Religious wars

Germany might be trampled down until it is physically devastated as it was after the great religious wars of the seventeenth century. But is this tempting scheme really safer, if the goal is to eliminate war Can anyone dream that the alliance of today can survive tomorrow ... 

The years 640 to 720 were an era of Muslim conquests. At the end of the period, the Islamic empire stretched from Spain to Egypt and from North Africa to Persia. The Muslims engaged in wars of expansion, not in religious war. They didn t seek to convert the peoples they conquered. Although non-Muslims were taxed, they were permitted to exercise their religions freely. 

Sherman (39) stated that since the two methods ultimately converge, it is senseless to quibble on the issue of which one is better. Unfortunately, however, this rational attitude does not seem to have made much of an impression on this religious war-like rivalry. 

The Thirty Years War, the last of the great religious wars of Europe. National conquest replaces religious conversion as a military aim. The loyalty of the individual is gradually transferred from the Church to the State. 

Discussion about the relative merits of free text versus controlled language frequently generates the fervour of a religious war and I do not want to enter into the debate here. Suffice it to say that no evidence has so far been produced to demonstrate that one approach has clear advantages over the other 43). 

Connor, James A. Kepler s Witch An Astronomer s Discovery of Cosmic Order Amid Religious War, Political Intrigue, and the Heresy Trial of His Mother. San Francisco HarperSanFrancisco, 2004. 

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