Book discussed: ‘Laying Down the Sword: Why We Can’t Ignore the Bible’s Violent Verses’ by Dr Philip Jenkins, who is the Distinguished Professor of History at Baylor University’s Institute for Studies of Religion.
“The Bible contains far more verses praising or urging bloodshed than does the Quran.” ~ Dr Philip Jenkins
Buy the book here:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Laying-Down-Sword-Christianity-Peaceful/dp/0061990728
‘Jenkins has outdone himself. This is by far the best piece of work he has ever done, dealing with one of the most controversial issues Christians struggle with day-in and day-out.’ ~ Dr Tony Campolo (American sociologist, Christian pastor and author).
Categories: Atrocities, Bible, Christianity, Extremism, History, Holocaust, Jews, jihad, Judaism, Qur'an
I think this is setting up a false dichotomy. The Qur’an has clear cut ruling on the conduct of war (Q.2:190-3 for instance), and the Sunnah expounds on that (not targeting woman, children, monks, farmers who do not fight…), whereas the Bible is just a cacophony and doesn’t leave of any clear moral guideline on the conduct of war. It’s not about whether one book contains more war verses than the other, it’s about its moral judgment on the conduct of war.