22/09/13

The Myth of Religion being the #1 Cause of War :: CP BLOG

LATEST NEWS

VIDEO

BLOGS

July 19, 2012 09:00 PM EDT

The Myth of Religion being the #1 Cause of War

0 By Robin Schumacher Tw eet 1 Like 29

Atheists (really hatetheists, not atheists) and secular humanists consistently make the claim that religion is the #1 cause of violence and war throughout the history of mankind. One of hatetheism's key cheerleaders, Sam Harris, says in his book The End of Faith that faith and religion are the most prolific source of violence in our history.[1] Now, lets air the dirty laundry up front where this issue is concerned. Theres no denying that campaigns such as the Crusades and the Thirty Years War foundationally rested on religious ideology. Further, atrocities such as those being seen right now in Nigeria are certainly religiously motivated. Such things are unacceptable, horrible, and should have never occurred. That said, it is simply incorrect to assert that religion has been the primary cause of war. Moreover, although theres also no disagreement that radical Islam was the spirit behind 9/11, it is a fallacy to say that all faiths contribute equally where religiously-motivated violence and warfare are concerned. An interesting source of truth on the matter is Philip and Axelrods three-volume Encyclopedia of Wars, which chronicles some 1,763 wars that have been waged over the course of human history. Of those wars, the authors categorize 123 as being religious in nature[2], which is an astonishingly low 6.98% of all wars. However, when one subtracts out those waged in the name of Islam (66), the percentage is cut by more than half to 3.23%. That means that all faiths comb ined minus Islam have caused less than 4% of all of humanitys wars and violent conflicts. Further, they played no motivating role in the major wars that have resulted in the most loss of life. Kind of puts a serious dent into Harris argument, doesnt it? The truth is, non-religious motivations and naturalistic philosophies bear the blame for nearly all of humankinds wars. Any appeal to the contrary or arguments that attempt to say certain dictators like Hitler were Christians and carried out their evil in the name of Christ simply do not hold up under historical scrutiny.[3] Moreover, lives lost during true religious conflicts pales in comparison to those experienced during the regimes who wanted nothing to do with the idea of God something showcased in R. J. Rummels work Lethal Politics and Death b y
m.blogs.christianpost.com/confident-christian/the-myth-of-religion-being-the-1-cause-of-war-10924/ 1/4

22/09/13

The Myth of Religion being the #1 Cause of War :: CP BLOG

Government: Non-Religious Dictator Joseph Stalin Mao Zedong Adolf Hitler Chiang Kai-shek Vladimir Lenin Hideki Tojo Pol Pot [4] Rummel says: Almost 170 million men, women and children have been shot, beaten, tortured, knifed, burned, starved, frozen, crushed or worked to death; buried alive, drowned, hung, bombed or killed in any other of a myriad of ways governments have inflicted death on unarmed, helpless citizens and foreigners. The dead could conceivably be nearly 360 million people. It is though our species has been devastated by a modern Black Plague. And indeed it has, but a plague of Power, not germs.[5] The historical evidence is quite clear: Religion is not the #1 cause of war. If religion cant be blamed for most wars and violence, then what is the primary cause? The principal trigger is the same thing that produces all crime, cruelty, loss of life, and other such things. