by Lewis Loflin
Darrel Cole (*Good Wars*, link) notes early Church Fathers—Clement, Eusebius, Ambrose, Augustine—defended just war as good, not evil, shaping Christian doctrine. Augustine (354–430) saw it aligning with God’s will (*City of God* 19.7). My note: Jesus’ nonviolence (Matthew 5) clashes—reason rejects war as ‘good.’
Christianity’s ‘just war’ stems from men like Augustine, not scripture—his *Confessions* (c. 397) reeks of self-loathing (e.g., 2.4) and childhood trauma (1.9). In 386, anguished in a garden, he heard “take up and read” (Romans 13:13–14), claiming instant conversion (*Confessions* 8.12). His rejection of reason fueled centuries of violence via Calvin and Luther. My note: Insanity, not wisdom—deism favors Jesus’ ethics over this.
Augustine, with Jerome and Ambrose, shaped Western Christianity in Latin post-4th century (*Western Civilization*, Perry, p. 167). Born in Numidia, he studied in Carthage, took a concubine, and joined Manichaeans (373–382). Ambrose’s sermons in Milan led to his 386 conversion; he became Hippo’s bishop in 395.
*City of God* (413–426) answered Rome’s 410 sack—pagans blamed Christians; Augustine said earthly cities don’t matter, only heaven does (1.8). Christians needn’t fret Rome’s fall—it’s not their measure (*City of God* 19.17). Yet he urged shaping the earthly city with Christian rules, using force to curb sin (*Letter* 185). My note: Reason sees control, not comfort, here.
Augustine’s world splits: the earthly city, sinful, can’t become heaven (14.28); grace, not will, saves a few (*On Grace*). Faith trumps reason—wisdom needs God, not logic alone (*On the Trinity* 1.1). This defies Socrates’ rational ethics—Augustine denies human autonomy (*Confessions* 7.5). My note: Deism trusts reason—faith-first breeds darkness.
Jerome (c. 340–420) studied Latin classics in Rome, translated the Vulgate Bible (c. 382–405), and lived ascetically near Bethlehem (*Letter* 108). Ambrose (340–397), Milan’s bishop, wrote on clergy duties—urging humility, not wealth (*Duties* 1.50)—and kept church above state (*Sermon Against Auxentius*). My note: Intellect shines; dogma dims it.
Extracts from Marvin Perry, *Western Civilization, 2nd ed.*, pp. 167–70.
