Is God on our side in war?

In war, both sides will often assert that "God is on our side". An extreme case is a holy war - a war primarily justified by religion. This occurred with the Christian Crusades that started in the late 11th century, which were in retaliation of previous Muslim conquests. In contrast, secular humanists assert that only ethical principles such as liberty can be said to be "on our side", else objectivity is lost.

Implications to Other Questions

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If you believe A then presumably you believe B

Is God just?

If you believe A then presumably you believe not B

Should religious institutions be separated from government?

Experts and Influencers

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Agree

Experts In War

Osama Bin Laden Former Leader of Al Qaeda

Agree

...we are fulfilling a duty which God, Praise and Glory be to Him, decreed for us. We look upon those heroes, those men who undertook to kill the American occupiers in Riyadh and Khobar (Dhahran).

The God Said Pitch

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31 Mar 1997 Source

Sub-Arguments Of This Expert:
Is God just?
Agree

Adolf Hitler Leader of Nazi Party

Agree

What we must fight for is to safeguard the existence and reproduction of our race and our people, the sustenance of our children and the purity of our blood, the freedom and independence of the fatherland, so that our people may mature for the fulfillment of the mission allotted it by the creator of the universe.

The God Said Pitch

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16 Oct 1924 Source

Disagree

Ambiguous or Flip-Flop

Experts In Politics

Sarah Palin Former Governor of Alaska (Republican)

Agree

Our national leaders are sending them out on a task that is from God, that what we have to make sure what we’re praying for, [is] that there is a plan and that plan is God’s plan. [editors note: the comments caused a media stir, and in a later interview Palin talked about what she really meant]

The God Said Pitch

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08 Jun 2008 Source

Sarah Palin Former Governor of Alaska (Republican)

Neutral

I would never presume to know God's will or to speak God's words. But what Abraham Lincoln had said, and that's a repeat in my comments, was let us not pray that God is on our side in a war or any other time, but let us pray that we are on God's side. ... I send my first born, my son, my teenage son overseas with his Stryker brigade, 4,000 other wonderful American men and women, to fight for our country, for democracy, for our freedoms.

The Patriot Pitch The Family Pitch

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11 Sep 2008 Source

Comments

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0 Points Anonymous 02 Dec 2011 Stance on Question: Neutral

GOD'S NOT REAL MUTHAFUCKAS!!!

0 Points the27th 09 May 2010 Stance on Question: Disagree

Well, I don't think there is a God. For the theists out there: remember Abraham Lincoln. "We must endeavour to be on God's side."