ABSTRACT
Terror theology is a wellspring of immense shame and horror for humankind for its motivation of countless acts of wanton destruction, mindless violence, mass murder and genocide. Although the 'faces' of terror theology and fundamentalism may look very different across nations, religions and centuries, the underlying psychic mechanisms that drive it are remarkably similar. The author focuses on the psychological issues, as opposed to the social, economic and political factors that are also major players in the current tragedies in the Middle East. When we see the words 'terror theology' and 'fundamentalism' we, in the West, immediately associate them with Islamic extremists. The author examines four examples of Christian terrorism from different periods in history the brutal murder of Hypatia of Alexandria, the atrocities committed by the Catholic Church during the Counter-Reformation, the various misuses of Christianity in the modern world and the appropriation of God in times of war.
