Military ethics for Christians, knights, and soldiers

This dissertation explores the origin and development of military ethics in Christianity, examines the ideal military ethic, and considers its application to modern soldiers. In Western Christian civilization love and knighthood were integrated to form the concept of religious chivalry: the ethical obligation one has to create and use physical power to protect the weak. The military ethic of religious chivalry was enforced in the religio-military combination of knight and Church.;The Church then called upon the knights to express their military ethic further, in a temporary monastic pilgrimage via the Crusades, by overturning non-Christian military advances. The Crusades inspired the development of the religious military orders. These orders were groups of religious men with monastic vows who lived as Catholic monks and fought as Christian knights. Their original reason for existence ceased to exist and the concept of "monks of war" was rejected along with the religious mentality of the Crusades. However, a second look at religio-military combinations may be in order in our own time as we consider theologies of liberation and revolutionary warfare.;Interspersed throughout this real history was the legend of King Arthur and The Knights of the Round Table. This body of literature attempted to delineate and idealize the military ethic of religious chivalry for the secular knight, culminating in the perfect knight's search for salvation in religious experience. It demonstrated humanity's desire for the perfect soldier and the resulting creation of the perfect soldier in legend and literature.;The military ethic of religious chivalry that arose from religion, knighthood, crusades, war, and literature eventually formed the basis for and was subsumed into the Just War Tradition. This tradition has become the military-legal-ethical system of the international laws of war and codes of conduct for military personnel. It is presently the primary educational tool that may bring modern soldiers back to the honor of christian knights.;The conclusion of the dissertation is that there is an ethical chasm between the knight of the ideal military ethic and the modern soldier; this chasm must be bridged if we are to field an honorable military force that has the financial and ethical support of the country. This bridge must be constructed of education. All ranks and diverse military specialities must be educated in military ethics, noblesse oblige, and dedication. The changing military mission, a religiously and culturally pluralistic force, and the downsizing of the armed forces demand this.