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Paul then asks, "What does it mean to leave vengeance to God?" The state works out God's vengeance. And this means the state wields the sword to punish the evil and protect the good, and Christians are supposed to support this.

Is there a difference between having just intention for war and having just cause?

You could say a just cause for a war is self defense. For an example, we can look at the current conflict in Iraq. We need to go in there because we're afraid Saddam Hussein might have weapons of mass destruction and use them against us.

So we have a just cause. But our intentions may not be just. That is to say, we may not be doing it simply to secure peace, but we may be wanting to get other things out of the deal. We could be simply using just cause as an excuse to do something we want to do.

For example, Bush could really hate Saddam Hussein and be looking for any excuse whatsoever to wipe him out.  Human beings are not angels. There's going to be no such thing as a perfectly just war. All you can do is, given the criteria say, do we approximate this? Do we fulfill the conditions to a degree that we can say it's just?

How do you know when more good than unintended evil is going to follow from your acts? You're going to have to have a certain amount of wisdom and prudence to be able to count the costs. As Jesus said in the parable about the king who goes to war, no king goes to war who doesn't count the cost first.

When you look at the current war, are you satisfied that we have a just war situation?

I'm satisfied on all criteria except reasonable hope for the success. And that's something we're going to have to simply trust the President on. If the President thinks that he has a battle plan in place that will allow us to decapitate Saddam Hussein from using weapons on Israel, then I think we need to go for it.

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Christianity Today has now posted a War in Iraq archive for access to recent news from Iraq: reflections on the Christian response, debates over the war, and relevant articles from previous conflicts.

Visit DickStaub.com for audio and video of his radio program (4-7 p.m. PST), media reviews, and news on "where belief meets real life."

Recent Dick Staub Interviews include:

Jim Van Yperen on Church Conflicts | The author of Making Peace: A Guide to Overcoming Church Conflict says the early church was also "full of problems." (March 18, 2003)

Texas Pastor James Robison on the Life-Changing Faith of George W. Bush | The president of Life Outreach International talks about his friend's faith, the moral need of America, and his own conversion. (March 11, 2003)

National Book Award Finalist Ron Hansen on Christian Fiction | It's important to instruct while entertaining, but method can be as important as message, says the author of Isn't It Romantic? and Atticus. (March 4, 2003)

Gods and Generals' Director Links the Civil War with Today | Ron Maxwell talks about the role his faith plays in his career and what attracts him to the generation of the 1860s. (Feb. 25, 2003)

Why Don Richardson Says There's No 'Peace Child' for Islam | The author and missionary says he has tried to find bridge-building opportunities with Islam, but failed. (Feb. 11, 2003)

Did Martin Luther Get Galileo In Trouble? | David Lindberg talks about the early relationship between science and faith and his own journey on the subject (Feb. 4, 2003)

Dan Bahat on Jerusalem Archaeology  | One of Israel's leading archaeologists talks about the importance of the Temple Mount and key historical finds in the Holy Land. (Jan. 27, 2003)

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March (Web-only) 2003, Vol. 47