Reviewing Articles in Christianity - Book Report/Review Example

?A Globalized God Scott M. Thomas In the past, when the concept of religion was diminishing, many scholars remarked that a time will come when religion will be on the rise again and actions in the world will be directed based on religion. The author has discussed this concept in the article under consideration and he appears to be of the view that almost all religions have started gaining importance in human lives during recent times. There is a marked increase in the number of believers around the world. From the United States to the Middle East, religious traditions and beliefs have started shaping personalities and opinions. Now religion has also crept into economic development and welfare of states. People are now moving back to their roots of fundamentalism. Rituals and doctrines are strictly adhered to in recent times (Thomas, 2010). In the article, the author talks about how Christianity has been spreading at an increasing rate and how the US can use religion as a medium to promote international peace and security and also make the lives of people of the world better. Christianity is known as the religion of peace with most of its rituals and teachings are based on the concept of peace, harmony and love among people. With the growing acceptance of religion and specifically Christianity, the author urges the United States to instill the beliefs of Christianity in their foreign affairs and use it to promote the message of peace and prosperity around the world. The United States has been at an advantage since the last two decades with the country politically involved with the whole world. There have been several problems too; where things have gone worse and have led to inevitable wars. A few notable examples could be Afghanistan and Iraq. There were political conflicts and a lack of understanding, settlement or ceasefire led to bloody wars that demolished the nation and put them back by hundreds of years. Nearly every attempt to resolve the issues by dialogue failed. The phenomena of war increased all over the world and United States, being the power it is, held responsibility of promoting the message of peace and prosperity, especially in international relations, which is something Christianity preaches. The author talks about how the United States should use the growing belief in religion all around the world to promote international peace and use it to settle their relations with other nations of the world. The message in Christianity is a strong one and if obeyed properly, can lead to peace in the world. Nations have become more and more religious. According to the author, during the last three years there has been a sudden resurgence of religion and faith. Nations who talk about religion tend to have a soft spot for all other nations that have strong inclination towards religion. There is a growing influence of religion on international politics. The United States should be using religion as a tool for promoting peace and molding their relations with other nations of the world. If two or more nations can agree upon the ideologies and beliefs of religion, their differences could be eliminated. This could happen if the motives and aspects of politics could be directed by what Christianity or any religion preaches. One example of how religion did this could be that of Islam. Several centuries ago, the Islamic leaders used the teachings of their God to solve political conflicts of the world. The word of their Islamic book, the Quran, was deemed as a guide to put an end to the conflicts and problems that arose among nations. Holy books were respected, believed and never objected to. The message in the books about national peace and prosperity was accepted by nations across the world and hence any conflicts that arose were solved according to the directives that were given in religion. Today, when religion is on the rise again, it is no surprise that the writer is urging the United States to move further towards religion and use it to promote the message of peace and prosperity in the world. The writer, however, dwells on the downside of the phenomena of religion being the sole promoter of peace in international politics. In writer’s view the United States can use religion to promote international peace, but at the same time it should be kept in mind that this could become a calamity if they fail in managing their religious approach. The increase influence of religion everywhere in the world has meant that strong beliefs have developed within people. When people become strong believers, they also become less tolerant to changes and other beliefs. In other words, the biggest conflicts then become the conflicts of religious differences. Because people follow religion so blindly, there is a growing risk that this belief could lead to further conflicts and eventually war. This is what the author has tried to imply in this article. If the United States does not handle the situation with religion smartly, the implications could be adverse. Religiously motivated conflicts are the most destructive. This is because it usually becomes difficult to find a common ground. Things sacred to the followers of one religion might be considered a source of curse by the followers of another religion. This is where conflicts could arise and nations could indulge in war in order to prove the righteousness of their religion. The situation at hand is that there is no doubt about the increased belief in religion all around the world. Religion, in totality, delivers the message of peace. This is something that is common and synonymous with all religions. There are no religions in the world that preach against or have rituals against the message of peace and prosperity. This is what the author urges the US to do. But it could all get out of the hand, if not handled properly. Preaching of religious messages could lead to conflicts and eventually religiously motivated war. A good example of this could be seen in Pakistan where two different sects of Islam – Sunnis and Shiasm – have led to bloody conflicts in the country. Both sectors’ beliefs preach peace but differences creep in leading to violence. Similarly, if the US does not manage this growing influence of religion, it could cause havoc all around the world1. Christianity and Islam: Lessons from Africa J. Paul Martin There has been a noted resurgence of the interest in religion over the past few years. People have now started moving towards their religions where most of the aspects of their lives are now influenced by religion. This is not just confined to individuals or families but whole nations are now driven by their religious beliefs. The constitutions and laws of countries have shaped up by taking inspiration from religion. Religion promotes the message of peace and prosperity. However, on the other hand, religion has also become the reason for