freediver wrote on Jul 27
th, 2014 at 8:39am:
I think Yadda has brought up an interesting issue here. There is a strong contrast between Islam and Christianity on this particular issue. Where Christianity preaches forgiveness, Islam preaches revenge and escalation of conflict. I think it is no accident that so many conflicts with Muslims get dragged on over the decades, and it is usually Muslims doing the dragging, from a position of military inferiority. I think even Gandalf has acknowledged the tendency for Muslims to falsely or unreasonably claim aggrieved status.
Of course, Christianity had its wars over centuries when it was either fighting advancing Islam, or itself.
Having fought Islamic nations to a standstill, Christianity ripped itself apart for a few hundred years with sectarian wars... Firstly Eastern and Western Christianity (the Great Schism - still split today), then Catholic-Protestant reformation/counter-reformation wars.
Although largely at peace with itself for the last 300 years, Christianity has remained an element of some modern wars in a cryptic sense (i.e. Northern Ireland), where its influence is closer to a 'cold war' effect.
Also, Neo-Christianity does involve itself in modern conflicts but, again, in a cryptic sense, with, for example, the support of Israel by neo-Christians for religious reasons as opposed to purely political reasons.