Is Christianity the Cause of Certain Historical Atrocities

There are examples of evil that has been committed in the name of Christianity throughout history, such as the Crusades that resulted in a holy war between competing belief systems and the Inquisition where many were placed on trial for heresy with some receiving a death sentence. Skeptics claim that such evil is evidence against the existence of a righteous Christian God, but the atrocities were not perpetrated by God and the underlying cause was actually man’s struggle for power. European believers during the Middle Ages had respect for Biblical teachings, but few copies of the Bible existed and most would not have been literate enough to read it. Consequently, many were dependent upon a single denomination’s control of the interpretation. Orders came from men who deceived others into believing they were doing the work of God when in actuality it was all for selfish or political ends. Although everyone was familiar with the name of Jesus Christ, few truly understood His doctrines. For a lack of having studied the Scriptures themselves, people were misled into believing what others told them it said and ironically today’s critical environment can be described the same way.

Groups that adhere to virtually every worldview have been guilty of evil behavior, whether they were theists or atheists. The atheistic regimes of Joseph Stalin and Mao Zedong were responsible for a considerable loss of life that completely eclipses all others; however, atheism itself cannot be blamed for the brutality. The death statistics have often been debated in an effort to prove which groups were more violent, but that seems to miss the mark because the common denominator was not a particular worldview; it was the presence of fallible human beings. The historical record confirms that there is a human a propensity towards violence. The issue is not which group is more violent, but which worldview authorizes or most accommodates a violent predisposition. Purported Christians who commit horrific crimes against humanity act in total opposition to Jesus Christ who taught His followers to “love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hurt you, and pray for them that despitefully use you, and persecute you” (Matthew 5:44). God has given us the freedom to choose our own nature or to follow His principles. Those who have called themselves Christians and committed evil over the centuries have chosen submission to their natural inclinations and become the very definition of hypocrisy. Jesus often confronted the religious hypocrites of His day and zealously spoke against their behavior. He said to them, “well has Isaiah prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, this people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me” (Mark 7:6); and further chastised them by saying, “woe unto you Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you are like whited sepulchers which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones and of all uncleanness” (Matthew 23:27). He even warned His followers by saying, “beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves” (Matthew 7:15). Christ made it clear that there would be many who would claim to be His disciples at the judgement and He will, “profess unto them, I never knew you, depart from me you that work iniquity” (Matthew 7:23). The Bible indicates that those who practice hypocrisy are not true Christians and will be judged as non-believers.

Just as the efficacy of a medication cannot be measured by those who refuse to take it, Christianity cannot be evaluated based upon those who claim to be adherents, but live in rebellion to it’s precepts. All consideration must be based upon the teachings of Jesus Christ because the validity of the beliefs does not rest on sinful men. The fact that professing Christians and many others throughout history were capable of such depravity further proves the very premise, that “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). All are in need of the Savior who came “to save that which was lost” (Luke19:10). Only God can know for certain whether a person is a true believer because only He can make that determination, but the Scriptures describe the nature of a person He is working with as being one of “love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness, and self-controlled” (Galatians 5:22). Although a person will still make mistakes, the true Christian will have the desire to do what is right and demonstrate love towards others. Even non-believers can perceive the difference in a person who truly chooses to live for Christ.

A worldview based upon the idea that human beings are essentially good and that the world is getting better is not tenable because everything man is involved with is eventually used to cause damage, whether it’s science, government, or religion. The problem is not in the systems themselves, the problem is within the human heart. The Russian novelist and historian Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn who survived the gulags under Stalin recognized the problem and profoundly stated, “the dividing line between good and evil runs right through the middle of every human heart”. The world doesn’t need a clever philosophy, new politic, or an empty religious system to answer all the violence, injustice, and pain because none can produce fundamental change. The world needs a radical transformation of the individual heart and that kind of conversion can only be found in Jesus Christ who also viewed the aforementioned structures as powerless, damaging, and enslaving.

“But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy”

James 3:17