. I do not believe that we are required to agree with everything that is currently deemed "socially acceptable" or that we should keep quiet about something we feel is not right even if our opinion is different from mainstream.

There is a time for everything, even war (Ecclesiastes 3:8). War is prescribed when we need to defend our freedom or to fight against evil. When is it justified? In the fifth century, Augustine developed criteria for a "just war" which I believe holds true even today. His criteria stated that war should be waged in defense of a wrong and should only be considered as a last resort after all peaceful options have failed. It should be declared by a legitimate authority (government) and there should be a rational possibility of success. The objective of war is to re-establish peace and the level of violence should be proportionate to the amount of suffering put upon us. We need to be mindful that freedom always comes at a cost; lives have been lost in every war waged so it is not to be entered into lightly. At the 2005 World Summit, the United Nations included the Right to Protect in their outcome document.  It states that countries have a responsibility to protect their populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing, and crimes against humanity and that the international communities have a responsibility to help countries protect their people as well as to step in decisively to intervene when they are not. Alternatives to war would include carefully examining conflict and changing behaviors to avoid the use of force but this would require that all parties involved have peace as an ultimate goal. Unfortunately, each group wants "their" idea of peace and until we are all on the same page everybody's "wants" will conflicts with another's.