Introduction
Many atheists claim that religion is evil and, as such, cannot be from God. It is true that there are many examples of evil committed in the name of Christianity. In the past, those who disagreed with "official" church doctrine, such as Galileo were persecuted or killed. Many other Christians were brought before the Inquisition because they were teaching from the Bible instead of from "officially sanctioned" Roman Catholic Church materials. In addition, the Crusades resulted in "holy" wars between "Christians," Jews, and Moslems. In more modern times, wars have been fought between Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland and between Jews and Arabs in the Middle East. However, common to all this violence was an underlying struggle for power. Today, some people kill abortionists in the name of God. Are these people unwilling pawns of religion or using religion to justify their own evil agendas?History of human atrocities
Therefore, I absolutely agree with atheists and others who say that many atrocious things have been done in the name of God, and even in the name of Christianity. However, these atrocities were not perpetrated by God, but by evil human beings. If we look at the history of democide (which includes genocide, politicide, and mass murder, but not war-dead) prior to the 20th century, we find that millions of people were killed by people groups who wanted the other people groups eliminated. Note that these numbers do not include those killed through wars.Cases | Years2 | Democide3 | Religious? |
---|---|---|---|
TABLE 3.1 Selected Pre-20th Century Democide and Totals1 | |||
China | 221 B.C.-19 C. | 33,519,0004 | No |
Mongols | 14 C-15 C | 29,927,000 | No |
Slavery of Africans | 1451-1870 | 17,267,000 | No |
Amer-Indians | 16 C-19 C | 13,778,000 | No |
Thirty Years War | 1618-1648 | 5,750,000 | No |
In India | 13 C-1 9 C | 4,511,0005 | No |
In Iran | 5 C-19 C | 2,000,0004,5 | No |
Ottoman Empire | 12 C-19 C | 2,000,0005 | No |
In Japan | 1570-19 C | 1,500,0005 | No |
In Russia | 10 C-19 C | 1,007,0005 | No |
Christian Crusades | 1095-1272 | 1,000,000 | Yes |
Aztecs | Centuries | 1,000,0006 | Yes |
Spanish Inquisition | 16 C-18 C | 350,000 | Yes |
French Revolution | 1793-1794 | 263,000 | No |
Albigensian Crusade | 1208-1249 | 200,000 | Yes |
Witch Hunts | 15 C-17 C | 100,000 | Yes |
Total For All Cases | pre-20 C | 133,147,000 | 2,650,000 |
Hypothetical Total | 30 C B.C.-19 C A.D. | 625,716,0007 | |
International war-related dead | 30 C B.C.-19 C A.D. | 40,457,0008 | |
Plague dead (Black Death) | 541 A.D.-1912 | 102,070,0009 | |
|
REGIMES | YEARS | DEMOCIDE2 | Atheist? |
---|---|---|---|
TABLE 1.2 20th Century Democide1 | |||
U.S.S.R. | 1917-87 | 61,911,000 | Yes |
China (PRC) | 1949-87 | 35,236,000 | Yes |
Germany | 1933-45 | 20,946,000 | No |
China (KMT) | 1928-49 | 10,075,000 | No |
Japan | 1936-45 | 5,964,000 | No |
China (Mao Soviets)3 | 1923-49 | 3,466,000 | Yes |
Cambodia | 1975-79 | 2,035,000 | Yes |
Turkey (Armenian Genocide) | 1909-18 | 1,883,000 | No |
Vietnam | 1945-87 | 1,670,000 | Yes |
Poland | 1945-48 | 1,585,000 | Yes |
Pakistan | 1958-87 | 1,503,000 | No |
Yugoslavia (Tito) | 1944-87 | 1,072,000 | Yes |
North Korea | 1948-87 | 1,663,000 | Yes |
Mexico | 1900-20 | 1,417,000 | No |
Russia | 1900-17 | 1,066,000 | Yes |
China (Warlords) | 1917-49 | 910,000 | No |
Turkey (Ataturk) | 1919-23 | 878,000 | No |
United Kingdom | 1900-87 | 816,000 | No |
Portugal (Dictatorship) | 1926-82 | 741,000 | No |
Indonesia | 1965-87 | 729,000 | No |
LESSER MURDERERS | 1900-87 | 2,792,000 | ? |
WORLD TOTAL | 1900-87 | 169,202,000 | 107,047,000 |
|
Murders by Atheists (20th Century)
Country | Dates | Murders |
---|---|---|
Afghanistan | 1978-1992 | 1,750,000 |
Albania | 1944-1985 | 100,000 |
Angola | 1975-2002 | 125,000 |
Bulgaria | 1944-1989 | 222,000 |
China/PRC | 1923-2007 | 76,702,000 |
Cuba | 1959-1992 | 73,000 |
Czechoslovakia | 1948-1968 | 65,000 |
Ethiopia | 1974-1991 | 1,343,610 |
France | 1793-1794 | 40,000 |
Greece | 1946-1949 | 20,000 |
Hungary | 1948-1989 | 27,000 |
Kampuchea/Cambodia | 1973-1991 | 2,627,000 |
Laos | 1975-2007 | 93,000 |
Mongolia | 1926-2007 | 100,000 |
Mozambique | 1975-1990 | 118,000 |
North Korea | 1948-2007 | 3,163,000 |
Poland | 1945-1948 | 1,607,000 |
Romania | 1948-1987 | 438,000 |
Spain (Republic) | 1936-1939 | 102,000 |
U.S.S.R. | 1917-1987 | 61,911,000 |
Vietnam | 1945-2007 | 1,670,000 |
Yugoslavia | 1944-1980 | 1,072,000 |
Figure 1. Percentage of democide based upon type of government control. |
What about Christians who commit evil?
Jesus Himself addressed the issue of "Christians," performing evil deeds in a rather chilling prophecy:You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now.One should note that Jesus said that "many" people who think they are His followers will be rejected by Jesus when at the judgment when they attempt to claim that they are His disciples. Not all who claim the name of Jesus are actually His disciples. My guess is that in even the best of Christian churches only about half of the people have been truly born again (see John chapter 3).You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now. Christianity should be judged on the basis of what Jesus said and did, not on the basis of the actions of people who merely claim to be Christians. You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now. details the deaths of Christians who were killed because of their faith in Christ, in many cases by people claiming to be Christians."Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?' And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.'" (You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now.)
How do you know if a person is a Christian or not?
We cannot know for certain whether a person is or is not a true Christian (only God can makes such a determination).You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now. However, the Bible describes the nature of a person who is indwelt by the Holy SpiritYou do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now. (which happens at the point a person accept Jesus as Lord and Savior):In addition, the true believer does what is right and demonstrates love toward others.You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now. Even non-believers can readily see who the true Christians are. Ultimately, the behavior of those who claim to be Christians but practice evil should not be a consideration in determining if the claims of Christ are true or not.But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. (You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now.)
Conclusion You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now.
Yes, "Christians" have committed atrocities against other religious and non-religious people. However, atheists have committed far more atrocities than all religious groups combined. Even so, the key factor in these atrocities has been totalitarian power, rather than religion, which has resulted in these hundreds of millions of murders. The Bible says that people are evil (and the statistics on this page support this claim), but that they can become transformed through the power of the Holy Spirit to live lives of love, joy and peace.You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now.