David's Combat: 1 Sam 17 and Protestant Ethics of War

The article explores the notion of combat in Protestant just war thinking, taking the story of David and Goliath as a focus to survey ethical, hermeneutical and historical aspects. Combat emerges as a mediate term between uncontrolled, irregular and excessive violence and technocratic annihilation of the opponent. Potentially being disclosive of the divine, combat may be part of the just war tradition that sits in between various modern forms of pacifism and holy war or crusading. The article is divided into three parts. First, it shows how within current debates combat has largely disappeared. Second, it briefly explores how Protestant theologians past and present have interpreted and might incorporate Old Testament sections on war and combat into their political theologies. Finally, the question of holy war and crusading is revisited.