Simkins Lecture to address justice in warfare

“Christianity, Pacifism, and Principles of Justice in Warfare” will be the topic of the Simkins Lecture at 7 p.m. on Monday, October 6 in the auditorium of Hull Education Center at Longwood University. The lecture will be presented by Dr. John S. Mebane, director of the Honors Program at the University of Alabama in Huntsville, and is free and open to the public.

Mebane is a Vietnam combat veteran and the author of many scholarly works, including books on such diverse topics as the Renaissance, occult traditions, and Shakespeare’s writings. His lecture, “Christianity, Pacifism, and Principles of Justice in Warfare,” will address his current research, which will culminate in a forthcoming book. Topics to be discussed include the historical roots of Christianity’s view of warfare, and how those roots agree or conflict with military tradition and political philosophy. Is the current war in Iraq justified in accordance with traditional principles of justice in warfare? Can there be such a thing as a “just war?”

The annual Simkins Lecture Series invites prominent scholars to Longwood University to share their knowledge with the campus community. The series, begun in 1979, was named in honor of the historian Francis Butler Simkins, whose ideas were sometimes controversial. Simkins taught at Longwood College from 1928 until his death in 1966.