Just War vs. Christian Pacifism

Holding the Tension Without Losing the Gospel

War has never been an abstract question for the Christian faith. From the earliest days of the Church to the present age of drones and nuclear deterrence, believers have wrestled with how to follow Jesus in a world where violence persists.

Just War vs. Christian Pacifism: Holding the Tension Without Losing the Gospel does not attempt to settle the debate once and for all. Instead, it invites readers into the long, honest struggle to remain faithful when moral clarity is costly and certainty proves elusive.

Drawing on Scripture, Christian tradition, modern theology, and lived pastoral experience, Geoffrey Schmitt explores the two primary Christian responses to violence: the call to nonviolence rooted in Jesus’ teachings, and the Just War tradition developed to restrain evil in a broken world. He examines where each approach bears fruit—and where each risks losing sight of the Gospel.

bThe book moves beyond theory into the realities that shape conscience today:

the Vietnam War and its aftermath, the moral burden carried by veterans, the civil rights movement’s disciplined nonviolence, the seduction of “peace through strength,” and the quiet violence of moral superiority. It also confronts modern warfare directly, asking how distance, technology, and remote combat reshape responsibility, empathy, and discipleship.

Rather than offering slogans or solutions, this book cultivates discernment. It calls readers to humility instead of triumphalism, lament instead of abstraction, and compassion instead of certainty. Throughout, the cross remains the center—challenging every use of power and reminding us that peace is not finally achieved by force or purity, but practiced imperfectly through love.

Written for individuals, small groups, churches, prisons, and anyone seeking a deeper, more faithful engagement with one of Christianity’s hardest questions, this study affirms that disagreement need not break communion—and that holding tension may itself be an act of faith.

In the end, the book points beyond arguments to a way of walking: following Christ on a narrow road where resurrection, not violence, has the final word.