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BELLUM JUSTUM : A THESIS


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BELLUM JUSTUM : A THESIS

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By Adelric


The prohibition of murder is often one of the first doctrines that the laity upon entering into the flock learns of, and practices within the Church of Canon. And indeed murder is prevented within the Holy Scrolls and the Catechism. 

 

“The Scroll of Virtue is a set of moral laws delivered by God to Exalted Horen. These moral laws reflect the will of God, which must be obeyed by all sapient creatures. They prohibit murder…”

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              -The Catechism of the Canonist Church
 

 

 

“So I am the Most High, and in pursuit of My Virtue, I bid my faithful this: You shall not raise a hand in wrath, nor in envy, nor in any kind of sin.” 
                                                                                                                                                                                                                    -(Virtue 5:9)


While this Canonical doctrine has been most efficient and inspiring for secular leaders to enforce it in a civil context, this doctrine often has not been extended to military affairs, or war. In both Canonist states of Hanseti-Ruska, and the Empire, murder has been defined as such; 

 

“An individual who intentionally kills another shall be guilty of the severe offence of murder.”
                                                                                                   -Haurul Caezk, Murder 402.01

 

“Where an individual intentionally and with premeditation causes the death of another, this shall be murder in the first degree.”
                                                                                                                                                                                  -ORC, 202.042 


Yet, we see many military men raise their sword in wrath, with an intention to kill another. This is often done with premeditation by their commanders, and by our Canonist Princes themselves. It is most understandable that our temporal leaders differentiate between murder in a civil and a military context, as they are following an example from the Church itself, which also differentiates the concept of murder based on context. Many of my students, and civilian men, even those who are cynical with our doctrine ask me this question; 

 

“If murder is prohibited, are wars also prohibited? Are soldiers sinners?” 

 

Murder committed within wars, and by soldiers is not sinful in the eyes of the Church if we contextualise it based on the concept of Bellum Justum. A righteous war, or battle. I will argue that both our secular and ecclesiastical leaders have to adhere to certain principles and rules if they wish to wage a righteous war, so that both themselves and their soldiers are absolved from the sin of murder in their warfare.

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The first necessity for a ‘righteous war’, which has been a staple in the warfare committed for centuries is a righteous pretext. In order for murder within the battlefield to be devoid of sin, our leaders who are invested with the authority to wage war need to have a just cause for their warfare. In effect, this can extend to factors such as self defense, defense of others, protection of the innocent and correcting grievous wrongdoings. For example, if a ruler raids the territories of a Canonis prince, a war to remove that ruler would fall under the pretext of defense of others. And in fact, we see this necessity for a pretext both in the Holy Scrolls and through the existence of our martial Saints such as Saint Karl and Saint Tylos.

 

“Thus marshaled, the forces of the Denier attacked the brothers and the good people of their tribes, and a great war ensued.” 
                                                                                                                                                                           -(Gospel 2:59)

 

“See, Horen, your wife has borne you three sons of flesh.  And heed, she shall bear you three sons of spirit. And witness these, your sons, O Son: Here is the first, the purifier, and he is aflame with righteous justice.”
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          -(Gospel 2:71-74)

 

“Again, the apostate raised an army, and they went into Godwin’s kingdom of Aaun. 62 They sacked many villages, and the disordered armies of Godwin could not stop the assault.”

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    -(Gospel 3:61-62)

“So Godfrey called upon the goodly families of that land, and he settled them in fertile valleys and in open plains, and gave them the bounty of the Lord. And they took up arms and armor, and went into the petty kingdoms and defended the virtuous.”
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 -(Gospel 6:31-32)


Through the scrolls, we further see an extension to this pretext. In order for a war to be righteous, all other means of reconciliation must be impractical, or exhausted. Diplomacy and agreement takes a higher precedence than simply waging war.

 

“Owyn went into the north alone, and there he slew the unrepentant, searching for his godfather.”
                                                                                                                                  -(Gospel 4:61)

Godfrey wept at the sin of his people, and he took up his mace to purify them. But the Aengul Eshtael descended... Eshtael said ‘Lo, wickedness cannot undo what wickedness has done.’”
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             -(Gospel 6:13-17)

“So Eshtael girded Godfrey in kingly finery, and gave him the horn and laurel, and Godfrey’s weapon became a scepter of rebuke and rulership.”
                                                                                                                                                                                                            -(Gospel 6:23)

 

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 It is further my personal opinion that, in order for a nation to declare a righteous war, they should first and foremost meditate in prayer and in contemplation before making such a decision. In order to avoid unnecessary bloodshed, the rulers of our states should calculate if their risk of success in this war is high, to avoid unnecessary bloodshed. Through wisdom and communion with God, they must determine if our Lord is on their side, to aid them in their worldly affairs. Even if not explicitly stated, chapters from the Scroll of Spirit can be used to argue this case, for Ex. Owyn clearly says to the Jorenites their sin of conducting a form of ‘worldly warfare’ in which the presence of God is diminished. Therefore, in conjunction with Ex. Owyn’s admonishment, one of our hands should hold the scrolls, while one may carry a sword in warfare.

