HIGHLIGHTS
• Abstract
• Intro : killing in the name of God ?
• How useful has man put religion to?
• Religion as opium for hate or love?
• Those who kill in the name of God
• World’s top religious terrorists groups
• Why they kill in the name of God
• Implication of religiously provoked wars/killings to Nigeria.
• Conclusion
ABSTRACT
“This presentation is an attempt to examine, highlight, interrogate and achieve some level of exposition of the role of religion in the promotion of love, or in the various crisis of hate, conflicts, wars, killings, and destruction that has engulfed the entire world in catastrophic proportion thereby threatening the very existence of man as God’s creation on earth.”
INTRODUCTION
It is observed that man in his quest to be as religiously compliant as possible goes out of his way to serve his God with all his strength, mind and talent. He even goes to the extent of killing in the name of God.
Unarguably, religion is said to be as old as the history of man.
Civilizations, scholars, archaeologists, and anthropologists have discovered that there was never in existence any people, anywhere, anytime, who were not in some sense religious in nature.
During the thousands of years of man’s history of existence on earth, the search for God has led to enormous diversity of religious expression and pathways worldwide.
From Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism. And to the Oriental philosophies of Buddhism, Shintoism, Taoism, Confucianism, and African traditional religion.
In other vast regions of the world mankind has turned to Animism, Magic, Spiritism, and Shamanism.
These quest for God has further pushed man to break and diversify into denominations, sects, and cults – all in search of God.
HOW USEFUL HAS MAN PUT RELIGION TO ?
In his book ‘Man’s Religion’, John B. Noss points out that all religions say that man does not and cannot stand alone because he is vitally related with and dependent on powers in Nature and Society, hence he cannot stand apart.
According to another book ‘World Religions – from Ancient History to the Present’, religion is an important feature that is longing for value in life, that leads to search for meaning, faith, and a power greater than the human and the superhuman mind.
Accordingly, religion satisfies a basic human need, much as food satisfies our hunger.
We very well know that eating indiscriminately when we are hungry may stop the pangs of hunger. In the long run, however, it will damage our healthy life.
We obviously need food that is wholesome and nutritious.
Likewise, we need wholesome spiritual food to nurture and maintain our spiritual health.
This presentation is therefore an attempt to examine, highlight, interrogate, and achieve some level of exposition of the role and place of religion in the promotion of love, or in the various crisis of hate, conflicts, wars, destruction, and killings that has engulfed the entire world in catastrophic proportion thereby threatening the very existence of man as God’s creation on earth.
RELIGION AS OPIUM FOR LOVE OR FOR DIVISION OR FOR HATRED ?
God created man in His own image and likeness in order to worship Him, serve Him, and to love one another.
God also gave man the freedom and choice of worship.
It is in the exercise of these freedom that man worships God through different ways and means.
These ways and means have therefore translated to the different religions, denominations, sects, and cults.
Rather than bringing man together in the course of worshipping God, these differenes seems to be tearing up the different adherents further apart.
Lamentably, these schism have caused a great lot of troubles, crisis, wars, destruction, and deaths all over the world.
This ambiance of religious intolerance no doubt negates God’s plans and philosophy of creation, choice, and freedom of worship.
Little wonder the great German sociologist and economic theorist Karl Marx in 1843 describe (s) religion as the “Opium of the People”
Unfortunately, the moral corruption and decadence, extreme violent terrorism, extermination of life, destruction of property, and other vices rampaging the entire world by religious adherents in the name of God lives much to be desired.
They have lost their moral rudder thereby causing shipwreck on the rocks of faithlessness, fanaticism, greed, self indulgence, blind followership, and high religious opium intoxication.
THOSE WHO KILL IN THE NAME OF GOD
One wonders the role religion has played in the many theatres of war that have devastated mankind and caused untold hardship, loss of life and property.
Why have so many people killed and being killed in the name of God ?
