There have been many accusations of Christianity causing many, many wars throughout history. I have even heard It accused of being the biggest cause of violence throughout history. Let’s examine that belief:
If a man declares himself a Jew yet refuses to be circumcised, eats pork, and works on the Sabbath, is he a Jew? Well, he might be a biological descendant of Abraham, but no one would call his religion “Judaism.” The Holy books of the Jews outline what a religious Jew is and anyone who does not follow those laws is not a Religious Jew, no matter what his ancestry or his claims.
If a man declares himself a Muslim yet never prays (much less the required five times per day), doesn’t follow any of the dietary laws or fast at Ramadan, is he a Muslim? Again, the foundational documents of the faith have defined what a Muslim is and no matter what a person says, if they do not follow those rules, they are not a member of that faith.
What is the definition of “Christian”?
The Holy Book of all Christians, The Bible, tells us. Specifically, our Founder Himself tells us:
“By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” (John 13:35), and
“…Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself.” (Luke 10:27),
“Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?” (Matthew 7:16), and the Apostle Paul tells us
“The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering (patience), gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.” (Galatians 5:22-24)
Noah Webster’s Original 1828 Dictionary defines “Christian” as:
1) A believer in the religion of Christ.
2) A professor of his belief in the religion of Christ.
3) A real disciple of Christ; one who believes in the truth of the Christian religion, and studies to follow the example, and obey the precepts, of Christ; a believer in Christ who is characterized by real piety.
4) In a general sense, the word Christians includes all who are born in a Christian country or of Christian parents.
(This last one is not speaking of religious Christians, but cultural Christians. They are NOT members of the Faith of Christ.)
And the Strong’s concordance tells us the linguistic definition of the word (from the original Greek) is:
1) Christian, a follower of Christ
So, according to the Christian Holy Book and by official definition a person can not honestly claim to be a Christian unless he;
1) Loves God more than anything else and
2) Loves his neighbor as much as himself.
Of course.
“Every tree that brings not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
“Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.
“Not every one that says unto Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that does the will of my Father which is in heaven.
“Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? And in thy name have cast out devils? And in thy name done many wonderful works?’
“And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” Matthew 7:19-23
I could claim to be a truck but that doesn’t give me four wheels and a bed.
I could go to the local McDonalds but that doesn’t make me a Big Mac.
In order for my claim to be a Christian to be true, I MUST:
1) Love God more than anything else.
2) Love my neighbor as much as myself.
3) Show increasing love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and self-control in my life.(Really, these are just the visible aspects of the first two).
The Crusades. Whenever reading about the Crusades keep in mind the difference between a “Cultural Christian” (Webster’s fourth definition) and a true follower of Christ (Webster’s first three definitions).
The Ottoman Empire (Muslims) attacked and sacked Jerusalem, enslaving the non-Muslim inhabitants. There was a call for help sent to Europe. The POLITICAL powers of state (The Pope, king of France, King of England, etc) responded with armies to rescue these people.
Yes, atrocities were committed by people who claimed to be Christian. But war is atrocious by nature. There is simply no way to conduct a war without blood shed. Both sides were quite violent.
Many political gains were attempted by both sides also. In fact, most of the crusades would have happened just the same if we had called the fighting sides the “Dodgers and the Yankees” instead of the “Christians and the Muslims.” It was all about politics and power, the most evil religion of the world.
In fact, some of the conflicts during this time were between two different protestant groups or two different Catholic countries. If a Catholic is fighting a Catholic, it’s obviously not a religious war, but highly political.
You will find, if you take the time to do the research, that every case of “Christian” war and violence would have happened just the same no matter what label the country leaders chose to carry, whether Christian, Muslim, Buddhist or Purple-People-Eater.
To apply the same logic that accuses Christians of the violence of the Middle Ages and Reformation to a more modern example, when Saddam Hessian invaded Kuwait it was obviously a religious war. After all, He was a Muslim wasn’t he? Well, of course the truth is that he called himself a Muslim but didn’t really practice that religion and he invaded Kuwait solely because he wanted a warm water port. It had nothing to do with religion at all.
