Religion, Bible and violence This contribution is the slightly adapted introductory lecture given at the conference on the New Testament and Violence held in Stellenbosch from 21-23 January 2008. The lecture offers a personal survey of some of the recent contributions with regard to the nexus of religion and violence and their relevance for New Testament studies. The work of René Girard, Regina Schwartz, Mark Juergensmeyer and J Howard Ellens is discussed in particular.