Starotestamentowe źródła augustyńskiej teorii wojny sprawiedliwej. Rozważania nad fragmentem "Contra Faustum"
Biblical sources of the Augustine theory of just war. Some thoughts on a fragment of Contra Faustum

Summary/Abstract: The author argues that the Augustinian theory of just war does not constitute merely a Christian version of Cicero's insight. He indicates that Augustine drew his argument from the Old Testament and stated it in his treatise Contra Faustum written already before his famous De Civitate Dei. It is in Contra Faustum that Augustine described the main components of just war – competent authority, just causa, right intention and peace as the ultimate objective of war. Following this train of thought, the author reconstructs the notion of just war as described in the Old Testament narrations concerning the wars conducted by the Chosen People. The authority to launch a war belonged originally to the judges and later on to the prophets who communicated the will of God to the people of Israel. These wars were conducted as a result of just cause, i.e. harm done to Israel by other tribes. They were motivated by the right intention since behind the war stood the will of God that indicated what truly belonged to Israel rather than Israel's desire to wrong others or do harm to them. Finally, the ultimate goal of these efforts was nothing more than peace. The author claims that this juridical argument played a considerable role in justifying various military actions taken by ancient Israel. Accordingly, he states that the Christian notion of just war has a dual origin – Ciceronian as well as Biblical – stemming from the Old Testament.

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