A Prime Source of Conflict where It Should Be a Fountain of Peace - Assignment Example

A Prime Source of Conflict where It Should Be a Fountain of Peace Of all the causes of war between nations, one of the most powerful has been the influence of religious convictions on conflict. Within the last ten years, religion has been the cause of war in Palestine, the Balkans, Northern Ireland, Kashmir, Sudan, Ethopia, and Eritrea (Wade 129). The problems with wars that are based on religious ideologies is that there is rarely a true resolution. No one on either side of a religious conflict is going to try to work out the conflict because in conceding their aggression there is an admission of acceptance to the oppositions belief system. Most often, a war that is based upon religious ideology will not end until one faction subjugates the other. Religious ideologies that are in conflict more than likely will never find true resolution and peace. Two very different places in the world where this is in evidence is in Northern Ireland and Israel. These two places have been host to factions who are in constant conflict with each other. Generations pass and yet the conflict continues because it is not the individuals that are in conflict, but belief systems. According to Brinkley, “Staunch belief in something greater than ourselves is an essential building block in the construction of a personal reality” (83). When a personal reality is violated, a reactionary violence can be the result. In believing so strongly in the right of one doctrine, the acceptance of others who don’t share that doctrine can threaten the reality that has been created through a system of beliefs. The very existence of other avenues of thought can be perceived as a threat to a way of life. The rise of the modern secularized state has helped to minimize the number of conflicts that arise because of religious belief. Up until the rise of the ideologically founded political system of the United States that firmly situated the acceptance of faith as a personal choice, rather than a state dictated set of national beliefs, most nations were built on a foundation of religious, political and warfare structures in which exclusionary policies promoted conflict. The needs that a civilization had for religious sacrifices were one of the first causes for war in history. The Aztecs based much of their warring on the need for human sacrifices and the Maring based their cyclical warring on the need for pigs to sacrifice to their gods (Wade 128). There is an innate conflict within the Christian religion between the promotion of war for its cause and the desire for peace as is interpreted through the teachings of Christ. However, in history this has not stopped nations from going to war in the name of Christ. The crusades, as an example, were fought in order to bring the holy lands under the control of European Catholicism. The first Crusade was a result of the call by Urban II in November of 1095 and by 1099 the mostly French forces had taken Jerusalem. This set the course for hundreds of years of religious, economic, and political excuses to fight back and forth between the Muslims and the Christians in order to control the holy lands. While war may not have been primarily caused by religious belief, it is often the excuse that is used to promote a war. For the knights who were sent on the crusades, it was a way of performing an act of penance to counter the effect of sin upon them (Perry 241). Knights were intrinsically linked in the performance of their duties as they swore fealty to their king for which most European kings were considered divinely ordained. Some kings even believed themselves to have powers that were beyond men that were given to them through divine ordination. English kings were believed to have divine powers which were example by ’cramp rings’ which were made from coins that the king would offer to the Church on Good Friday. These rings were thought to relieve those who suffered from muscle cramping, epilepsy, palsy, labor pains, and rheumatism (Weir 132). Therefore, the belief in the divinity of royalty created a connection between war and righteousness. This was brought more into focus by groups of knights who were specifically representative of their religious association. The Knights Templar are known to have been “perceived as brutal fanatics imposing an ideology with a sword” (Read xi). However, the true nature of the order is highly debated. Still, the intent was to have knights who were dedicated to piety and poverty, much like clerics, but who supported the cause of Christianity through war. The rise of the Middle Ages created a time where war and Christian intent were often linked through claims that the needs of both the divinely ordained political system and the desires of God were met out by a sword. This attitude is still present in the way in which much of the world perceives Christian ethics and morality. The song “Onward Christian Soldiers” creates either a literal or a figurative metaphor (depending on your point of view) for the battle for Christ through his followers. There is often a perception that there is an exclusionary tendency within the Church where the phrase “if you are not with us you are against us” would quite possibly be accurate. This sense of exclusive righteousness leads to the belief that others do not have the right to what is under their domain. Therefore, events like the Crusades can come to pass in the name of Christ who spoke of nothing