{"id":391,"date":"2009-10-21T13:19:15","date_gmt":"2009-10-21T18:19:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jesusandjews.com\/wordpress\/?p=391"},"modified":"2016-01-18T22:44:44","modified_gmt":"2016-01-19T03:44:44","slug":"religion-causes-bloodshed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/jesusandjews.com\/wordpress\/2009\/10\/21\/religion-causes-bloodshed\/","title":{"rendered":"Religion is the source of all the trouble in the world"},"content":{"rendered":"

This is a well rehearsed myth that has been circulating around and yet it is unfounded. This saying\u00a0 is posed with an agenda of removing God from the universe and leaving Him as dead by exposing the hypocrisy of the practitioners of religion . <\/span><\/p>\n

The 20th century has been the bloodiest era on the planet and this has largely come through the hands of men who did not hold to a God-view . The likes of Idi Amin, Pol Pot, Hitler, Stalin, Hirohito, and\u00a0 Leopold 11 have reeked havoc on our society through genocide. <\/span><\/p>\n

Atheistic communistic regimes have slaughtered over a 100 million people such as China 72 million, Soviet Union 20 million, Cambodia 2.3 million, North Korea 2 million, Africa 1.7 million, Afghanistan 1.5 million, Vietnam 1 million, Eastern Europe 1 million, and Latin America 150,000.<\/span><\/p>\n

When a world view does not see any distinction between themselves and a higher power, than \u201cmight becomes right\u201d. When there is no accountability and no sense of value or worth that is attributed to mankind then men position themselves as a \u201cgod\u201d by establishing their own rules of right and wrong. <\/span><\/p>\n

When mankind is viewed as having no ultimate purpose or value and humanity is seen as vanity on the plane of human existence then the evolutionary process of the \u201csurvival of the fittest\u201d leads the way to ultimate truth. <\/span><\/p>\n

This viewpoint of human life supports a sense of relativity based on the goals, agenda, and immediate needs of the powers to be which usually leaves people in a wake of destruction. <\/span><\/p>\n

However, it is mainly the\u00a0 Judeo-Christian view that takes an opposing position regarding the sanctity of human life and mankind. The bible describes men as\u00a0 being made in the image of God which beckons for the rights of mankind’s preservation. <\/span><\/p>\n

Many people want Judeo-Christian values but they don\u2019t want to be governed or influenced by the God who values them as individuals.\u00a0 This is a paradox and unless men surrender their hearts to God it could lead to the extinction of human society, that is if it would be left to itself without the transcendent power of a God who sovereignly preserves it. <\/span><\/p>\n

Also there are hate religions that are responsible for killing others whether it is radical Islam, Hindu nationalists, Buddhist extremists, etc. Any religion that defines it existence based on the need to kill should be a warning sign to stay clear of its influence. Even sects of so called Christians that have shed blood in defiance to Jesus and have submitted their lives to\u00a0 the organized religion of men are considered heretics and false or counterfeit believers.<\/span><\/p>\n

Jesus warns about those who take the name but not the cross, which for the believer would mean to lay down their lives for the service of Him and others. The cross of the crusaders should of never been used as a sword and Jesus even pushes the viewpoint of God\u2019s position towards violence or violating others with the concept that we are to even love our enemies.\u00a0 This may seem like a ridiculous position at first until we come to realize that God loved us while we were yet His enemies.<\/span><\/p>\n

So in Luke 6:27-36 Jesus speaks these words regarding loving our enemies:<\/span><\/p>\n

27 <\/sup><\/span>\u201cBut I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, <\/span>28 <\/sup><\/span>bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. <\/span>29 <\/sup><\/span>If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. <\/span>30 <\/sup><\/span>Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. <\/span>31 <\/sup><\/span>Do to others as you would have them do to you. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

