Welcome to Theologetics

Every so often do I hear how religions are the cause of wars and that if we eliminated all religions, there would be no wars. Atheists seem to repeat historical events like the Crusades, the Thirty Year’s War, the Spanish Inquisition, and the Salem Witch Trials. They just love using those examples to point out how bad religion, specifically Christianity really is. It’s unfortunate that secularist have done such a great job convincing millions of people to buy this kind of belief and the common folk just seems to spit out those gimmicks. But is that really the case and is there truly justification for that?
First and foremost, let’s examine the details for its details that make the difference

Crusades: The purpose of the Crusades was to protect the entire European nation against the advancement of Islam. It was a series of defensive responding against Muslim conquest. After 200 years of Muslim attacks, the Christians finally responded back and recaptured Jerusalem. They saw it as a call to regain back their stolen territory for self defense and in the name of Christ. Now is there completely something wrong with defended your country and responding back to attack? Certainly not! If it weren’t for these brave Christians all of Europe right now would be under Islamic Law! History would have been altered! Many of these Christians gave up everything they had and even sold their own property to risk their lives for this mission. However, it is true that the Crusades were in fact responsible for the killing of many Jews and innocent people. That is due to the fact that the Crusades attracted all sorts of people including evil ones. Some joined to fulfill selfish and evil ambitions such as the spoils of wars and political gains. These men were not Christian for Jesus said “by your fruits you will know them.” Not once did Jesus, the founder of Christianity, ever say go out and destroy countries for the sake of my name. In fact He said “if you live by the sword you will die by the sword.” These evil men were hypocrites and used God for his own evil agenda. Their actions totally contradicted the very teachings of Jesus as they gave the entire mission a bad name.
Spanish Inquisition- Contrary to popular belief about millions of dying, history proves otherwise. Founded in 1478, by Monarchs Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castil, Spain sought to reestablish itself as a Catholic nation only because it saw Jews and Muslim as a potential threat. The inquisition was ran by the government rather that the church and its purpose was to expel non-Catholics. However, some of its true motives are unclear. Many Jews and Muslims, feeling the pressure lied about their conversions and pretended to be Catholic to keep their land and stay. The Inquisition only had authority over Christians so most of the punishments were targeted around Jews pretending to be Christian. Surprisingly enough, most of the allegations were from other Jews who were angry because the so-called converted Jews abandoned their Judaic faith. Even more, the Jews that accused the other Jews didn’t have to testify and were exempt from the jurisdiction and the grand Inquisitor himself was Jewish. Were fake Christians tortured in horrific ways? Yes. However, a majority of the punishments were actually community services and the Inquisition trials were  fairer than all of Europe’s judicial system! Only criminals were executed. How many died? The figures were from 1500 to 4500 total in a course of 350 years!!! So all this millions of dying were  a myth created by anti religious propaganda. Now was the Inquisition actually Christian like? Absolutely not! Did Jesus once force anyone to believe Him against their own will or preach his disciples to do the same? Never! Jesus came in humble spirit to spread the Good News about love, mercy, redemption, and punishment for evil but He never forced or wished death on anyone who didn’t accept His message.
Salem Witch Trials- How many were killed? Thousands? Millions? Actually only 19 were burnt to the stake and a few died in captivity, a substantial figure of less than 25 total. These numbers were actually magnified and exaggerated by atheist. Fewer than 100,000 died in Europe. Even though this is a dent in Christianity’s dark history, it is not plausible to believe that it will happen again, yet we still bring it up as if it will. This paranoia is nonsense. In fact, if you go to Salem today, witches are actually thriving and a now a tourist attraction.

Consider that most of these were not done in the name or religion or in the name of Jesus but through selfish hypocrites masquerading as Christians. These were contrary to the religious teachings of Jesus. The Crusades, as an exception was more or less a political motive then it was a religious one. These fantastic claims were twisted and exaggerated from atheist. So is it fair to hold Christians accountable today for these past crimes from hypocritical people claiming to be Christian? That’s religious generalization. Its like saying because one white, black, or brown guy commits a crime, he represents his nation and culture so they should be all be  blamed also. Furthermore, should all the good that Christianity has done be overlooked and have no merit at all? But where is the accountability for atheism? Let’s compare these events when Atheism measures up.

Communism- an atheist ideology formulated under Karl Marx that called for the abolition of religion. Atheism is a central part in this doctrine and used any necessary means to rid religion while creating an atheist utopia. Similarly, Nazism called for the eradication of religion. Under this ideology, we can see how it is responsible for the mass murders in history through the following:

• Communist Russia- Stalin was responsible for 20 million deaths from mass slayings, forced labor camps, population relocation, firing squads
• Communist China- Mao Zedong was responsible for 70 million deaths.
• Communist Cambodia- Pol Pot eliminated 2 million of his own countrymen. That’s 1/5 of the entire country!!!
• Nazi Germay- Hitler was responsible for 10 million murders, 6 million were Jews. Hilter shared much of Darwin’s atheist, evolutionistic ideas of “survival of the fittest” while wanting to create an ideal man through ethnic cleansing of millions.

That’s not even to mention communist tyrants like Fidel Castro of communist Cuba and Kim Jong-il of Communist North Korea. If Christians should be held responsible for the Crusades, Witch Trials, etc, then according to the same standards atheist should be responsible for the millions of bloodshed it brought through its anti-religious ideology which is incomparable!! Fortunately the Crusades and Salem Witch Trials are in the distant past. Unfortunately, we cannot say the same for this Communist, atheist ideology which is very much alive today.

In the light of defense, let’s examine what good Christianity has brought to this world by going back to its founder, Jesus. During an era and culture where women and children were looked down upon, Jesus had a radical idea and a message of compassion. He taught to love them equally. This was one the first movement in women’s rights and child protection in a Pagan Rome. When sinners like thieves, corrupt tax collectors, and prostitutes were looked down upon, Jesus ate with them and taught to not judge but to forgive them, to be merciful, live a life of humility, and to serve others. Jesus golden rule to love others and treat them as you would want to be treated today is still the heart of Christian doctrine. Jesus also taught equality among Jews, Gentiles, and different races. It was so profound that it even inspired a Christian minister by the name of Martin Luther King Jr and his call for civil rights. Jesus shared examples of how he wanted his disciples to behave when he healed the sick, fed the poor, and instructed his followers to mimic after him. After the death of Jesus, we saw his teachings and examples had such an impact of the earliest Christians. History shows that the first Christians sold their possessions to build churches, care for the needy, the poor, the widows, and the orphans. They saw that Rome’s gladiator coliseum was inhuman and cruel so they were abolished. Christianity had a huge influence on the reformation of health care throughout history because it was one of the first to build hospices and hospitals to care for the needs of everyone. The poor were fed and given free burial. Orphans and widows were protected and provided for. Elderly men and women, prisoners, sick slaves and other outcasts, especially the leprous, were cared for. This was enough to impress the Romans at that time. Even organizations like the Red Cross had Christian origins. To this day Christianity is on every scene when it comes to humanitarian contribution. It is accountable for billions of dollars spent and endless hours of service time donated to humanity. All of this is not even to mention how Christianity has shaped, defined, and advanced the world and government through its arts, literature, civil rights and scientific discoveries. Charity and service is one of the core tenants of Christianity yet atheist continue insist that religions like Christianity is such bad thing.

Reference: What’s so Great about Christianity- Dinesh D’souza