Neither did the wars of the Middle Ages.
It is simply not fair or honest to blame wars caused by the religion of Politics on a different religion no matter what label the leaders try to put on themselves.
Have you ever visited the Buddhist hospital in your community? How about the Islamic one? Hindu? You haven’t?
That’s because odds are there aren’t any. Now Christian hospitals are a different story. In my community the hospitals are split about 50/50 Christian and government. Only the Christian Faith cares enough about others to bother opening hospitals.
In fact, check out all the charitable organizations you can find. You will see that the majority were founded by Christians and most are still run by Christians and their principals. (These Christians being fallible human beings, of course. They make mistakes and are tempted by riches just as we all are. But the overriding principles of the organizations are Christian.)
If you ran out of food in your house and had no money there are two places you could go for help; the government and the Christian churches in your community. The other religions are not very likely to help you at all. The only way the atheists help, for example, is by raising your taxes for more government programs (Taking money from Peter to give to Paul).
All countries where cannibalism was practiced that have been visited by missionaries for any length of time have seen cannibalism disappear.
In fact, Matthew Parris, an avowed Atheist says, “I used to avoid this truth by applauding - as you can - the practical work of mission churches in Africa. It's a pity, I would say, that salvation is part of the package, but Christians, black and white, working in Africa, do heal the sick, do teach people to read and write; and only the severest kind of secularist could see a mission hospital or school and say the world would be better without it. I would allow that if faith was needed to motivate missionaries to help, then, fine: but what counted was the help, not the faith.
“But this doesn't fit the facts. Faith does more than support the missionary; it is also transferred to his flock. This is the effect that matters so immensely, and which I cannot help observing.”
He then goes on to say what Africa really needs is not more handouts from wealthy nations, but more missionaries. And remember, he’s an Atheist!
(Please read the whole article at file:///C:/Users/BETTY'~1/AppData/Local/Temp/As_an_atheist_I_truly_believe_Africa_needs_God--Matthew_Parris.pdf Mr. Parris was raised in Africa and had the experience of seeing the difference missionaries make, even though it severely violates his atheistic religion to acknowledge it.)
Christianity brings hope and love to all people where such things do not exist. This has been the eyewitness record since the time of Christ.
The Romans preformed post-natal abortions; they threw unwanted babies off of bridges to drown in the rivers beneath. Christians would wait under the bridges in boats and rescue the babies taking them home to raise as their own.
Whenever the plague hit Europe, it was the Christians (not the “religious” but those in whom neighbors had observed true Christian conversion) who would risk their own lives to nurse the sick and dying.
It is Christians who have opened orphanages, rescued slaves around the world, nursed the sick, opened schools and preached hope.
I will concede that Christianity is a bloody religion, though. We are based on the knowledge that we all deserve to die a torturous death and spend eternity in hell. Our Savior, Jesus Christ, chose to die that very bloody death for us. He loved us that much. In this way, and only this way, we do have a bloody religion.
- Stalin was an Atheist and was responsible for the deaths of 23 million people.
- Mao Zedong was an Atheist and responsible for the deaths of 40-70 million people.
- Castro is an Atheist and responsible for 2000-97,000 deaths.
- Pol Pot was an Atheist and responsible for 1,700,000 deaths.
- Kim Il Sung is an Atheist and responsible for 1,600,000 deaths.
If a man declares himself a Jew yet refuses to be circumcised, eats pork, and works on the Sabbath, is he a Jew? Well, he might be a biological descendant of Abraham, but no one would call his religion “Judaism.” The Holy books of the Jews outline what a religious Jew is and anyone who does not follow those laws is not a Religious Jew, no matter what his ancestry or his claims.
If a man declares himself a Muslim yet never prays (much less the required five times per day), doesn’t follow any of the dietary laws or fast at Ramadan, is he a Muslim? Again, the foundational documents of the faith have defined what a Muslim is and no matter what a person says, if they do not follow those rules, they are not a member of that faith.
