Joining an army and near occasion of sin

[otjm]

What about the issue of committing yourself to the judgment and command of others? If there is a Just War going on, ok, if you are called upon to kill immorally, that is an awful situation.

Is it adequately responsible to foreclose avoiding future sin in service of the armed forces, when you do not know beforehand whether what you are later relied upon to obey is moral?

Most people have barely a cursory understanding of Just War theory. When we went into Iraq the second time, a great deal of commentary came out about Just War, and whether or not this was one. Most of it was that it was not.

If you want to read something interesting, look for an article by George Weigel concerning this war and his take on Just War theory. Weigel is far more educated concerning the theory than many of the commentators. Whether or not you agree with Weigel’s premise (and I am not proposing you do), his work is well worth reading - and perhaps you will understand after reading it why a subsequent poster indicated that the average individual considering the military should not walk down that path.