This article was originally published by Mennonite World Review

Just-war thinking

Regarding “Whom to Thank for Hope?” (Feb. 29): Earnest just-war thinkers would agree with Levi Miller’s assertion that “not all conflict and violence can be solved by nonviolence and negotiation, though the latter are certainly preferable.” Miller doesn’t offer an opinion on whether Christians should wield the sword of state, but no doubt they do in the Colombian military and Ohio police departments. If pacifists were ever to approve of such Christian participation, they would undermine their own nonparticipation and have to concede the merits of just-war thinking, which the majority of Christians embrace.

Scott Smith
Greensboro, N.C.

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