The religious and moral perils of pre-emption. As the US waits for Saddam Hussein to give up the goods, the specter of a war with Iraq looms. And as the likelihood of a conflict is debated in the press and among the people, religious leaders have begun to weigh in, too.

For some, St. Augustine’s Just War Theory offers a model for reconciling pacifism with a pro-war stance. For others, there can be no departure from peace. Not now. Not ever.

Tonight On Point, a conversation with three Christian church higher-ups about how different denominations decide when war is just, or just wrong.

Guests:

Dr. Richard Land, president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, the Southern Baptist Convention

Peter Makari, executive for the Middle East and Europe with the Common Global Ministries Board of the United Church of Christ and the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)

Gerard Powers, director of the Office of International Justice and Peace of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops