Holy War, Just War: Exploring the Moral Meaning of Religious Violence.(Book review)

Publication: International Journal on World Peace

Publication Date: 01-MAR-08

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COPYRIGHT 2008 Professors World Peace Academy

HOLY WAR, JUST WAR: EXPLORING THE MORAL MEANING OF RELIGIOUS VIOLENCE

Lloyd Steffen

Lanham Maryland, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2007

301 pages, paper, $34.95

Holy War, Just War contributes to one of the critical questions of the new century: that of the links and associations between violence and religion. With reference to numerous sources ranging from Rene Girard to Aristotle, as well as diverse instances of religiously motivated violence, ranging from attacks on abortion doctors to 9/11, Steffen presents an intriguing and compelling case focussing on the moral dimensions of the religion-violence nexus.

This book is not, however, overly accessible to the average reader, despite its production values suggesting otherwise. The simple, eye-catching cover, as well as the large font and type space hinting at a desire for a wider audience, belie the complex nature of the book. Owing to some degree to the nebulous nature of the subject matter itself, at times the book deals cumbersomely...

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