 

“So I find that you are strict in your arms, but lax in your prayers. But to pray is to gird the spirit.  The hand of GOD is the greatest weapon to bear, and His word is the paramount strategy.” 
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   -(Spirit 2:11-12)

 

“There can be no laxity in faith for any reason, not war nor peace, not wealth nor poverty. The Lord lasts through all adversities, for He is their source and their remedy—without Him, they are uncured.”
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       -(Spirit:2:13-14)


 We have gone over the concept of righteous reasoning for declaring a righteous war. However, only a righteous pretext does not define a righteous war in capacity. In order for a war to be righteous, one must also handle the conducts of themselves and their soldiers while conducting warfare, so as to be judged as clean of sin. Every Canonist ruler, or even any ruler should adhere to these principles in order for their conscience to be clear of sin. The first and foremost rule of a righteous conduct within war would be proportionality within the war. A ruler and their soldiers, when conducting warfare should always keep in mind to be proportional in the overall scheme of the war to their pretext. For example, if a particular ruler violates the borders of a nation, the nation should strive to gain their borders back, and ensure that such violation will not be made, perhaps by taking a fortress which was used to launch an attack. Of course, this rule can be interpreted in many ways. Some might consider ‘whatever possible’ to be the deposition of the ruler, but rest assured, if the Mother Church sees a violation of righteousness, they will interfere and advise our temporal rulers in proportionality. This level of proportionality is depicted most clearly within the Scroll of Gospel, mostly through Exalted Owyn’s affairs. 

 

“So Harren fell before Owyn, and assented to the command of GOD, and ordered his lords of mixed blood to free their subjects. But Owyn was wroth for the death of his father. He raised the sword of GOD in vengeance, and with it he slew his own uncle… and there was a great thunder. Here, the Lord spoke “O Owyn, Son of Godwin, Son of Horen, you spill the blood of your uncle in the tabernacle of Horen. Even as My holiest city was sacred in spite of Harren’s rejection, it is spoiled by the blood of kin.”
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              -(Gospel 4:47-52)

“Those virtuous freedmen that remained were anointed as priests of GOD, and they bore the Virtue and the Spirit. “
                                                                                                                                                                    (Gospel 4:61)

 

“For I have given to you the pleasures of the world, and they shall comfort you in the theater of virtue. 8 And you shall take them carefully, and shall not become a creature of worldly indulgence as the beasts of the earth.”
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           (Virtue 3:7-8)

 

“And I am the Lord GOD without peer, and My joys are the holy joys, and My comfort is the virtuous comfort, and all the blessings of the Virtue shall fall before the righteous who do not indulge.”
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       (Virtue 3:10)


This issue of proportionality extends to the most critical factor. When conducting a righteous war, the servicemen shall not harm non-combatants. Non-combatants within both sides have immunity from warfare, and they may not be killed. However, the importance of non-combatants within a war is obvious to me. They may be strategic points of interests. For example, in warfare, one may apprehend local governors in a settlement, to trade for prisoners. In the Haeseni wars against Courland, members of the Royal Household were kidnapped to negotiate geopolitical issues between the two countries, and such actions fall under the pretext of ‘preventing bloodshed’, and encouraged. And as such, the rules of a righteous war in the topic of murder does not apply to non-combatants. However, I would further argue that the Prisoners of War, who are captured should not be treated in wrathful and cruel manners. They should be well-fed, free from torture and violence, and have sustainable quarters. They should not be put to death extra-judicially.

 

“So I am the Most High, and in pursuit of My Virtue, I bid my faithful this: You shall not raise a hand in wrath, nor in envy, nor in any kind of sin.”
                                                                                                                                                                                                                         (Virtue 5:9)


To conclude, it is paramount that all of our leaders follow the general guidelines that are in accordance with the Church of the Canon in their affairs generally, and this also applies to their warfare to a great extent. If soldiers and rulers wish not to be sinful in their exploits, however righteous they may be, the rules and regulations of warfare should be established between each other in accordance to our rites and our doctrine. 

 

-Adelric.


 

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Ser Brandt Barclay smiles as he reads his son's thesis "What a hard working lad... makes his Vater proud!" said the man with a proud smile before getting back to counting money

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Alfred's health is slowly improving, giving him time to look at his nephew's thesis. Looking at the thesis, he nods his head twice before stamping the document with a wearly smile. "Adelric.. s-surprisingly good..", he says as he coughs quite loudly, nodding once again before moving the thesis to his side.

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From within the sewers of Karosgrad, a horrid Raev would regard the thesis with some degree of amusement, a bemused smirk stretching its way across wolven maw.

 

"Murder is still sin most foul, ye of the Cloth... Righteous or not. You may cloak yourselves in piety and profess love of life and liberty, but all are children of GOD, and to snuff such light for petty mortal conflict is sickening..." 

 

 

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1 hour ago, altiar1011 said:

From within the sewers of Karosgrad, a horrid Raev would regard the thesis with some degree of amusement, a bemused smirk stretching its way across wolven maw.

 

"Murder is still sin most foul, ye of the Cloth... Righteous or not. You may cloak yourselves in piety and profess love of life and liberty, but all are children of GOD, and to snuff such light for petty mortal conflict is sickening..." 

 

 

""Ven. Fabian says: “In addressing the righteousness of war, we will first look to the admonition against violence in the Canticle of Patience. Here, the Lord commands that the virtuous “shall not raise a hand in wrath, nor in envy, nor in any kind of sin.” He thus indicates that violence, or the raising of the hand, is not sinful under circumstances where it is not connected to the other sins, such as wrath or avarice. The astute religious scholar will then determine that it is permissible for a Canonist state to wage war where the war’s essential goal is a virtuous one.” (Jus Bellum Justum.) Hence the fact that God prohibits violence in certain instances (in wrath, ain varice and in sin alone and not generally) by necessity implies that violence can be justified in other instances. The best guide for this is the Church, to whom alone God has committed the interpretation of the Scrolls."" A man quotes Bl. Pius of Sutica's Canonist Commentary on Sacred Scripture. "This is why people should read the Scrolls with the Commentary, they don't appreciate the original language or in light of authentic teaching, and thus fall into errors," he adds.

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