Religion, War, and Peace Quiz 1

Tanakh

Hebrew Bible: Torah, Nevi’im, and Ketuvim

Nevi’im

The prophets

Torah

central scripture and guide for religious life, law, and ethics

ketuvim

The writings

Mitzvot

Jewish commandments, 613

Brit

Covenant connecting God, Torah, Israel

Halakhah

Jewish law guiding behavior and daily life

Talmund

Central text of Rabbinic Judaism, containing interpretations of the Torah.

Galut

Exile

Milhamah

war

Eivah

Hostility

Hasidism

Jewish religious movement emphasizing spirituality, devotion, and closeness to God

Walzer Main Argument

Jewish tradition doesn’t have fully developed systematic theory of war and peace, lived in exile

War Categories

Mitzvah (commanded wars), Reshut (permitted wars), prohibited wars category missing

Pikuach nefesh

jewish laws suspended to save life, exceptions include idolatry, murder, and immorality

Cavanaugh Main Argument

religion can contribute to violence, but shouldn’t automatically be treated as primary reason for violence

Assumption challenged by Cavanaugh

Religion = violent, Secularism = peaceful

Nationalism and Religion

can function like religion and have same social functions

Two ways of defining religion

substantivist, functionalist

Substantivist

define religion by beliefs in God or supernatural

Functionalist

define religion by societal function (create identity, meaning etc.)

Markham Main Argument

Religion does not have single relationship with peace

Jus ad bellum

whether entering war is justified

Jus in bello

whether conduct of war is justified

characteristics of religious violence 1

binary worldview (good vs evil)

characteristics of religious violence 2

apocalypticism (expectation of end-times)

characteristics of religious violence 3

cosmic warfare (earth conflict is part of larger meaning)

characteristics of religious violence 4

metaphysical certainty (one’s position is ultimate truth)