Ethics of holy war

A detailed Summary of Ethics of holy war

The issue of a jihad, or holy war is a term brought from the bible to give bearing to the conquest of the land of one by the request of God. If and what relevance does this term have to the world as we know it today? The ongoing conflict in the Middle East is a prime example that it is still an issue and probably always will be.

This ethical problem deeply affects three of the most prominent influences on the way each culture in the world operates. First is the political aspect. The Israeli possession of Palestine, treatment of the Palestinian people, and the habitation of the West Bank all make us vulnerable when taking either side. Meaning we put ourselves in a situation where we automatically make an enemy. This brings the second point into perspective. How should we act in warfare? Should we be participants or just object and watch, because how do we know if God is on the same side we are and what the consequences of the actions will be. The third point is that with the above in mind, how does this affect our view on the character of a god who can judge a group and be fair to each of us individually.

There are two basic ethical decisions when deciding upon where to stand on the view of a holy war. Is it right o

However, the gulf war and Saddam Hussein brought all that back up to speed when he unleashed a series of bombings on Israel and brought the United States over into the conflict. This put more publicity on the area, making it a worldwide problem. The publicity along with the world's dependency on that area for oil has created a huge focal point for war and who will side with who based on what they need from one another not what is right or wrong.

There are entirely too many different interpretations of the holy scriptures of each religion to give an explanation of this madness. This makes me think about the class I took at Manchester College on the Old Testament. From what I've understood of that class, the world was full of killing, conquest, and all from the word of God. Our professor there told us he was not there to inflict a point of view upon us or even give his ideas at all on what was being said, but to enable us to understand the basic meaning and allow us to make our own judgment on what it was trying to convey. This is important information for everyone who thinks they can give resolve to the holy war issues in the world today. We just need to focus on one part at a time and do our best to help create as much peace as possible. It is doubtful that much progress will ever come of all this. The PLO, or Palestine Liberation Organization is the best attempt at a peaceful resolution to the conflict. They have at numerous different times forced the Israeli forces back to there homeland and kept the area as calm as possible to aid in negotiating a resolve.

r is it wrong? The view that holy war is moral and right comes from the term Graded Absolutism. This states that killing is clearly against God's law, but God exempted Israel from breaking these in order to satisfy higher laws (Geisler 27, 115-118). The other is Unqualified Absolutism. This states just the opposite, that it is wrong no matter what, and that God's law against killing is a moral absolute that must not be broken. (Geisler 27)

Some common words found in the essay are:
Unqualified Absolutism, Cana Israelites, West Bank, Middle East, Testament I've, Saddam Hussein, Liberation Organization, , Graded Absolutism, holy war, dispute land, view holy, geisler 27, middle east, god's law, holy scriptures, view holy war,

Approximate Word count = 1365
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Miscellaneous