Transformation: An International Journal of Holistic Mission Studies

This introductory article orients the reader to the topic of this volume – the religious hermeneutics of violence – and situates the individual articles within the wider discussion of the role of religion in acts of violence. Summarising the state of modern scholarship on key debates concerning religion and violence, this article encourages the careful study of how individuals or groups in peculiar historical circumstances interact with their sacred texts and beliefs in a way that facilitates violence or oppression. Though the relationship between sacred texts and violence is complicated, few subjects so demand our attention and require our careful thought.

This article examines the ideologies employed to justify violence by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) in northern Uganda, while basing themselves on biblical texts from the Old Testament. The article observes that the LRA have used the Bible to justify their violent actions which have left the social structures in Acholi-land broken down. It engages in two major questions: 1. How does the LRA interpret particular Old Testament texts? And, 2. Is there anything in the Old Testament texts that facilitates the LRA’s interpretations and applications? Having conducted an exegetical analysis of ‘frequently’-echoed texts, I conclude the article by observing that the LRA’s understanding and use of biblical texts do not exist in a vacuum and that the texts are open to violent interpretation, especially when they seem to sanction violent acts. I then close the article by questioning how biblical scholars and theologians can safeguard against the harmful application of biblical texts such as that employed by the LRA.

How should Christians interact with historical violence in their own tradition? Faced with a barrage of arguments from the ‘New Atheists’ that this killing invalidates biblical truth claims, Christians might be tempted to ignore or excuse these darker episodes. This article argues that they should be willing to confess the failings of the past, place the violent acts in a careful reading of their historical context and re-examine these acts in light of scripture.

The capture of Mosul in Iraq by ISIS (the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria) in June 2014 focused the world’s attention on Islamism, or political Islam. In addition to all the political issues faced by the rest of the world, Christians are faced with some special challenges and have not always responded with a single voice. If we are to think in a distinctively Christian way about Islamism and violence carried out in the name of Islam, what are the key questions that we need to be asking?

Killing in the name of God is complex and someone could arrive at the conclusion that God participates in their actions through a variety of channels. This article examines one common practice among many who believe their killing pleases or is willed by God—inhabiting biblical texts. Focusing on the Abrahamic and Mosaic narratives and on eschatology, I will explain part of the process whereby individuals and groups come to believe that they are participating in killing patterned on or prophesied in scripture. Finally, this article will suggest a scripture-based approach aimed at moving an individual or group away from the harmful habitation of sacred texts.

The Carolingian empire in western Europe (c. AD 700–900) has long been defined by its military expansion and Christian renewal. Carolingian historical narratives portrayed their victories as divine gifts and so encouraged soldiers and commanders to interpret their actions within a theological hermeneutic. Previous scholars have seen this hermeneutic as justifying war. This paper shall argue instead that these narratives reflected and reinforced the hermeneutic with which soldiers interpreted their campaigns and the military spirituality practised as a result. It shall examine how various histories interpreted military events and how these interpretations related to their audiences’ spirituality and military experience.