The Violence of God & the War on Terror

the long version

Using the analogy of an abusive human relationship, Young traces the influence of the psychology of such behavior on the major monotheistic religions' concept of God and concludes that such imagery generates violence in the name of God in the contemporary world, including in "the war on terror." He explores these theological themes in terms of U.S. imperialistic policies, the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, and Jihadist ideology. Jeremy Young plunges into the most difficult questions for those who take biblical faith seriously. He has done his homework on the way in which the Bible (and the God of the Bible) are exemplars of violence. But he does not stop there; he extends his interpretation to exhibit the ways in which this trajectory of violence reaches into contemporary abusive practices and shamelessly violent policies. The connection he makes between the Bible and contemporary ideology is nearly unbearable. Young intends it to be unbearable, and his book is as demanding call for rethinking and acting afresh. This is a most timely statement, and as important as it is timely.