Beyond Liberal Pacifism and Justified Militarism: A Canonical Approach to Christians and Warfare

A canonical approach to warfare pushes beyond the stalemate between pacifism and just-war theory. This approach takes seriously the place of sword-bearing powers in Scripture, the specific calling of God’s people, and the central work of Jesus. After surveying the Bible story with these emphases in mind, this study suggests how we may move beyond the legacies of Reinhold and Richard Niebuhr in order to assume a truly canonical and more ecumenical posture.