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Terror and God
Unbeknown to many people, God of the Christian Bible and Allah of the Quran waged
war and terror on humanity on different occasions. The Bible mentions about 158 times that God
waged or threatened terror on humanity for a variety of reasons according to Wells (6). The
Quran also mentions several occasions where Allah encouraged his followers to wage terror on
others. In fact, a majority of Islamic extremists who wage terror around the world cite the Quran.
Consequently, some scholars have termed God as the first terrorist. However, many Christians
blame Muslims for terrorism activities around the world. Does this mean that terror is acceptable
in the eyes of God? This attempts to answer this question by examining the use of terror by God
as well as the Christian and Islam views on the vice.
In the Bible, God employed terror approaches to punishing his people. God says to His
people I kill ... I wound ... I will make mine arrows drunk with blood, and my sword shall
devour flesh (Deuteronomy 32:39-42). Again, in the book of Genesis, God uses terror to strike
fear among the enemies of Jacob. The verse says As they journeyed, there was a great terror
upon the cities which were around them, and they did not pursue the sons of Jacob (Genesis
35:5).

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In the Quran, the same situation is repeated. It says in Muslim (1:33) about the
Messenger of Allah "I have been commanded to fight against people till they testify that there is
no god but Allah, that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah. Again, Prophet Mohammed
allowed jihad warriors to attack pagans at night and expose their women and children to danger
(Bukhari 52:256). Evidently, God, as understood by Muslims and Christians, supports the use of
terror in certain situations.
The two Holy books also contradict themselves by condemning terror and killing of the
innocent. The Bible through the Ten Commandments commands humanity to love one another.
The Bible also explains the origins of hate that can lead to violence by saying that "What causes
fights and quarrels among you? Don't they come from your desires that battle within you?"
(James 4:1). Similarly, the Quran does the same and says, and do not kill a soul that God has
made sacrosanct, save lawfully (Quran 6:151).
Therefore, from the above assessment, it is evident that God permits the use of terror in
certain situations. Ideally, terror activities are allowed to be waged by God alone on the people
who have disobeyed Him. The current cases of terror based on religious views are misleading as
personal beliefs guide them as opposed to religion. However, the matter is not clear and requires
further research to make more informed conclusions.

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Works Cited
The Bible. Authorized King James Version, Oxford UP, 1998. 2010.
The Qur'an. Oxford World's Classics. Trans. M. A. S. Abdel Haleem. USA: Oxford University
Press, 2008.
Wells, Steve. Drunk with Blood: Gods Killing in the Bible. New York: SAB Books. 2013.