Krystal Smith poses this question at STAPLER CONFESSIONS and states: “From biblical times to modern day, it’s true that many wars have been fought in the name of religion. From the Spanish Inquisition and the Crusades, to modern religious extremists and terror attacks, many have suffered. However, most religious people don’t support going to war with people who have different beliefs. Those who have been mislead to resort to violence fail to see the peaceful messages that are present in virtually all religious texts. Some atheists feel that the world would be more peaceful without the impact of any religions.”
Were there many wars fought over religion? While Hitler ordered the holocaust of six million Jews, it was not really a war over religion. The first World War had to do with clashing empires, alliances and money. The Japanese wanted sovereignty over Asia and control of the Pacific Ocean. Korea and Vietnam was all about the aggression of Chinese atheistic Communism. The Inquisition employed religion as a tool but besides stamping out heresy was essentially a political effort to secure Europe from Moslem occupation. The Crusades preserved Europe from Islamic invasion. Religion was a factor in the Crusades because it was hoped that the Holy Land might be reopened to pilgrims. Religion is merely one factor among many in such questions about human congress and tension. It is not necessarily the single root-cause for hostilities.
Speaking in terms of Christianity, the pacifism of the earliest believers became increasing impracticable and hard to sustain. Believers were martyred like the killing of flies. The Roman empire opposed the new religion because Christianity was intolerant of paganism and believers refused to compromise. One could not worship idols or the demons they signified and still claim the lordship of Jesus Christ. Old Rome saw the emergence of Christianity as a political threat to the empire— especially the language about turning the cheek, giving to those who take from you, and loving your enemies. Christians joined with Constantine to bring three centuries of persecution to an end. When it came to the relationship between the Church and Islam, the weight of guilt was more heavily upon Islam and its notion of jihad or holy war to force religious submission. Islam was to Europe what the Soviet Union was to us during the Cold War. Our faith and civilization were all at stake. The inquisition expelled an enemy from our midst. The crusades sought to open the holy land to pilgrims. The tensions between Protestants and Catholics in Europe were part of a struggle for political power between princes, kings, and the Church. The conflict was more about temporal matters than spiritual ones.
While there are many apologists who argue that militant Islam is an aberration to a religion of peace, in truth every place that becomes 51% Islam experiences a repression of Christians, Jews and others. We would concur with atheists that God’s children should not kill each other over religion; however, Christian believers have a right to defend themselves. When this becomes impossible, as with the Coptic men who had their throats cut, there is a witness to how we should remain faithful even if we must die.
Those atheists who think that a world without religion would be more peaceful are delusional. Atheism has been tried, and as with Stalin, millions suffered the loss of rights and incarceration in the gulags. He killed 20 million of his own people. The atheists who claim political power, subsequently treat their anti-god philosophy like a religion, seeking converts not through argument but through war and revolution. When God is taken out of the picture, men assume his throne. There can never be a vacuum. While critics lament God’s laws and judgment, the verdict of men is much harsher. Separated from the Divine Mercy, why should we be surprised?
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