Holy War, Just War Exploring the Moral Meaning of Religious Violence

by Steffen, Lloyd

• ISBN13: 9780742558472
• ISBN10: 0742558479
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2007-03-29
• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Summary

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.

Author Biography

Lloyd Steffen is professor of religion studies at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. xi
Life-Affirming and Demonic Religion: The Option	p. 1
The Power and Danger of Religion	p. 3
Religion Is Powerful	p. 11
Religion Is Dangerous	p. 20
Ultimacy as Absolutism	p. 23
Conclusion	p. 39
Being Religious: The Life-Affirming Option	p. 43
Life-Affirming Religion	p. 49
The Lure of Goodness: Where Religion and Ethics Meet	p. 60
Conclusion	p. 71
Being Religious: The Demonic Option	p. 77
The Demonic as Fanaticism	p. 80
What Is the Demonic?	p. 87
Central Characteristics of the Demonic	p. 90
Features of the Demonic: A Summary	p. 118
Discerning the Demonic and the Domination Ethic	p. 126
Religion and the Restraint of Violence	p. 129
The Pacifist Option	p. 134
Absolutist Pacifism	p. 136
The Nonresistance of Leo Tolstoy	p. 143
A Moral Critique of Absolutist Pacifism	p. 165
Nonviolent Resistance to Evil	p. 170
The Case of Holy War	p. 182
Ancient Israel	p. 183
Christianity	p. 192
Islam	p. 193
Islam and Generic Holy War	p. 195
Jihad	p. 218
Conclusion	p. 229
The Case of Just War	p. 233
Just War in Historical Perspective	p. 235
A Contemporary Formulation of Just War Theory	p. 242
A Defense of Just War as a Model for Moral Thinking	p. 258
A Life-Affirming Ethic: Presumptions and Exceptions	p. 260
Conclusion	p. 264
Summary of the Argument	p. 264
Absolutism: A Final Moral Reflection	p. 268
Religion as a Moral Project	p. 275
Notes	p. 279
Index	p. 295
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