The crusades, the Inquisition, the endless conflicts in the Middle East especially between the Arabs and Israel over, the many decades of the Northern Ireland conflicts between Catholics and Protestants, the 1980’s slaughter between Iraq and Iran, the Hindu – Sikh clashes, the Kosovo massacres of Armenian Muslims, the endless killings and reprisals of Christians and Muslims in Northern Nigeria, etc – all these religiously ignited killings and massacre events certainly makes one to raise doubts and questions about the sincerity of the different religious beliefs, ethics, and doctrines about the sanctity of human life.
The worst and most violent is the increasing rise of religious fundamentalism, fanaticism, terrorism, and death squads that leave behind in their trails thousands of innocent wasted lives and souls across countries and regions of the world – all in the name of God.
WORLD’S TOP RELIGIOUS TERRORISTS GROUPS
Terrorists groups like Osama Bin Laden’s Al- Qa eda, The Taliban in Afghanistan, Al- Shabaab in Somalia and East Africa, ISWAP, ISIS, Hizbulah, Hamas, Maitatsine, Boko Haram, Lakurawa, and other tribal/religious affiliated war Lord’s/gun men.
Regrettably, these violent religious terrorist groups operating and killing people with reckless abandon in Europe and America, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran Asia, Israel, Gaza, Palestine, Syria, Somalia, Nigeria, Kenya, Niger, Chad, etc claim to kill in the name of God.
WHY KILL IN THE NAME OF GOD ?
If all religions preach peace, love, kindness, faith, self control, being a neighbour’s keeper, why is there much HATRED and KILLING in the world ?
(1) Roger Shinn, a research professor of social ethics at the Union Theological Seminary New York in his findings concluded that “Religious wars tend to be extra furious. When people fight over territory for economic advantage, they reach the point where the battle isn’t worth the cost and so reach a compromise. But when the cause is religious, compromise and reconciliation seem to be evil.”
(2) The “My religion is more important, superior, and directed by God” syndrome drives both the preachers and followers drunk and they see nothing wrong with their actions.
(3) Charles Caleb Colton (1825) posits that “Men will wrangle for religion, write for it, fight for it, and die for it”
(4) In the words of one philosopher Jonathan Swift (1667 – 1745) “We have just enough religion to make us hate, but not enough to make us love one another.”
(5) Still on the evil minds of men, Blaise Pascal (1623 – 1662) wrote that “Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction.”
IMPLICATION OF A RELIGIOUSLY PROVOKED WAR/KILLINGS TO NIGERIA
Nigeria is a religiously polarized country that is sharply divided between Christians and Muslims.
Without mincing words, Nigeria have had her own bitter share of religious conflict especially in Northern Nigeria.
Similarly, the nation had undergone a catastrophic 30 months civil war from 1967 – 1970.
Nigeria survived that war, but today, Nigeria cannot afford another civil war let alone a religious war.
Therefore, the leadership must galvanize the populace to avoid any action that may lead to unfortunate consequences.
However, the fanatical calls for retaliative response to every seemingly criminal acts of violence, the tumultuous reverberation from other religously war turned countries around the world, and such wrongful interpretations may negatively influence religious fanatics in Nigeria to take revenge on innocent citizens.
The memories of the skirmishes of the Miss World Beauty Pagent or the “Foreign Newspaper Cartoons”, the Deborah incident in Sokoto, the various Kano incidents, the Uromi hunters case, etc, lingers on.
We must Go On With One Nigeria (GOWON) irrespective of our different religious beliefs and affiliation.
CONCLUSION
If the havoc caused by the evil minds of fanatical fundamentalism and terrorism in the guise of religiosity visited on the world remains unabated and allowed to reach a frightening proportion and crescendo, the world may likely be eclipsed and extinguished of human life before long.
It therefore remains to be seen whether man will harken to the clarion call of historian, Arnold Toynbee “To obey God’s purpose of creating man and giving him a religion in order to radiate his spiritual counsels, truths, and love into as many souls as it can reach for the glory of God forever,” or continue to kill in the name of God.
Peace 🙏
