Page 268 - Encyclopedia Of World History Vol IV

religion and war 1569

Prayer is not an old woman’s idle amusement. Properly
understood and applied, it is the most potent instrument
of action. • Mohandas Gandhi (1869–1948)

scholar Julius Wellhausen writes,“It is remarkable that the Christianity: Pacifism,
heroes of Israel...show so little taste for war” (Lind Crusades, and Just Wars
1980, 34). The Jewish hero of the Exodus account, The religious ambivalence toward warfare is perhaps
Moses, does not, with a warrior might, destroy the nowhere more graphically evidenced than in the history
Egyptian army as it pursues the Jews; Yahweh drowns of Christianity, as adherents of the religion have, at dif-
the army with Moses as a bystander. Powerful Jewish ferent times (and sometimes simultaneously), embraced
kings like David and Solomon are as often chided for pacifism, “holy” crusades, and “just” wars (that is, a war
hubris as lauded for their might. While Jewish history limited by strict moral principles).
speaks of nationhood, land, and national destiny, its For the first three centuries following the crucifixion of
prophets more often speak of peace: “They shall beat Christ (c. 30 CE), the Christian church was almost exclu-
their swords into mattocks and their spears into sively nonviolent. Founding its actions upon the teach-
pruning-knives; nation shall not lift sword against ings of Jesus to love the enemy and Jesus’ refusal to take
nation nor ever again be trained for war” (Isaiah 2:4). up arms in order to fight the Romans or even to prevent
These two rival attitudes toward war emerge repeat- his own arrest and execution, the early church opposed
edly in Jewish history.The Maccabean revolt in the mid- killing and warfare.Whereas the Roman gods were seen
dle of the second century BCE pitted Jewish rebels as advocates of the Roman people in their battles against
against their Greek oppressors. When the Greeks, led foreign foes, the influential Christian Bishop Clement of
by Antiochus Epiphanes, attempted to stamp out Juda- Alexandria (d. c. 215) writes in the second century,
ism by forbidding all Jewish practices and desecrating “Divinity now pervades all humankind equally. . . deify-
the temple in Jerusalem, the Jews, led by the Mac- ing humanity” (Pagels 1988, 39).
cabaeus family, rebelled, eventually recapturing Jeru- Christianity’s minority status within the powerful
salem and reconsecrating the temple (an event Roman Empire—until 312 CE, Christians constituted
celebrated in the Jewish holiday Hanukkah).While the no more than 10 percent of the population of the
rebellion was doubtlessly violent in nature—some Empire and were periodically subjected to savage per-
scholars see it as an early instance of successful guerilla secution at the hands of the state—provided an addi-
warfare—a number of Jewish historians emphasize the tional (and, some scholars say, more practical and
fact that it was a group of nonviolent Jerusalem Jews hence decisive) reason for the Christian rejection of war.
who brought the ultimate victory. By peaceably with- As Elaine Pagels writes: “Christians had discovered a
drawing into the wilderness in response to the Greek terrible secret: the powers behind the Roman magis-
actions and taking their tax “dollars” with them, these trates are not gods... but demons, active evil forces
Jews, it is argued, forced the Greeks to relent and to bent upon corrupting and destroying human beings”
accept Jewish worship practices in Jerusalem. Jewish (Pagels 1988, 39).The state meant death to Christians.
scholars also point to the fact that the passage from As such, Christian complicity in the state, and in the
Zechariah that is traditionally read on the Sabbath of institution of war, was largely rejected and pacifism was
Hannukah declares: “Not by might and not by power embraced. A minority of Christians—including mem-
but by my spirit, saith the Lord of the Hosts” (Ferguson bers of most monastic orders as well as denominations
1978, 86). such as the Mennonites—continue to this day to reject
The ambivalence in Judaism concerning participation all wars.
in warfare and the use of violence continues to this day In 312, Constantine (c. 280–337 CE) became the
in the emotional and often divisive Jewish debate over first Christian leader of the Roman Empire and quickly
the proper response by the state of Israel to challenges legalized the practice of Christianity. In 381, Emperor
posed by Palestinians and their fight for statehood. Theodosius (c. 346–395 CE) made Christianity the