Challenge: Militarize Religions/Make Religions Warrior Religions

Most religions seem to preach peace and love. Jesus is not a warrior, nor is Buddha, and so on.

The challenge, if you accept it, is to take religions, and bend them, their scripture, teachings, and dogma to be militarized versions of themselves/warrior religions. This doesn't need to be the whole of the religion, but a sect of it at least. Bonus points if you have it be pro-warriorism period, and not just militarism against everyone who is not of the sect.
 

Solroc

Banned
Doesn't OTL Sikhism fulfill your challenge? I mean granted not every Sikh is like that, but some of their scriptures and stuff are pretty pro-war-ish.
 
I'm not familiar with Sikhism that much, but the deal here is take a religion, and make it a warriorized version of itself. So make Jesus a warrior-Christ figure, for example, without changing the history of who he was or what he did or said during his life.
 
I'm not familiar with Sikhism that much, but the deal here is take a religion, and make it a warriorized version of itself. So make Jesus a warrior-Christ figure, for example, without changing the history of who he was or what he did or said during his life.

Difficult--His lack of warrior-ness was a problem that St. Paul had to reconcile by emphasizing His death on the Cross.

I suppose that a strategically-placed Apocryphal Gospel can help (if He can tame Dragons, He can be a warrior), but that would violate the terms of the OP.

I suppose that one can try to play up the Death and Resurrection, and alter the Book of Revelation heavily. The Death and Resurrection--humanity's sins wiped away by Holy Blood. Lesser sins can be purged through ritualistic bloodshed--baptism for the willing is a cut on the hand. A forced baptism would be warfare--a Crusading army praying correctly while cutting its enemies up would be baptizing them by the sword. Play up an approach to His Return by which He will only establish His Kingdom on earth when everyone's sins have been paid for in blood.
 
Greco-Roman Mitraism had aspects of it - it was a soldiers religion, I heard.

Zen Buddhism indirectly - it was adopted by the samurai caste....


Someone here though of a Monotheism syncretism with norse paganism - a warriory one for sure.
 

PhilippeO

Banned
making this poem more popular ?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dream_of_the_Rood

Thus, for instance, in “The Dream of the Rood” Christ is presented as a "heroic warrior, eagerly leaping on the Cross to do battle with death; the Cross is a loyal retainer who is painfully and paradoxically forced to participate in his Lord's execution."[18] Christ can also be seen as "an Anglo-Saxon warrior lord, who is served by his thanes, especially on the cross and who rewards them at the feast of glory in Heaven".[19]

or have this picture ISOTted to 4th century europe :D

http://www.theatlantic.com/daily-dish/archive/2010/11/how-jesus-kicked-ass-on-the-cross-ctd/179483/
 

Lolilover

Banned
isns Islam a militarized version of OTL christianity in some manners (i.e. there not being such a 'turn the other cheek' as 'defend yourself if attacked' sentiment)
 
isns Islam a militarized version of OTL christianity in some manners (i.e. there not being such a 'turn the other cheek' as 'defend yourself if attacked' sentiment)

Not really, other than providing a list of reasons why war should happen and Muhammad having been a military leader it actually heavily restricted warfare and even provided some of the first real rules about how to commit wars civilly (no massacre of civilians, women and children are to remain unmolested, etc, etc). Bottom line is also that its not hard to be more militarized than Christianity either.
 
making this poem more popular ?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dream_of_the_Rood

Thus, for instance, in “The Dream of the Rood” Christ is presented as a "heroic warrior, eagerly leaping on the Cross to do battle with death; the Cross is a loyal retainer who is painfully and paradoxically forced to participate in his Lord's execution."[18] Christ can also be seen as "an Anglo-Saxon warrior lord, who is served by his thanes, especially on the cross and who rewards them at the feast of glory in Heaven".[19]

or have this picture ISOTted to 4th century europe :D

http://www.theatlantic.com/daily-dish/archive/2010/11/how-jesus-kicked-ass-on-the-cross-ctd/179483/

Yup- the Anglo-Saxon idea of Christ the Warrior might work well

On shoulders men bore me there, then fixed me on hill;
fiends enough fastened me. Then saw I mankind's Lord
come with great courage when he would mount on me.
Then dared I not against the Lord's word3
bend or break, when I saw earth's
fields shake. All fiends
I could have felled, but I stood fast.
The young hero stripped himself--he, God Almighty--
strong and stout-minded. He mounted high gallows,
bold before many, when he would loose mankind.
I shook when that Man clasped me. I dared, still, not bow to earth,
fall to earth's fields, but had to stand fast.
Rood was I reared. I lifted a mighty King,
Lord of the heavens, dared not to bend.
 
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