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From: mangoe@umcp-cs.UUCP (Charley Wingate)
Newsgroups: net.flame
Subject: Re: War and Death
Message-ID: <353@umcp-cs.UUCP>
Date: Sun, 14-Oct-84 22:31:06 EDT
Article-I.D.: umcp-cs.353
Posted: Sun Oct 14 22:31:06 1984
Date-Received: Tue, 16-Oct-84 06:07:35 EDT
References: <856@ihuxp.UUCP> <272@umcp-cs.UUCP> <865@ihuxp.UUCP>
Organization: U of Maryland, Computer Science Dept., College Park, MD
Lines: 20

Walt Pesch has pointed out a number of examples where he claims that
wars were caused/fomented by religion.  He has also dared me to flame
him.  All right, I'll go ahead and make his day.

Ignoring the wars centered around the reformation and the crusade, none of
the other examples he cites were STARTED by "religion".  Sure people call
upon religion to justify their wars, but this is rationalization, and is
an abuse of religion.

The Inquisition was not a war.

The wars around 1000 during the christianization of Scandinavia had nothing
to do with religion at all; they had been going on before christianity came,
and they simply continued.

Now, I admit that the first crusades and jewish revolts had some religious
causes-- they also had lots of other causes as well.  In my experience, not
enough people have been so committed to religion that they were willing to
start and continue large scale war on its behalf, without resorting to
other reasons for the war.