“Appeals to ‘holy war’ or ‘religious crusade’ in one or another tradition are one type of appeal to divine authority regarding the use of force.” In recent history numerous conflicts, border skirmishes, battles and wars have arisen in which governments have decided to apply military force to varying degrees. Inevitably, politicians, policy-makers, religious and military leaders seek divine authority on which to base the struggle of their population and the loss of life. Have religious ethical values or theological aspects of the just war tradition influenced the nature of these military actions? Have the prevailing religious values kept military actions any more humane than they might otherwise have been? This paper will examine the theological roots of the just war tradition in the Christian and Islamic cultures.
This history begins with the work of the earlier Christian missionaries who came to deliver the nation from darkness and idolatry. The history also includes how the earlier German tribes, Queen Mary and other individuals, attempted to put out the light that the earlier missionaries had lit. The author ends by discussing the connections between Roman Catholicism, the light of Christianity and the darkness of heathenism. He further illustrates the link between Catholicism and the evil persecution and cruelty that was prevalent at that time. The author starts by explaining that modern day philosophy was born in the seventeenth century revolution and rat... ... middle of paper ... ...nciples were an earnest and in-depth study of the bible in private and public meetings.
Johnson concludes his book having proven that there is a strong “relationship between religion and political behavior” (135). Through the Evangelical influence the Whig party developed, calling for temperance, observance of the Sabbath and overall moral reform. However, those untouched by revival began to stand at odds to such moral control. Soon differing ideologies evolved, those of the Protestants and workmen, eventually culminating into two distinct parties: the Whig and Democratic parties. This paper will look at examples from Rochester to suggest the foundations for the divisions between the parties: how they view moral concerns and their ways of governing these issues, finally, asserting that such divisions still affect American politics today.
Puritanism spawned from a reform group of the Church of England in the mid-sixteenth century. Puritans felt the need to make the Church of England pure from the corrupt influences of the Roman Empire.1 In their New England colony, including Salem, they held the Bible to be the foundation of their legal system, while also including some of the common laws of England. The Bible was the basis of the legal system because God, in Scripture, told people how to live. Since man was born with original sin and could, therefore, inadvertently make laws that went against Scripture, the Puritans looked to God, through his words, to decide the righteous course of action.2 They followed this not only in their legal system, but also in their everyday lives. Everyone in the community of Salem attended church, and the church was the pillar of the community in every aspect of life.
. Thomas Hobbes [1588-1679] is the founder of the theories of Hobbism which calls on absolute monarchy in order to deal with what he calls inherently selfish, aggrandizing nature of humanity. ... ... middle of paper ... ...place to God, and afterwards to the laws." It seems pretty clear to me when I readThe Declaration of Independence and when I read quotes from the founding fathers and their contemporaries that it was the work of strong Bible believing men that first made the monumental leap in breaking union with Britian. Unfortunately their words and lives have gone by the wayside in our hearts and minds.Instead of learning about George Washington's famous words of Christian faith or how he emerged unscathed from battle with his uniform riddeled with bullet holes our History books teach us all about how he could not lie when he chopped down the cherry tree.
), epistemology (by what means are we to know him? can he be represented to human senses? ), and ethics (how does knowledge of God translate into moral action?). Protestant iconoclasts tend to emphasize the epistemological worth (or rather, worthlessness) of religious imagery, while the Catholic iconophiles emphasize the positive moral effects to be derived from the use of images in religious instruction. Although sparked in the 1520's and 30's, the debate between iconoclasts and iconophiles raged throughout the latter sixteenth century, well into Shakespeare's time.
Throughout the text, king appeals to ethos indirectly as form of persuasion of his authority. Initially he uses the tone of certainty and authority to develop the ethos. Secondly, King uses high modality and formal language as an effective way to demonstrate his intellect. Finally, he uses past events to appeal to ethos and logos. Martin Luther King appeals to ethos through the tone of certainty and authority as method of persuading the Christian audience of h... ... middle of paper ... ...historical event in order to show the logic that there should be change, as just creating a ‘new kind of slavery’ is inadequate.
Connecticut had experienced the most radical Great Awakening repercussions. Connecticut put in place strict laws against preaching in order for the official church to maintain authority. The Old Lights' actions in Connecticut became a drive and a direct example of the responsibility of colonists to push for individual rights and religious freedom. The radical events and acts in Connecticut rapidly increased the spread of the Great Awakening, informed the people of their responsibilities, and brought upon rights in America that became the basis for American society. The Great Awakening in Connecticut became a leading catalyst for the creation of independent philosophy in America, an act to strive for the freedom of religious expressions, and the start of the Revolutionary War.
The goal of this paper is to explain this subject to someone unfamiliar with this subject. 1 Thesis The thesis of this paper is that the classical just war doctrine hammered out from Scripture by the early Fathers, organized by Thomas Aquinas and honed by the Reformers, offers a cogent answer to the question of whether violence can ever be virtuous, and stands opposed to liberal pacifism and the moral realist theories. Just war doctrine teaches that self-defense is rooted in the character of God, the God who hates evil and who restrains evildoers, often through the hands of His children. The Subject Until recently, traditional Christian teaching in all its major branches has held that violence can be worthy of Christian support when certain criteria are met (jus ad bellum). This theory is known as “just war” ethics.
For Christians the belief in God is what keeps them grounded. Imagine the hardships endured during these difficult times in American history, the British and the English, as well as the Spanish, fighting over too whom has control. For Jonathan Edwards as a philosophical theologian, even in these trying times found, “beauty and harmony in these surroundings and played a critical role in shaping the first Great Awakening” (MacDermott, 2009). He identified with others and understood self-peace must be brought to the forefront to offer a solace existence. While others may argue religion is only used to control a mass existence.