Vigils Reading

THE LAW OF THE GOSPEL

From “Faith and Theology” by Fr Marie-Dominique Chenu

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For Christians, peace is a decisive sign of the kingdom of God; hence, as

students of the history of civilization, they find war a religious enigma which no

casuistry can fit into a vision of the plan of salvation. Since the Gospel is the

substantial datum of theology, this sacred science knows war only by negation

— just as it knows sin in terms of the negation of love.

Some, such as Joseph de Maistre, have tried to integrate war positively

into theology by making it an expression of the divine will, but this attempt is

doomed to failure. The so-called “holy wars” of the Church can only bring a

blush of shame, and no sociology of the kingdom of God can justify them. For

that matter there is an intrinsic paradox in suggesting a “theology of war”, for

how can war be fitted into the word of God (theo-logos), into the Gospel law of

love? Is it ever possible that the disciple of Christ should believe it his duty to

fight? For how could collective, murderous violence, stemming from hate and

avarice, become a meritorious act of fraternal love?

Since theology is a rational and sacred exposition of the word of God

addressed to the world, and incarnate in the world, it is easy to see that the

world at war is an object of theological study only in the sense that the Christian

conscience is faced with a conflict between the absolute law of the Gospel and

the harsh reality of human history. Unless it descend to pure casuistry, theology

will find it more difficult there than anywhere else to invent “reasons” — reasons

which could justify war within the law of the Gospel.

We must start with the Gospel, and always insist on it, for it is the one

constant of Christian life. Before all else, before any doctrinal elaboration,

theology is the word of God – the word of God in the sacred text, the word of God

today and always, in the world of history and the world of nature; that is why the

spontaneous reaction to the expression “theology of war” is one of rejection.

For war is the opposite of peace and in the language of the Gospel, peace is the

consequence of love, which in turn is the one and absolute evangelical rule of

human conduct.

Love is the primary and uncompromising message of the Gospel, not just

something that appeals to a subjective religious sentimentality, but a stern

demand based on the very object of our faith. Here we are faced with the

unequivocal alternative of yes or no: this is the very substance of the Gospel

because it is the substance of the mystery of God communicated to us in Christ.

He who renounces peace renounces the kingdom of God.