Religion and War in the New Testament Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Religion and War in the New Testament - Essay Example This is, however, blurry when it comes to the â€Å"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 â€Å"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.