Whence Come Wars

By Fulton J. Sheen War always begins from within, from the heart of man. Before forces are mustered, weapons amassed, or battlelines drawn, the conflict has already arisen; the material and physical fighting and destruction which follow are but the extension of this initial, spiritual rebellion. “Man revolting against God,” declares Fulton J. Sheen, “is the miniature of the war of man revolting against his fellowman.” In Whence Come Wars, Sheen bluntly reckons with both causes of war and what can constrain humanity from waging it. Neither ideology, nor economics, nor politics, compel one nation to fight against another, but rather the fruit of original sin—mankind’s fall from grace—sets brother against brother in warfare’s duel of death. The antidote to this poison, the cessation of conflict, can be found only in God: without the return to God and the rebirth of the spirit of prayer, mankind will not know peace. Originally published in 1940, as the beginnings of World War II wreaked havoc across the globe, Whence Come Wars examines bluntly and clearly the reasons for war, whether it can be waged justly or unjustly, and what are the proper remedies for the wounds which it inevitably inflicts.  What leads to war, what leads to quarrelling among you? I will tell you  what leads to them: the appetites which infest your mortal bodies. (Epistle of Saint James)   Fulton J. Sheen (1895–1979), one of the most renowned Catholic priests of the twentieth century, was an eminent scholar, prolific author, and natural entertainer. His cause for canonization was opened in 2002, and in 2012 Pope Benedict XVI declared him “Venerable.”  * * * Paperback: 130pp. ISBN: 978-1685954482