What is the definition of “Christian”?
The Holy Book of all Christians, The Bible, tells us. Specifically, our Founder Himself tells us:
“By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” (John 13:35), and
“…Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself.” (Luke 10:27),
“Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?” (Matthew 7:16), and the Apostle Paul tells us
“The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering (patience), gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.” (Galatians 5:22-24)
Noah Webster’s Original 1828 Dictionary defines “Christian” as:
1) A believer in the religion of Christ.
2) A professor of his belief in the religion of Christ.
3) A real disciple of Christ; one who believes in the truth of the Christian religion, and studies to follow the example, and obey the precepts, of Christ; a believer in Christ who is characterized by real piety.
4) In a general sense, the word Christians includes all who are born in a Christian country or of Christian parents.
(This last one is not speaking of religious Christians, but cultural Christians. They are NOT members of the Faith of Christ.)
And the Strong’s concordance tells us the linguistic definition of the word (from the original Greek) is:
1) Christian, a follower of Christ
So, according to the Christian Holy Book and by official definition a person can not honestly claim to be a Christian unless he;
1) Loves God more than anything else and
2) Loves his neighbor as much as himself.
Is it possible for someone to claim to be a Christian and not be?
“Every tree that brings not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
“Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.
“Not every one that says unto Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that does the will of my Father which is in heaven.
“Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? And in thy name have cast out devils? And in thy name done many wonderful works?’
“And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” Matthew 7:19-23
I could claim to be a truck but that doesn’t give me four wheels and a bed.
I could go to the local McDonalds but that doesn’t make me a Big Mac.
In order for my claim to be a Christian to be true, I MUST:
1) Love God more than anything else.
2) Love my neighbor as much as myself.
3) Show increasing love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and self-control in my life.(Really, these are just the visible aspects of the first two).
So let’s look at some of the accusations of violent Christians and “Christian wars.”
Hitler. A common claim is that Hitler was a Christian. It is true that he said he was during his election campaign. However, the man never once exhibited any of the above requirements of a religious Christian and it is well known that he engaged in occultist activities (otherwise known as Satan worship.) Certainly killing millions of people (including around one million for standing on the above Christian principles) disqualifies him from being classified as a Christian. The fact is that the man’s true “religion” was political power. He did whatever was necessary to get and keep control. That is what he worshiped, not any God of any definition. If that meant he had to claim to be Christian, Buddhist, Atheist, or a Martian, he would have done it.The Crusades. Whenever reading about the Crusades keep in mind the difference between a “Cultural Christian” (Webster’s fourth definition) and a true follower of Christ (Webster’s first three definitions).
The Ottoman Empire (Muslims) attacked and sacked Jerusalem, enslaving the non-Muslim inhabitants. There was a call for help sent to Europe. The POLITICAL powers of state (The Pope, king of France, King of England, etc) responded with armies to rescue these people.
Yes, atrocities were committed by people who claimed to be Christian. But war is atrocious by nature. There is simply no way to conduct a war without blood shed. Both sides were quite violent.
Many political gains were attempted by both sides also. In fact, most of the crusades would have happened just the same if we had called the fighting sides the “Dodgers and the Yankees” instead of the “Christians and the Muslims.” It was all about politics and power, the most evil religion of the world.
Were the soldiers true Christians?
I am sure some were. But most were just normal men out to do what was best for themselves and have a little “fun” while doing it. You simply can’t chop your neighbor’s head off (except for cases of self-defense and protecting the innocent) and still claim to be a true Christian.One note,
The leaders of the Ottoman Empire were concerned about those in territories captured by the Crusaders. They were treated so well by their captures that the leaders of the Ottoman’s were afraid they would convert to Christianity! Even when used politically instead of as God intended, the Name of Christ has influenced people for good.The Inquisition.
