Holy war, sanctioned or even commanded by God, is a common and recurring theme in the Hebrew Bible. Rabbinic Judaism, however, largely avoided discussion of holy war in the Talmud and related literatures for the simple reason that it became dangerous and self-destructive. Reuven Firestone's Holy War in Judaism is the first book to consider how the concept of ''holy war'' disappeared from Jewish thought for almost 2000 years, only to reemerge with renewed vigor in modern times. The revival of the holy war idea occurred with the rise of Zionism. As the necessity of organized Jewish engagement in military actions developed, Orthodox Jews faced a dilemma. There was great need for all to engage in combat for the survival of the infant state of Israel, but the Talmudic rabbis had virtually eliminated divine authorization for Jews to fight in Jewish armies. Once the notion of divinely sanctioned warring was revived, it became available to Jews who considered that the historical context justified more aggressive forms of warring. Among some Jews, divinely authorized war became associated not only with defense but also with a renewed kibbush or conquest, a term that became central to the discourse regarding war and peace and the lands conquered by the state of Israel in 1967. By the early 1980's, the rhetoric of holy war had entered the general political discourse of modern Israel. In Holy War in Judaism, Firestone identifies, analyzes, and explains the historical, conceptual, and intellectual processes that revived holy war ideas in modern Judaism.
An excellent analysis upon which I have drawn is offered by David Steward Bachrach, Religion and the Conduct of War, c. 300–1215 (Woodbridge, U.K.: Boydell, 2003), 12–14, which generally focuses on the Latin west. 10.
The cauldron in which this mixture produced its new product was Medina, where various forces came together to produce the religious community of Muslims known as the Umma."--BOOK JACKET.
Emma Wasserman, a rising scholar of early Christian history, challenges this interpretation and reframes these apocalyptic texts as myths about divine politics and heroic submission.
The Crusades and their impact on today's world.
Or do religious arguments always add fuel to the fire in armed conflict? The contributions in this volume will help provide answers to these and other socially and politically relevant questions.
Lewis, Bernard. The Assassins: A Radical Sect in Islam. ... Lewis, Matthew. The Monk. Edited with an introduction and notes by Christopher MacLachlan. ... Marty, Martin E., and R. Scott Appleby, eds. Fundamentalism Observed.
"Holy War: The Blood of Abraham" is a book about the origins of Islamic terrorism.
Appearing here in English for the first time, Gerhard von Rad has provided a definitive study of the theory of holy war and its development throughout biblical history.
Holy War, Just War explores the "dark side" in Christianity, Islam, and Judaism by examining how the concept of ultimate value contributes to religious violence.
The Great and Holy War offers the first look at how religion created and prolonged the First World War, and the lasting impact it had on Christianity and world religions more extensively in the century that followed.