Just War as Christian Discipleship - by Daniel M Bell (Paperback)

About the Book

A provocative and timely account of just war that relates it to the concrete practices and challenges of the Christian life.

Book Synopsis

This provocative and timely primer on the just war tradition connects just war to the concrete practices and challenges of the Christian life. Daniel Bell explains that the point is not simply to know the just war tradition but to live it even in the face of the tremendous difficulties associated with war. He shows how just war practice, if it is to be understood as a faithful form of Christian discipleship, must be rooted in and shaped by the fundamental convictions and confessions of the faith. The book includes a foreword by an Army chaplain who has served in Iraq and study questions for group use.

From the Back Cover

"By reframing just war as a discipline of Christian discipleship, Bell has breathed new life into the discussion surrounding this important topic. He has done so, moreover, in a manner that makes this book accessible to those well versed in the debates as well as those who are confronting these issues for the first time. We are in his debt."--Stanley Hauerwas, Duke Divinity School

"Bell has written a book that I wish I had during my deployments. Just War as Christian Discipleship addresses the just war tradition in a way that not only adds to our knowledge of the historical roots of the tradition but also contributes to the Christian soldier's desire to embody the principles as lifestyle. . . . If the Christian community will take seriously Bell's call for a discipleship that embraces the just war tradition, we can all feel more confident that our nation will strive to maintain the moral high ground in its military endeavors and beyond."--Chaplain Lt. Col. Scott A. Sterling (from the foreword)

"This groundbreaking book synthesizes the writing style and substance of just war ethicists Paul Ramsey and Oliver O'Donovan with that of pacifist ethicists John Howard Yoder and Stanley Hauerwas, resulting in a constructive account of just war that is embedded and embodied in the life and practices of the Christian church. It should be required reading for anyone interested in ethics and just war, especially for Christians in the pulpits and in the pews, in the classrooms and in the barracks. It will become a standard resource for helping Christians who espouse the just war tradition to adhere to it in a way that, as John Howard Yoder would put it, is honest and has teeth."--Tobias Winright, Saint Louis University

"Important, accessible, and astonishing. Bell asks hard questions about the use of the just war tradition and instead of leaving that burden of conscience on soldiers, chaplains, or political leaders, he puts it where it belongs--on the whole Christian community. The book is a rich introduction to the just war tradition, a thought-provoking look at current military realities, and a clarion call for all Christians to grow in faithfulness to the One who told them to love their enemies."--Kelly S. Johnson, University of Dayton

About the Author

Daniel M. Bell Jr. (PhD, Duke University) is professor of theological ethics at Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary in Columbia, South Carolina. He has worked extensively with both retired and active duty military personnel on the just war tradition. Bell is an ordained elder in the United Methodist Church and the author of Liberation Theology after the End of History.