IRD PRESS RELEASE
The Institute on Religion and Democracy
September 13, 2013
Contact: Jeff Walton 202-682-4131, jwalton@TheIRD.org
As U.S. Considers Military Action in Syria, What Does Just War Teaching Say?
“William Abraham offers an unusually authentic Christian realism for addressing war and peace from a broadly classical orthodoxy.” -IRD President Mark Tooley
Washington, DC— As the U.S. Administration and Congress weigh military action in Syria, conflicting interpretations of Just War Theory are pointing in opposite directions.
IRD’s upcoming Diane Knippers Memorial Lecture on October 7 will feature Irish Methodist theologian William Abraham of Southern Methodist University to address Just War, Terrorism and Christian Ethics in the annual lecture honoring the late IRD President.
Abraham, author of Shaking Hands with the Devil: The Intersection of Terrorism and Theology, defends Just War teaching as it relates to terrorism in his latest book. The Professor of Wesley Studies at SMU’s Perkins School of Theology writes that it is “morally corrupt” to excuse terrorism. Abraham declares that “the first line of defense of anyone threatened by terrorists is the state, even for those who are resolutely opposed to the existence of the state.”
Abraham admits that pacifism superficially offers moral arguments against terrorism, but its medicine is worse than the disease by disallowing defense of the innocent. He specifically challenges the “pragmatic pacifism” known as “just peacemaking,” which he decries for failing to address terrorism seriously.
The lecture will be Monday October 7, 6:30 p.m. in the theater at Mount Vernon Place United Methodist Church followed by a reception next door at the Henley Park Hotel, both on Massachusetts Ave NW near the Convention Center. Reservations to attend can be made with Nathaniel Torrey at ntorrey@theird.org or 202-682-4131. Abraham’s address will be available on IRD’s website. Audio will also be available.
IRD President Mark Tooley commented:
“Abraham is one of United Methodism’s most distinguished theologians. His powerful book on terrorism challenged the unthinking pacifism dominant among many Protestant and evangelical elites.
“Abraham is especially unusual for challenging the reflexively anti-military stance of many peers. In his book, Abraham specifically challenges the highly influential neo-Anabaptist ideology of Stanley Hauerwas and others, who insist that Christian faithfulness demands opposition to all violence.
“Abraham declares that terrorism is ‘intrinsically evil,’ and all who excuse it are ‘morally corrupt.’ This high octane talk discomfits many intellectuals who don’t like moral absolutes.
“Abraham offers an unusually authentic Christian realism for addressing war and peace from a broadly classical orthodoxy.”
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