Religious wars seem out of place in a modern society. As moderns, we view events like the Crusades or the religious wars of the Protestant Reformations as both strange and sad. Religion is sometimes seen as a useless relic of a bygone era. Given the modern age we live in, we no longer need religion to help explain reality, direct our lives, or give us purpose. Or so the argument goes. The fact that religion has so often been connected to war only strengthens the argument. And yet with advances in science and technology, humanity has invented more ways of killing itself, even while moving further away from religion.

War is an ancient practice and so it shouldn’t surprise us to find accounts of warfare in the Bible. But the Bible has often been co-opted to prop up the military aspirations of political leaders. While we don’t see it as often today, theology still plays a role in the decision to go to war, whether at a large scale or at the individual level. The ancient text is still being used in modern discussions of war. At the same time military technology continues to advance, making modern warfare more efficient and devastating at the same time. How do we make sense of this paradox?

In this episode, we ask: How has the Bible been used to justify the atrocities of war? How has modern technology removed the human element from war? All that and more on this edition of the podcast.