Self-defense = self love?

Currently I am reading After the Smoke Clears: The Just War Tradition and Post War Justice. The authors cite another book, Faith and Force" A Christian Debate about War, in which four historical stages in the development of just war thinking are laid out.  


The first stage that is given is the Christian thinkers Ambrose and Augustine. 


Augustine was a converted to Christianity after encountering Ambrose's preaching, so they are intertwined in their thought. According to the research in these two books, both of these men "instructed Christians to forego self-defense if attacked as a private citizen, for this would be an example of excessive self-love." (emphasis added)


It was Thomas Aquinas who argued that "self preservation is natural, and a private individual may not intend to kill an attacker even though the death of the assailant may result."


For about 800 years of Christian tradition, killing someone in self defense was considered excessive self love.  


If this was the case, why then do we see non-violence (and to a greater extent pacifism) as not real answers to the complex situations we are in?  


Have we fallen into excessive self love?  

Wilco - War on War

While I am not the first to point this out I am sure, the band Wilco has this song called "War on War".  I am not a music buff.  In fact I was recently told that I like music which can easily be substituted for background music for any products that target the 40-60 year old mothers of this country.  

Needless to say I am not hip with the music of today.  When I ran across this song and heard it again for the first time in a long time I could not but hear very strong Christian undertones.  Is Wilco a "Christian" band?  If not, then why cannot more "Christian bands" sound better than the junk I hear on the Christian radio?  (They all sound to me like they are reading a Hallmark card to a 3 year old child who just found out that his puppy died due to heartworms.  Can we drop the airy-ness of Christian vocalists?)  

For those of you who work in a controlled environment (Lockheed) or those who work for a lame boss who will not allow you to play Youtube videos, below this embedded frame you can find the lyrics to Wilco's song. 

Peace.

It's a war on war
It's a war on war
It's a war on war
It's a war on war
It's a war on war
It's a war on warIt's a war on war
There's a war on
You're gonna lose
You have to lose
You have to learn how to die

Let's watch the miles flying by
Let's watch the miles flying by
You are not my typewriter
But you could be my demon
Moving forward through flaming doors
You have to lose
You have to learn how to die
If you wanna be alive

O.k.

You have to lose
You have to lose
You have to learn how to die
If you wanna be alive

You have to die
You have to die
You have to learn how to die
If you wanna be alive 

Avoiding conflict

If we avoid conflict with our neighbor because we do not think they can handle it, then we are victims of arrogance.

If we avoid conflict with our neighbor because we do not like conflict, then we are victims of immaturity.

If we avoid conflict with our neighbors because we are unsure of what the conflict might bring, then we are victims of fear.

If we avoid conflict with our neighbors because we do not think it is worth it, then we are delaying a future conflict.