Thoughts on Religion and War

There have been many wars throughout history over religion; the crusades (A war during the middle ages) is the foremost, but there have been many others. In the era of Israel it seems wars over religion, or fighting for the cause of religion, is becoming just as frequent as it used to be.

This article will highlight the importance of religion in the modern era. To be religious doesn't always mean you have to get on your knees and pray, or go to war for a cause. Yet the fact is many wars have been ignited because of religious hatreds. Israel and the crusades were mentioned, but we could also go back to European conflicts in the 17^th and 18^th century. France and Spain had catholic monarchies, while others, like England, had protestant ones. So the conflicts would engulf the entire continent in bloody wars.

It has gotten worse; there have always been religious zealots, but with the advent of the bomb it seems the common assassin or fanatic has much more to play with in terms of his or her ability to kill.

There have been too many bombings in Iraq too count, and the same could be said in Israel. How does modern religion account for wars? It seems most countries and religious powers are against the modern war; it can be seen why, millions of people die in wars every century ... it seems to get out of hand.

Even in the Bible wars were coming and, in the Old Testament, God seemed willing to practice war when it was just.

There have been religious cults, like those in Waco, Texas, or others where mass suicides were enacted. Why do people do this? It seems that, even in modern America, people want to believe in something greater than themselves, or find regular society not as endearing as others. There will always be religious cults and fanatics as long as there are organized religions like Catholicism and Protestantism; and people will always think they are serving a higher force when they blow up others, even if its wrong.

The point of all this is, religion and war are interrelated, and will be for a while. Religion is important to the modern society, as it keeps hope in people, and sometimes gives them peace of mind. It doesn't mean there have to be fanatical cults or suicides that cause hundreds or thousands of deaths. Religion, war, and the Bible should be respected but not always controlled.