Righteous Judgment Quotes
This is a good example of how religious zeal has sometimes caused rulers to really do stupid things. Rather than try and negotiate a deal with the Sultan and pay an annual tribute or other such diplomatic solution as was common at the time, he was convinced that God would make sure that the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire—a holy city would not fall to the infidel and allow all the holy relics to fall into the hands of the heathen. In reality he would not fight for the inhabitants; he would force the inhabitants to fight for him and his view of the will of God. The message was taken by the young Sultan to be a personal challenge to him and to his God. See {634805} for his response to Constantine.
Note that Mormon doctrine requires that peace be offered 3 times before even a righteous war is begun. Under this doctrine, preemptive war would not be permissible, but diplomacy must be tried first and that by offering genuine peace. It is hard to apply this doctrine to the War on Terror, where there is no “other side” to negotiate with and the dispute is existential for democracy and freedom. The parenthetical references are to Mormon Scripture.
This is an excellent example of a theme that has been used since biblical times to justify massacres by military men. Namely that if the first town that you conquer is treated terribly enough, the word will get around and the next town the people will pressure their military to surrender to avoid the same fate. Therefore, they argue, as Ludlow does, that the massacre will reduce future violence. That perverse ethical logic has lasted for a long time. However, that was not the only motive here—vengeance was a major factor. This is another good example of the fact that many of the worst moral atrocities of men were perpetrated and led by men who thought that there were being moral and consonant with God’s will. See {639301} for Oliver Cromwell’s description of the massacre.
This constitution is erroneously described as the first written constitution in America. It was the first written by whites, but the Iroquois Indians had written a formal constitution over 100 years earlier. This particular clause is fascinating as part of the separation between church and state debate. In this first constitution, legislation was to be the law of the land, not religious law. However, if the legislation were silent on the issue, then religious law was to govern. Thus, neither side in the debate choose to quote it very often, as it only gives them half a victory.
