War in the Christian Tradition

1 credits · Divinity School

Christianity is a language that people who write words about war use to justify war. This class will consider words about war, beginning with political speeches. We will focus on war in the concrete, not the abstract. Primary documents will be political speeches given by Dwight Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Jr., Ronald Reagan, and Barack Obama. We will consider recent words on the 'Just War' tradition and on pacifism, drawing on essays available online. We will also consider ways that politicians have used fear to fuel small scale wars in homes, neighborhoods, and grocery stores. All assigned viewings will be available online. We will use primarily speeches, films. podcast, and archived cartoons to consider how Christian images function to justify war