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Recent years have seen a meteoric rise in the power and importance of organized religion in many parts of the world. At the same time, there has been a significant increase in violence perpetrated in the name of religion. While much has been written on the relationship between violence and religious militancy, history shows that religious people have also played a critical role in peacemaking within numerous cultures. In the new century, will religion bring upon further catastrophes? Or will it provide human civilization with methods of care, healing, and the creation of peaceful and just societies?In this groundbreaking book, Marc Gopin integrates the study of religion with the study of conflict resolution. He argues that religion can play a critical role in constructing a global community of shared moral commitments and vision--a community that can limit conflict to its nonviolent, constructive variety. If we examine religious myths and moral traditions, Gopin argues, we can understand why and when religious people come to violence, and why and when they become staunch peacemakers. He shows that it is the conservative expression of most religious traditions that presents the largest challenge in terms of peace and conflict. Gopin considers ways to construct traditional paradigms that are committed to peacemaking on a deep level and offers such a paradigm for the case of Judaism. Throughout, Gopin emphasizes that developing the potential of the world's religions for coping with conflict demands a conscious process on the part of peacemakers and theologians. His innovative and carefully argued study also offers a broad set of recommendations for policy planners both inside and outside of government.
E-Book Content
BETWEEN
EDEN
AND
ARMAGEDDON
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BETWEEN EDEN AND ARMAGEDDON
The Future of World Religions, Violence, and Peacemaking
MARC GOPIN
OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
Oxford New York Auckland Bangkok Buenos Aires Cape Town Chennai Dar es Salaam Delhi Hong Kong Istanbul Karachi Kolkata Kuala Lumpur Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Mumbai Nairobi Sao Paulo Shanghai Singapore Taipei Tokyo Toronto
Copyright © 2000 by Marc Gopin First published in 2000 by Oxford University Press, Inc. 198 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10016 First issued as an Oxford University Press paperback, 2002 www.oup.com Oxford is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of Oxford University Press. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Gopin, Marc. Between Eden and Armageddon : the future of world religions, violence, and peacemaking / Marc Gopin. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0–19–513432-X; 0-19-515725-7 (pbk.) 1. Violence—Religious aspects—Christianity. 2. Conflict management—Religious aspects—Christianity. I. Title. BL65.V55G67 2000 291.1'7873—dc21 99-37478
9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper
Acknowledgments
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n earlier, smaller version of chapter 2 was published as "Religion, Violence and Conflict Resolution," Peace and Change 22, no. 1 (Jan. 1997), and as "Religion, Violence and Conflict Resolution," Issue Paper No. 1, Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution (Oct. 1998). An earlier, smaller version of chapter 5 was published as "An Orthodox Embrace of Gentiles? Interfaith Tolerance in the Thought of S. D. Luzzatto and Rabbi E. Benamozegh," Modern Judaism 18 (Spring 1998). An earlier, smaller version of chapter 6 was published in Hebrew as "Co