With the decline of the influence of Christianity in America, our nation has lost any moral compass to make decisions about just wars, or any other issue for that matter. The moralism of secular leaders has replaced the Law of God as a foundation for all of life. They promise us life, but they give us death.

In recent days it has been a tragedy to watch militant Muslims conquer the nation of Iraq city by city. After pumping trillions of dollars into our industrial military complex in order to fight the war in Iraq, we now know that it was a colossal failure. My heart goes out to the families of dead soldiers, and to the men and women who came home wounded. Sadly, I fear that the war in Afghanistan will suffer the same fate. America learned nothing after the disaster in Viet Nam.

On October 8, 2002, Ron Paul made a speech before the United States House of Representatives stating his opposition to the war in Iraq. He did so based on the traditional Christian view of war which has been largely forgotten. He was a prophet in his own day, not because he had any special revelation about the war, nor because he was a political Libertarian, but because without hesitation or embarrassment he relied upon traditional views of Christendom in his opposition to the war in Iraq. Watch it here.

Historically, Christendom has maintained a well-developed Theory of a Just War that goes back to Augustine and Aquinas. Before a war was considered just by the Church, several tests needed to be passed. One of those tests was that our national security was at stake. National security was typically defined in terms of the protection of our geographical borders from invasion. Also, there had to be a just cause such as vengeance in response to an attack on our homeland. Spreading democracy around the world is not a just cause. Toppling tyrants in other nations is not a just cause.

Also, according to this theory, war must be a last resort. Negotiations must first be exhausted. It was required that there be a reasonable chance of success in winning the war. We must expect to walk away with victory, and that victory was well-defined in terms of a complete surrender by the enemy. That was the exit strategy of a just war.

Definitions have changed. Wars became military engagements initiated by pre-emptive attacks authorized the President without the consent of Congress. Instead of fighting wars against nations, we now fight wars against movements and radical religions that transcend borders. Wars have become prolonged and costly endeavors that actually make a lot of people rich. There are always profiteers who welcome wars.

However, for some of us, we still believe the Church has a prophetic voice which should be used. Shedding the blood of Americans in wars we cannot win is unjust. Intervention in foreign civil affairs where the lives of Americans are not in danger is unjust. Guerrilla warfare in the homeland of another nation is always a recipe for defeat. It is suicidal. It is unjust. The British learned this in the American Revolutionary War. In the Old Testament, kings led their soldiers into war. If modern politicians had to be on the frontlines of the battlefield, no doubt there would be fewer wars.

Wielding power overseas while our own borders are insecure is unjust. While we waste lives and money fighting unjust wars in distant places, our politicians refuse to protect our own borders here at home. The rule of law has disappeared in America and has been replaced by legislation to manage the problems created by our own lawlessness.

With the decline of the influence of Christianity in America, our nation has lost any moral compass to make decisions about just wars, or any other issue for that matter. The moralism of secular leaders has replaced the Law of God as a foundation for all of life. They promise us life, but they give us death.

Larry E. Ball is a Honorably Retired Teaching Elder in the Presbyterian Church in America and is now a CPA. He lives in Kingsport, Tennessee.