Again, Political in totality. In fact, there never was a single “Inquisition.” It was a series of events spread out over a number of years. All of the events had a great deal more to do with the fact that Protestant rulers felt no obligation to obey and pay taxes to the Pope. The Pope didn’t want a pay cut, so he ordered his followers to recapture the lost territories.In fact, some of the conflicts during this time were between two different protestant groups or two different Catholic countries. If a Catholic is fighting a Catholic, it’s obviously not a religious war, but highly political.
Martyrs.
It is true that individuals have been executed for their faith in Christ by people who claim the Christian title for political reasons. First of all, you can’t blame Christianity for the actions of the religiously political. That is blaming the victim for the actions of the aggressor.You will find, if you take the time to do the research, that every case of “Christian” war and violence would have happened just the same no matter what label the country leaders chose to carry, whether Christian, Muslim, Buddhist or Purple-People-Eater.
To apply the same logic that accuses Christians of the violence of the Middle Ages and Reformation to a more modern example, when Saddam Hessian invaded Kuwait it was obviously a religious war. After all, He was a Muslim wasn’t he? Well, of course the truth is that he called himself a Muslim but didn’t really practice that religion and he invaded Kuwait solely because he wanted a warm water port. It had nothing to do with religion at all.
Neither did the wars of the Middle Ages.
It is simply not fair or honest to blame wars caused by the religion of Politics on a different religion no matter what label the leaders try to put on themselves.
Have you ever visited the Buddhist hospital in your community? How about the Islamic one? Hindu? You haven’t?
That’s because odds are there aren’t any. Now Christian hospitals are a different story. In my community the hospitals are split about 50/50 Christian and government. Only the Christian Faith cares enough about others to bother opening hospitals.
In fact, check out all the charitable organizations you can find. You will see that the majority were founded by Christians and most are still run by Christians and their principals. (These Christians being fallible human beings, of course. They make mistakes and are tempted by riches just as we all are. But the overriding principles of the organizations are Christian.)
If you ran out of food in your house and had no money there are two places you could go for help; the government and the Christian churches in your community. The other religions are not very likely to help you at all. The only way the atheists help, for example, is by raising your taxes for more government programs (Taking money from Peter to give to Paul).
All countries where cannibalism was practiced that have been visited by missionaries for any length of time have seen cannibalism disappear.
In fact, Matthew Parris, an avowed Atheist says, “I used to avoid this truth by applauding - as you can - the practical work of mission churches in Africa. It's a pity, I would say, that salvation is part of the package, but Christians, black and white, working in Africa, do heal the sick, do teach people to read and write; and only the severest kind of secularist could see a mission hospital or school and say the world would be better without it. I would allow that if faith was needed to motivate missionaries to help, then, fine: but what counted was the help, not the faith.
“But this doesn't fit the facts. Faith does more than support the missionary; it is also transferred to his flock. This is the effect that matters so immensely, and which I cannot help observing.”
He then goes on to say what Africa really needs is not more handouts from wealthy nations, but more missionaries. And remember, he’s an Atheist!
(Please read the whole article at file:///C:/Users/BETTY'~1/AppData/Local/Temp/As_an_atheist_I_truly_believe_Africa_needs_God--Matthew_Parris.pdf Mr. Parris was raised in Africa and had the experience of seeing the difference missionaries make, even though it severely violates his atheistic religion to acknowledge it.)
Christianity brings hope and love to all people where such things do not exist. This has been the eyewitness record since the time of Christ.
The Romans preformed post-natal abortions; they threw unwanted babies off of bridges to drown in the rivers beneath. Christians would wait under the bridges in boats and rescue the babies taking them home to raise as their own.
Whenever the plague hit Europe, it was the Christians (not the “religious” but those in whom neighbors had observed true Christian conversion) who would risk their own lives to nurse the sick and dying.
It is Christians who have opened orphanages, rescued slaves around the world, nursed the sick, opened schools and preached hope.
No other religion can make any of these claims.
I will concede that Christianity is a bloody religion, though. We are based on the knowledge that we all deserve to die a torturous death and spend eternity in hell. Our Savior, Jesus Christ, chose to die that very bloody death for us. He loved us that much. In this way, and only this way, we do have a bloody religion.