Volu m e II - Purdue University Calumet

their destination, however, the Turks were no longer in control. Egyptians ruled the city … where Jews,
Christians, and Muslims were functioning well in a multicultural setting” (175). The crusaders broke
through Jerusalem‟s defenses, and burned people alive in the Great Synagogue where Jews were hiding for
safety and stormed the Temple Mount were Muslims were praying. In the case of the Crusades for
Kimball, the Pope‟s message legitimized a corrupted religious movement; a holy war.
In Steffen‟s Holy War, Just War, the connection between the power of religion and its ability to
inspire violence is explained through ultimacy. Ultimacy means that nothing greater/superior can be
conceived or transcended. In terms of the Abrahamic faiths, nothing is beyond the ultimacy known as
„God.‟ A religious tradition‟s ultimate source of meaning gives people security and comfort in a chaotic
world, and is what has made religion a powerful force in human culture. However, when ultimacy
becomes the “absolute,” meaning there is no room for interpretation, or freedom to value other things
highly, then violence can ensue to defend the ultimacy. Absolutism is all-encompassing, totalizing belief
meaning the ultimacy is not open to interpretation or questioning. A religious faith that sanctions an
ultimacy considered as the absolute has moved towards the destructive side of the moral spectrum in a
religion. Absolutistic beliefs can dehumanize others, and often lead to violence and death. Steffen explores
religion‟s ability to inspire destructive behavior, but its equal potential to foster life-affirming behavior.
To explore religion moving towards the life affirming side of the moral spectrum, Steffen
introduces the „standard of goodness.‟ It is not an easy concept to define but it is a standard to which
“everything else is to be assessed and evaluated” (Steffen 64). Actions are evaluated by the standard of
goodness as a part of moral analysis because goodness is a standard of judgment that looks at human
attitudes and behaviors and whether they contribute to human flourishing. Because goodness is not easy to
define, Steffen describes the “goods of life;” the visible expressions of goodness. Some of the goods of life
include biological life, integrity, loving relationships, personal identity, freedom, and critical thinking
(Steffen 68). Having loving relationships includes having a relationship with the transcendent. Steffen
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