Modern theology’s casuistry legitimizes state violence while preserving Christian status

Evidence

As for the commandments and the ethical doctrine, casuistry has long since settled the matter; they also need no longer be taken literally, and confronted with properly modern forms of injustice, bureaucratic warfare, systemic or economic inequality, and so forth, modern theologians and churchmen can work up persuasive accommodations to the constraints of complex modern societies, and provide excellent reasons for bombing civilian populations or executing criminals which do not disqualify the executors from Christian status. — Fredric Jameson, Postmodernism, or, The Cultural Logic…, 835

Categorization

• XREF: Links to the reader’s interest in debunking — the accommodation of ethics to systemic violence is the theological counterpart of ideology critique. — connects to: Centuries of Christian violence served protecting power and privilege — Andrew L. Whitehead, American Idolatry, 447; Christian Statism pursues exclusive state power over cultural dominance — Ruiqian Li and Paul Froese, The Duality of American Christian…, 44; Sacralizing religion extends state power across identity, law, and violence — Nadim N. Rouhana and Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian, When Politics Are Sacralized:…, 67 (+2 more)