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HOLY  WAR

"Holy" and "war", two words that should never be used together. If something is holy it's subject to absolute devotion. It's something that's blessed, sacred, or sanctified. A war is a series of battles fought during an armed conflict waged to accomplish some set of goals. A human war is never blessed by God. He may direct the actions of the participants, but he never says to someone "fight this war for me". The title of "holy war" is a name given to a conflict by a leader to draw supporters to his cause.      A leader may motivate those under him by telling them "this is what God told me to do". He may tell his enemies and the world "I'm doing this because you're trying to wipe out my religion". But even when they themselves take a look at the true reasons for the war, they will see it as being fought for other, worldly reasons. And the outcome is never fully what was expected. A few examples from history should suffice. The American Revolution's root cause was high taxation by England; now we pay high taxes to our own government. The Civil War was fought over state's rights; all states must still obey the ordinances of the federal government. The war in the Persian Gulf was about oil monopolies; a select few still control the world's petroleum resources.      So what were the reasons given to the people? Religious freedom, emancipation of the slaves, and the illegal invasion of one country by another. If you were to ask the participants, on both sides of the conflict, who was fighting for the just cause what do you think they would say? "We are. We know that God is on our side. We're fighting for God." But, all-powerful as he is, how can God support both sides in the same conflict? He doesn't and he never will. The outcome is only a product of what he allows. Whether we feel the winner is right or wrong, good or evil (and evil sometimes wins) it's all part of his plan. That said, it's still not a holy war.      There was only ever one true Holy War. It didn't occur by the typical standards or conducts of war. There were no arrows, crossbows, M-16s, or missiles involved. There were no mass movements of troops, no foxholes, no guerilla tactics. This war was fought over the fates of the souls of mankind. It was waged between the forces of good and evil. This war began humbly and was fought with words and deeds. This time God chose sides. He did indeed tell his general this you will do for me. This leader of men followed his orders according to God's will. The final battle ended with nails and a cross. THE VICTORY WAS WON!