This is part 5 to a 7 part series: Questions About God – Canadian philosopher Michael Horner responds to seven of the most commonly asked questions about God and Christianity.
Question 5: What about all the wars that have been caused in the name of Christianity?
When responding to this question, we need to remember that we should not judge the teachings or the truth of a religion or philosophy by the conduct or behaviour of those who are not following those teachings.
This being the case, we need to be clear that many of the wars and other atrocities which have been committed in the name of Christ were carried out by people who either were not really Christians or who were genuine Christians but were not following the teachings of Jesus. Such conflicts were often motivated by political or economic concerns but were given religious overtones in order to convince the masses it was in their best eternal interest to get involved.
So rather than judging Christianity by the actions of these people, we should judge it by the teachings of its founder and leader, Jesus Christ. If you read through Jesus’ teachings in the Bible, you will come across such sayings as “If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also” (Luke 6:29), “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:44) and “Love your neighbour as yourself” (Matthew 19:19). Hardly the sayings of a war-mongering leader.
Another thing to remember is that war is not a problem just for Christianity. It is a problem for all religions and ideologies. More murders have been committed by atheistic regimes in this century than have been committed by any “Christian” government or organization over the past 2,000 years.
The other point to emphasize is the positive impact Christianity has made on society. This is often overlooked when people are talking about the negative things done in the name of the faith. Most of our educational institutions came out of Christianity. Many of the founders of modern science were Christians. The revivals of the 17th and 18th centuries produced social reforms that led to the abolition of slavery and the improvement of conditions for women and children. Philanthropic organizations such as the Salvation Army, the Red Cross and the YMCA came out of these revivals. Remembering this fact gives us a fuller, more balanced picture of the effect Christianity has had on society.
Next: Is there any real right or wrong?
Tags: faith, Jesus, Men, michael horner, questions, religions, spirituality, start faith adventure, war, Women
Connecting Through Technology
Do you use technology to stay in touch with family and friends?
>Watch
Christmas
you hit the nail on the head but people who make such excuses for rejecting god and jesus and religion have predetermined and use this as justification for not believing…i have found no matter how many points you can make for the good of religion……that wall stays up…. hopefully in the quiet hours all alone with their thoughts your words and gods spirit can work on there hearts….but seems every young person i meet has this attitude like its a common believe or common knowledge…..our are schools teaching this or whats the origin….i have heard this religion is responsible for all wars attitude with every non believer i have contact with…..they never consider mans evil heart as the source no somehow god is to blame always….i am not sure theres much point of talking with a person for more than a couple mins on this subject unless you see a breaking down of the atitude responsible for such remarks
I just love how whenever a Christian commits a crime its not because of the Evil of the faith but because they weren’t really practicing it.
Also I would love to see your empirical evidence on Atheists killing more people than Christians in the last 2k years. Last I checked all major wars were either the fault of Christianity or Islam. Anyone remember the Crusades?
William,
“I just love how whenever a Christian commits a crime its not because of the Evil of the faith but because they weren’t really practicing it.”
If a person says they believe X, but they do not-X, this may prove that they are a hypocrite, but it proves nothing about the truth or falsity of X. How does the fact that many supposed Christians don’t follow what the Christian faith teaches prove anything about the truth of the faith?
“Also I would love to see your empirical evidence on Atheists killing more people than Christians in the last 2k years. Last I checked all major wars were either the fault of Christianity or Islam. Anyone remember the Crusades?””
A good article on this subject (which also touches on the issue of the “No true Scotsman” fallacy that you’ve raised above) can be found here by Greg Koukl of Stand to Reason:
http://www.str.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=5527
He first gives the numbers for the (tragic and misguided) witchhunts and crusades, then compares them to the much larger numbers due to the atheistic regimes of the twentieth century. Of course, this does not prove atheism is false any more than the crusades prove Christianity is false. But it does suggest that Christians & “religious people” do not have a monopoly on the capacity to commit evil.
Really? So the Spanish Inquisition, the crusades, the Secular French Invasion, the Thirty Years War, just to name a few, were all perpetuated by fake Christians even though they were all sanctioned by the church? Are you telling me they simply just used religion as a reason and a crutch, a justification for their actions? That still does little to bolster your argument. This just adds to the hypocrisy of religions. (all of them not just Christianity) I understand your point that if they were “true” Christian’s these acts would not be committed. But as the article that Darren posted stated:
“That’s not a fair defense. You can’t simply say that those people who committed the Crusades or the Inquisition or the witch burnings weren’t real Christians. That’s illegitimate.” My response is, why?”
That is a circular argument and neither side holds water. The fact is leaders are always held responsible for their followers actions, especially when is comes to wars.
I’ve met plenty of Christians, Jews, Buddhists, Muslims and Atheists. Most of which are kind, good-natured, hard working people. I don’t blame God, Jesus, Allah, Buddha, Ginish, Zeus, Odin, or any entity for the atrocities committed in their names, but the blood is still on their hands regardless of their “true” beliefs. Take for example, the appalling indiscretions of Catholic priests and the Vatican’s botched attempt to cover it up. All of those Priest’s are not “true” Christians? I agree, but that still doesn’t wash away the feelings of disgust I have towards the church. And even still to this day they refuse to take responsibility for their actions.
“All of those Priest’s are not “true” Christians? I agree, but that still doesn’t wash away the feelings of disgust I have towards the church.”
I totally agree Tony. In fact, I did not attend church once before I was a Christian (well, besides weddings and so on) because I was deeply mistrustful of churches, I suppose due to the reasons you’ve listed above. Christians should spend more time apologizing for our failure to accurately represent our Lord.
Honestly, I still am wary of churches in a general sense, but I’ve been blessed to find a church that actually tries to follow Jesus’ teachings and where I can feel at home and serve.
As an avid Simpsons fan, I was reminded of this dialogue from the “Missionary Impossible” episode:
Q’Toktok: How many times must we go to church to avoid hell?
Ak: Every Sunday for the rest of our lives.
Q’Toktok: Hahaha … No, really?
The thing is, this is totally off-base. Being part of “organized religion” in the sense of having to sit in pews every Sunday is not necessary to be a Christian (nor is it sufficient, for that matter, although some Christians seem to think it is).
So that’s why I would encourage people not to throw the baby out with the bathwater, so to speak, and consider the actual life & teachings of Jesus.