Religion and War in the New Testament - Essay Example

Religion and War: Almost everyone in the world has felt the urge or need to voice their opinion on religion. Most of such people are usually not qualified or competent enough to talk about this topic. This may be precisely why such topics are not allowed at dinner parties. There have been many conflicts that have come about as a result of some religious conflict. However, this does not necessarily mean that religion was the main cause of the war. Leaders and different groups have been known to use religion as a defense for their actions.

Religions have been known to prohibit infliction of harm to others. This is, however, blurry when it comes to the “just war”. Many religions believe in a just war whereby is necessary an unavoidable in order to protect its followers from persecution. In the New Testament, Christians at that time were taught to “Turn the other cheek” when confronted by another (Mathew 5.39). It was also Jesus who barred his disciple from using a sword to fight the soldiers who were there to capture Jesus.

This clearly shows that Jesus was against violence. Christians usually follow the teachings of Jesus, but this is one of the many facts that have been overlooked. Many argue that each state of affairs is special and should be independently analyzed. This may be true, but it creates possibilities for loopholes. There are people who take advantage of such situations to push for their own agenda. Although many armed conflicts may portray a hint of religious concern in their fight, there are always some underlying issues like power struggles, inequality, resources, oppression and ethnicity.

Each of these factors is usually made worse by the other. However, despite the main reason for the armed conflict it is important to remember that war has moral repercussions. Many armed conflict use religion to seek mass and unquestionable support from their unsuspecting followers. In this way, they can push their agenda without question. They exploit the ignorance and the sincerity of the people towards their religion. At this point, one may be inclined to think that, without religion, there would be no wars.

Without religion wars would still be fought, but for other reasons. War comes naturally to humans. People would still fight over positions, possessions etc. Religion, despite the fact that it is seen as a war catalyst, is the same one that presents to humans another idea of peace. Without religion, the idea of peace would not exist. Peace, unlike war, is not natural to humans. One has to learn to be peaceful (Moss). In conclusion, selfish people may use religion as a theme to promote their agenda through wars.

This, however, should not be used to invalidate religion (Moss). There are instances during a sporting match when the players fight each other. Such actions, however, should not be used to invalidate the whole game. Religion provides the ideology of peace that unites all humans. Wars are not fought by religion but people who purport to promote or fight for religion. Therefore, people should be careful about the choices they make. One should be well grounded in their religion to understand the true meaning of a “message” from their maker.

In this way, people will not be easily deceived into carrying out harmful actions against their fellow humans. Works Cited: Matthew. King James Bible. Print. Moss, Aron. "Who Needs Religion, If Its the Cause of So Much Violence? - Jewish Ethics & Morality." Judaism, Torah and Jewish Info - Chabad Lubavitch. 2011. Web. 13 Feb. 2012.