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The role of religion in the causes of war
The role of religion in the causes of war
Introduction does religion cause war
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The Teachings of Religion on War and Pacifism
mples of the teaching against war given from the bible. Although
Christians refuse to fight at war, they can still be part of war in a
non-combat way (e.g. a medical aid to the injured of war.), or they
might use non-violent methods as a different approach to war, e.g. a
sile
Pacifism is the refusal to use violence in any situation. Many
Christians are pacifists, as they believe that God doesn't want them
to fight their neighbours and the Bible tells them this.
"Do not kill" the Ten Commandments given to mosses from God in Exodus
Chapter 20. "Love your neighbour as yourself". Mathew 22.37-39 which
is one of the two greatest commandments given by God. Mathew 5 teaches
people to take punishment and not to be quick to take revenge. "Turn
the other cheek." Jesus tells people to be good. "Love your enemies
and pray for those who persecute you," these examples are one of many
different exa nt protest which Martin-Luther king successfully
achieved when attempting to receive the equal rights of black and
white men.
Although many Christians believe that war is wrong, some Christians do
take part in war as they believe that the bible teaches them teaching
that permit war. God gave people the ability to reason. War may be
justified. "An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth". (Exodus 21) shows
that punishment shall be appropriate to the crime. Many of these
Christians use violence simply as a form of self-defence.
Some Christians are such strong believers, that they will sacrifice
their life for their beliefs; these Christians are known as Martyrs.
Many people risk their lives in the modern day by speaking out in
public against the government and preaching to the Gospels of Jesus.
The following quote is from Mathew 26:52and tells Christians of
consequences of going to war.
"Put your swords back in its place. All draw the sword will die by the
sword"
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2) The cause must be just. This is jus ad bellum because you decide if
This takes us to the concept of just war. Aristotle saw just war as a means to a higher goal. You don't just fight the war to win the war there needs to be a purpose to fighting the war. He goes on to tell us how others view just war. The Romans said war was just only when conducted by the state, and only accompanied by a declaration of hostilities, meaning war had to be declared on someone. Rebellions and revolutions were not considered just wars. The Japanese did not define when war was just or proper. Early Christians rejected war; this came from the effort to be more Christ like, the Golden Rule, due unto others as you would have them do to you. Later the Christians could no longer be pacifists; they were going to have to go to war sometime after Constantine became emperor and declared Christianity as the main religion of the time.
Generally, war results from arguments between nations over things like land, power, money, or religion. War over religion contradicts religion itself. In the passage titled “On War”, James Boswell states, “That amiable religion which “proclaims peace on earth,” hath not as yet made war to cease.” If religion proclaims peace on earth, then war goes against those morals.
All throughout history, people have been fighting, there have been wars and conflicts ever since man has become ‘civilized’ enough to raise an army. And, many, many if not almost all of these conflicts have involved religion in some way or another (Ben-Meir). The question is why, and how, do people use God as justification for fighting and killing one another. Isn’t killing supposed to be wrong in God’s eyes? Whatever happened to ‘Thou shalt not Kill’? And how is it that hundreds of thousands of people have died by the hands of those who call themselves Christians?
say that due to the way Jesus reacted at his arrest and the fact that
Calkin’s published “Militant Pacifism” in 1917 during the First World War. As a student of James, she has similar ideas about the necessity of a moral equivalent of war. She, however, has several differences that can help one see the benefits of a moral equivalent without the problematic aspects. Unlike James, she maintained that people did not want war. Writing after James’s death, she argued that the world was united in their desire to stop World War I. Humanity had a larger desire to end all wars. In explaining her pacifism, she stated that:
fight their own battle, they leave it to the unfortunate soldiers who have to die for the fight the government started. The second half of this verse hints at the fact that the politicians treat the war they started as a game, using the people under their control as pieces in a chess game. It ends by saying "wait 'till their judgment day comes," meaning they will be punished in their next life for the mistakes they made while they were playing games with peoples' lives.
...behalf of Islam as a religious duty. This is as obvious of a situation of religious hypocrisy as you will see. Over 270 million people are estimated to have been killed by Jihads since the birth of Islam (Tears of Jihad). Islams are supposed to practice values of peace, yet have no issues waging war and killing other human beings.
because they wanted to not because they were afraid to. A good example of this
fight?', as if to say that the idea of war was nothing more than a
Over the years, society has come to evolve and progressively become more efficient as society’s viewpoints and perspectives on various aspects of life have also changed. However, the one aspect of life that has stayed constant has been religion. The impact of a constant religious opinion on a changing society has detrimental and benign effects on the populace of such a society.
Christian’s Approach to Nuclear War A Christians approach to Nuclear is entirely based on the opinion of the person. Although in this essay I will try and generalise this and try to find reasons as to why this might be. In my view; yes, a Christians approach to nuclear war should be different to other war. Any war goes against the teachings of Pacifism, but in the world, unless you can get everyone to listen and obey these teachings, then a more practical scheme should be adopted. This then makes the basis of any war; that your enemy will not listen to reason, so war being the last resort, you commence in battle.
The Christian perspective on war varies with each denomination. While reading the various Christian views on war, I found the article God is Pro-War by Jerry Falwell to be incredibly interesting. Falwell believes there are several instances that God supports and even gives counsel to be smart in war. As I was reading his article I was stopped by a major clarification Falwell makes that weakens the Christian anti-war perspective. Which is that many Christians incorrectly use the sixth commandment to defend their opposition to war. They believe that is “Thou shalt not kill” but it is actually “Thou shalt not commit murder” (Falwell). As Falwell says “there is a difference between killing and murdering” (Falwell) and I completely agree with such
The author also explained that shortly after the Hijra, another verse was revealed to him, giving permission for one to fight if they feel they have been wronged. Furthermore, war against unbelievers, or Jihad, is encouraged. One who fights for his purpose will have a far greater reward than one who chooses not to. Those who are killed in battle will have paradise to look forward to, “They have struck a bargain with God.”(Cook, 1983: 54). This policy is very convenient and effective for Muhammad to spread his religion. It is very motivating to believe you have God on your side during a war.
Pacifism covers an array of views and there are many subcategories of pacifism, some of which I will cover, but the main definition of the word pacifism is the opposition to war and/or violence. Perhaps the most famous use of the word pacifism is found in the “Sermon on the Mount”, where Jesus claims the “peacemakers” are blessed. In this passage, the Greek word eirenopoios is translated into Latin as pacifici, which means those who work for peace. One common and simple argument for pacifism among religious groups or god fearing people is the argument that god’s revealed words says, through the bible, “Thou shalt not kill.”