The conventional narrative of the history of the Christian just war tradition has dominated the literature of Christian just war thought. It is a deeply problematic and peculiarly modern narrative, repeating both a myth of progress and a great man view of history. Toward constructing a more historically accurate, theologically coherent, and functionally relevant narrative, it helps to have a clearer understanding of the relationship between just war thinking, just war traditions, and just war theory. Moreover, at the entrance to the Anthropocene, as the interplay between natural and political systems becomes more apparent, the relationship between evolving social imaginaries and the movements of traditions through time needs to be better understood. A starting point is recognizing that the primary questions of the tradition are those of theological anthropology: what does it mean to be human, how are human beings valued, who counts among those who are valued, and what social structures do human beings create to shape and reinforce those values?