ABSTRACT
Early Christians understood pacifism as central to their faith. Their understanding weakened as the church grew in secular ambition. By the Middle Ages, pacifism had evolved to a concept of just war, based on natural law methodology that provided support for limits on, but not a complete prohibition of, war. With the rise of scientific materialism, natural law methodology disappeared from jurisprudence together with the just war doctrine. By the mid-twentieth century, natural law was all but replaced by amoral positivism, which holds that only voluntary consent produces law. Under positivism, a sovereign state may withdraw consent to be legally bound, including by the prohibition against force. States regularly act on this conception, leading to the widespread, tragic incidence of war despite the United Nations Charter prohibition on the use of force. This chapter examines the history and future prospect of reviving natural law and pax Christi.
