Uploaded April 2026 | Updated September 2026, 18 hours ago

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JUST WAR & the US, Israel, Iran and Ukraine - with John McClean, Rob Smith & Grant Dibden

How should Christians think about war? How does the Biblical Framework of Just War help us understand how we should react to what is happening in the Ukraine, Iran, Israel and south Lebanon.

We go back to first principles drawing on the work of Augustine of Hippo Thomas Aquinas - asking when is it right to go to war — and how must war be conducted? And how do those principles evaluate what’s happening in today’s conflicts?

Joining us are:
* John McClean, Vice Principal of Christ College Sydney,
* Rob Smith, theologian and ethicist and
* Grant Dibden, Anglican Bishop to the Australian Defence Force.

Together we explore how Just War thinking has shaped Western military ethics and whether it is quietly being sidelined.

Plus we examine what the Just War doctrine says about individuals conduct in war, in light of the controversy surrounding Australian Soldier Ben Roberts-Smith.

And how should Christians respond when the emotional weight of real-world conflict hits close.

thepastorsheart.net/podcast/just-war