Terrorism & Holy war

KEY CONCEPTS

Justice = fairness, religion is meant to bring justice and to fight injustice where it’s seen.

Peace = live in harmony and without fear, no wars

Reconciliation = Trying to bring opposite sides together and get their issues resolved

Forgiveness = Move a relationship forward with someone who has done wrong to us, putting wrong-doing behind us.

Conflict = disagreement

stances a religious believer might take:

pacifist - believing all war and killing is wrong

holy war - believing it is right to fight war in the name of God

just war believing it is right to fight for the greater good and justice

is religion a cause of war

Religion is not a cause of war, but the practices and their interpretations can cause problems. Sometimes teachings can be ambiguous or difficult to understand as there are contradicting lessons in the bible/torah.

Religion is definitely involved in war even if its not the cause. For example Israel vs Palestine . Religion can often become a key issue in sides as it divides communities.

Religious leaders often call for the end of conflict, many of them and groups are involved in bringing resolutions to war or speaking out against violent actions

Holy War in Christianity

In the Old Testament there are many examples of holy war, the soldiers believed that God was on their side. The Crusades (1095-1291) were fought to capture control over the Holy land, the Christian soldiers thought they were fighting for a sacred and noble cause.

Just War in Christianity

Christians are taught to obey their rulers, as they have been given power by God. Sometimes if you don’t fight, you allow a greater evil to happen, so you have to fight