32 <\/sup><\/span>\u201cIf you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even \u2018sinners\u2019 love those who love them. <\/span>33 <\/sup><\/span>And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even \u2018sinners\u2019 do that. <\/span>34 <\/sup><\/span>And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even \u2018sinners\u2019 lend to \u2018sinners,\u2019 expecting to be repaid in full. <\/span>35 <\/sup><\/span>But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. <\/span>36 <\/sup><\/span>Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

It is a self evident witness to the consciousness of men regarding the aspect of sustaining life and when any philosophy or religion displaces the value of men as common trash then this becomes a contradiction and a inconsistency towards a God who gives life to humanity. <\/span><\/p>\n

Though death is inevitable, are we born to live or die? Your world view may say different but God has given us a clue to human responsibility just through the care and nurture of our parents who once assisted us in our state of helplessness as infants . God has given us the gift of parental stewards in order to maintain a sense of security and protection which wasn\u2019t meant to stop at the moment the child is weaned from mom and dad. God loves people and his conservation of humanity is the highest goal or achievement to His created order. <\/span><\/p>\n

Though God has judged humanity at different times it was only as a means of upholding justice and protecting life based on actions\u00a0 towards Him and others rather than carelessly and needlessly wiping people off the face of the world for no apparent cause or reason. Through His judgment God is upholding the values of societies victims.<\/span><\/p>\n

After all how can a judge be considered \u201cgood\u201d if he merely dismisses every case because He is loving and forgiving and doesn\u2019t want to hurt anybody. Where does that leave the victims of these crimes? Where is their mercy? The judge knows that people aren\u2019t just reformed through a judicial pardon and that there is a personal cost involved that necessitates judgement in order to protect lives and to maintain order. <\/span><\/p>\n

Yet in the court\u2019s of heaven there is a tension regarding God concerning His justice and mercy which is ultimately defined in the person and work of Jesus. <\/span><\/p>\n

Gods passion for the world is \u201clove\u201d which He extends to us through Jesus who himself was tortured by evil men even though He was innocent. His sacrificial life towards us was a way for us to be forgiven from the hostilities of which I speak because we are all guilty of perpetrating crimes on humanity even if it was not at the level of these wicked geniuses. <\/span><\/p>\n

We recognize this idea of sacrifice when we see the human \u201chero\u201d of courage who takes the stage on the scene of life in disregarding his own safety and well being for the sake of others and yet this is exactly what God has done for us on a universal scale. However, I realize that even if we are\u00a0 forgiven in the counsel of God\u2019s court we may still have to face the consequences and responsibilities of our crimes to humanity here on this earth.<\/span><\/p>\n

Anyway how God accomplishes this work of redemption is that He enters our lives miraculously when we receive Him as Savior through the forgiveness of sins and Lord as we submit to His rule and reign over our hearts and lives. <\/span><\/p>\n

Upon receiving Him, He now regenerates us by taking our heart of stone and gives us a heart of flesh. This transformation changes our inward being and nature which the bible\u00a0 describes as being \u201cborn again.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

This new state of being\u00a0 leads us to be reconciled to God and to one another. This\u00a0 benefit helps us to regain lost relationships by stopping the needless and pointless destruction of human lives and hostility towards our Creator . <\/span><\/p>\n

Lastly this concept of \u201clife\u201d is best illustrated and summed up by the words of Jesus in John 3:16 that says:<\/span><\/p>\n

16 <\/sup><\/span>\u201cFor God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,<\/span>f<\/sup><\/span> that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>
\n How to know God<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Atheist and Agnostic Resources<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

English Articles on Atheism and Agnosticism<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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Copyright\u00a0permission\u00a0by Bridge-Logos “The School of Biblical Evangelism”<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An overview of the concept of religion as it relates to violence<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[179],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-391","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-english-atheist-and-agnostic"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/jesusandjews.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/391","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/jesusandjews.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/jesusandjews.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/jesusandjews.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/jesusandjews.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=391"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/jesusandjews.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/391\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/jesusandjews.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=391"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/jesusandjews.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=391"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/jesusandjews.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=391"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}