ERIC Number: EJ1203871
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2018
Pages: 12
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1361 7672
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Morality and Mortality: Why the Church of England Would Have Rejected Walzer's Supreme Emergency Argument
Schawarz, Michael; Comer, Debra R.
Journal of Beliefs & Values, v39 n4 p490-501 2018
Walzer insists that his supreme emergency argument morally legitimises Churchill's 1940 decision to bomb German civilians. We contend, however, that it is morally deficient. We contend, further, that if Walzer's argument had been presented to the leaders of the Church of England in 1940 as justification for the bombing of German civilians, the Church leadership would have rejected it. According to Walzer, a supreme emergency forces us to waive rights we would honour under ordinary circumstances. But the Church has a different conception of rights. Because the Church is committed to universal rights -- which are inviolable and cannot be overridden -- it would never have agreed with Walzer. Our discussion as to those conflicting conceptions of rights illustrates what differentiates biblical ethics from secular ethics.
Descriptors: Moral Values, Churches, War, Leadership, Clergy, Ethics, Biblical Literature, Foreign Countries, Decision Making, European History, Christianity, Political Attitudes
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: United Kingdom (England)
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A