Mapping Ideas and Tracking Hopes: Catholics, Jews, and Protestants Promoting Religious Tolerance in the 17th-century Atlantic World

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Daniel and Apocalypse: scapegoats for 21st Century violence?

Publication . Valdez, Ana T.

Twenty years after the 9/11 attacks and the beginning of the War on Terror that underlined the opposition between East and West, and now when the West leaves Afghanistan in the hands of the Taliban, this essay attempts to analyse if the reasons for what is described as “religious violence” can be attributed to the Sacred Texts. As we shall demonstrate, neither Daniel nor Revelation contain any “call to arms” to approximate the present to the time of the end. This “end” refers to the promised divine kingdom to be established by the deity at the end of time. It corresponds to a new cosmos, one close to the description of Paradise. Nevertheless, the texts clearly state that the time of the end is only known to God and that the righteous should endure the tribulation. What is clear from reading the texts and analysing the propaganda that has led to the gather of troops under radical flags is that the ignorance of most of the population regarding the content of the Sacred Texts is damaging and needs to be prevented. How? Through education, putting an end to the academic Ivory Tower, and initiating a real collaboration between academia and policymakers and the broader society.

2023Journal article

Open access