but breaking down barriers and bringing others into the fold. An example of this can be seen in the story of the Samarian woman who he treated well and did not discount as the others would have him do (John 4:1-42 New International Version). The nature of the life of Christ makes the number of conflicts and the amount of suffering that has been committed in His name a complete contradiction. The stories told of his life through the four Gospels indicate that He did not wish for the world to be run through actions by Christians to raise their fists to enemies. Mathew 5:39 states “But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also“ (New International Version), thus bringing about the concept of ‘turning the other cheek’ towards one’s enemies. Christ preached that in order to bring others to Him, a Christian would need to show love and mercy to his enemies, treating them with kindness and respect. This type of a deity does not wish for others to be killed and harmed in His name. Still, it has happened throughout history and still continues to happen today. While a sense of peace has been reached in Northern Ireland as of 1998, there still remains a divide between Catholic and Protestant people of the region. The political issue that divides them is concerned with the Catholics who wish to have a free Ireland, while Protestants are Unionists who want to belong under the British government. Both desire their position upheld primarily because of the desire to freely practice their own beliefs. While there are definitive political interests involved, the core of the issue is still nestled within the desire for freedom to worship. Despite the basic tenets of the beliefs that Christ promoted, Christians have not only fought others for control over lands they believed were holy, but they fight each other over the power to worship Christ as they see fit. One must wonder what the deities of the world, if they were to exist, believe about the wars that are fought in their names. Many deities are represented in their mythologies as violent and war like, thus these conflicts in their names seem justified. This would be represented by the ancient Aztec cultures as an example. However, Christianity is suppose to be founded upon humility and charity with the good will of others crucial to the spread of the Word of God. One must wonder how military conflict fits into the way in which Christ portrayed His desires for His people. As in the Sermon on the Mount, He specifically expresses his desires for those who consider themselves His followers to ‘turn the other cheek’. Therefore, war does not seem like a reasonable way in which to express belief in Him. War has been the result of many issues that have arisen within the Christian world. It has been the secularized modern nation that has diminished the rise of religiously based conflicts. This has, of course, not stemmed the tides of war, but it has made the causes of war to be revealed for their political and economic context rather than to hide them behind religious excuses. While many of the reasons given for modern wars are still not honest, at least they are not being fought in the name of God. The cause of most religious war has had a political or economic root cause, but the propaganda that is used most often in modern wars is the concept of ‘safety’ as a reason to go to war. The truth is always in the hands of those who frame history rather than through a true sense of reality. However, religious purposes for war have always been a factor in conflicts that have arisen across the world. Whether it is the primary reason or an excuse to promote the war, the desire to go into conflict over belief systems is always a strong reason for supporting a war. Religious beliefs create strong feelings within people and when their beliefs are threatened, their sense of reality is put into conflict. This is a conflict that most would be more comfortable expressing outside of themselves in defending what they believe, rather than internalizing the conflict and having to question where they have invested their faith. Faith is a powerful tool within the mind that provides security and protection in a world that is not often easy to explain. When that is threatened, it can bring about very violent reactions. Those reactions can change the course of human history. Works Cited Barker, Kenneth L, and Donald W. Burdick. The Niv Study Bible, New International Version. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan Bible Publishers, 1985. Print. Brinkley, Dannion. Secrets of the Light: Lessons from Heaven. New York: HarperOne, 2008. Print. Cordell, Karl, and Stefan Wolff. Ethnic Conflict: Causes, Consequences, Responses. Cambridge: Polity, 2009. Print. Durward, Rosemary, and Lee Marsden. Religion, Conflict and Military Intervention. Farnham, Surrey: Ashgate, 2009. Print. Cairnes, Earle E. Christianity through the Centuries: A History of the Christian Church. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 2009. Print. Kim, Sebastian C. H, Pauline Kollontai, and Greg Hoyland. Peace and Reconciliation: In Search of Shared Identity. Aldershot, England: Ashgate, 2008. Print. Perry, Marvin. Western Civilization: Ideas, Politics and Society. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2009. Print. Wade, Nicholas. The Faith Instinct: How Religion Evolved and Why It Endures. New York: Penguin Books, 2010. Print. Weir, Alison. Henry Viii : the King and His Court. New York: Ballantine Books, 2002. Print. Read More