several conflicts around the world. The increasing interest in religion and the belief in it have meant that there is an increased influence of religion in world politics as well. This has become a worrying factor because the differences have led to bloody conflicts and problem all over the world and this is what the writer has tried to convey in this article taking the example of what has happened in Africa2. Academic studies have revealed how religion has played an important role in world politics and how it influenced the decisions of several world leaders around the world. This article draws more towards the increasing conflicts between nations who either believe in Christianity or Islam. The press coverage both religions get would indicate how worlds apart they are. There could be a conflicting relationship between Islam and Christianity if the press is believed to be truthful. However, in reality, this is quite the opposite; as Islam and Christianity have a lot of things in common. They are two of the most similar religions of the world. The traditions and theories of both religions are similar. Despite the similarities between the two religions, some of the world’sbiggest and the deadliest wars took place between followers of these two religions. It defies logic but the author says that any similarity that could exist between these two religions becomes nullified when you see the conflicts around the world. The intensities have however been different from nation to nation or from historical period to another. Regarding the interaction of Islam and Christianity, there are two schools of thoughts; One that sees political Islam as a major threat to the western world and the other that believes that if the relations between people from both faiths improve, the world could become a more peaceful place to live. In this article, the author has drawn attention towards Africa as to how the nations in Africa have tried to find common ground in religion and tried to maintain peace through that. Religion has a major role in politics in Africa. The continent has a vast majority of Christians and Muslims and these two are the most dominant religions all over the region. The writer talks about how the leaders of the African nations take inspiration from their respective religions to maintain peace in the region. Both Islam and Christianity have a common message and belief in the concept of brotherhood and peace. This is something people from both religions strongly believe. Also, this is something that most countries in Africa have found common ground on. This is why almost none of the conflicts in the region are driven by difference in religion. Their conflicts are solved and settled on the theory of peace and brother hood. There are exceptions in countries like Nigeria and Sudan where religious differences have led to conflicts and war but on the whole, Africa is an example to world about how religion can be used as an orchestrator of peace and prosperity. The author says that the trick is to find common ground and equilibrium in the belief system of religions and if that can be achieved, this world could become a more peaceful place to live. The Next Christianity Phillip Jenkins In this article, the author talks about the global state of Christianity. The article says that the history of the world has seen several religious movements that have gone on to shape the future. Similarly, the author talks about the Reformation movement that promoted the individualistic model of religion rather than a communal model. According to the author, the communal model of religion could lead to several conflicts because in religious beliefs, there are bound to be differences and these differences could lead to conflicts and eventually war 3. The writer believes that reformation has shaped the world’s history and now this is something that Christianity could well do as well. During the first century, the concept of ideology was replaced by that of religion and Jenkins believes that Christianity can have a similar impact on the belief systems in the world like it did several years ago. The impact of the increasing belief in Christianity has been seen most in Africa, Asia and Latin America where religion now has an impact on everything in their lives. The belief in Christianity in those regions is that there is a divine authority that makes everything happen. So much is the belief, according to the writer, that people have now even started believing in physical healing. The writer uses this example to explain the growing influence of religion where people now believe that strong belief in religion can heal physical problems as well. The writer then draws attention towards the issue of finding an appropriate equilibrium between state and religion. When considering the relationship between the two entities, there would be questions raised by diversity, tolerance, relations with the minorities and the role religious laws play in the public sphere. These issues need to be solved before religious matters start conflicting with that of the state. According to the writer, there is a desperate need of dialogue between authorities involved in church and in state to find a common ground between religion and law. This is because the growing influence and belief in religion has meant that there could be conflicts between what the state defines and what the religion defines. Any possible differences between the two could become a reason for conflict and because religiously motivated conflicts are very intense, the situation could well go out of hand. The writer then talks about the difference between the influences of Christianity in the North as compared to the south. He believes that there should be a dialogue between north and south in order to eliminate the religious difference so that they could come on common ground and share the message of peace, brotherhood and prosperity. He gives specific reference to the religious difference between Canada and the United States. In general, Canadian leadership believes the religious values are being influenced from the European states and this is what they have a problem with. If the Canadian government, through dialogue, can help solve the religious differences, it could save the region from a lot of chaos and violence. In conclusion, the writer says that the West would be a much peaceful place if they can instill a more futuristic view on Christianity and if the beliefs of the religion can be shared by the people of the whole region. References Top of Form Thomas Scott, M. 2010. "A globalized god: Religion's growing influence in international politics". Foreign Affairs. 89 (6): 93-101. Bottom of Form Top of Form Martin, J Paul. 1998. "Christianity and Islam: Lessons from Africa". Brigham Young University Law Review. (2): 401. Bottom of Form Jenkins, Philip. 2002. "The Next Christianity." 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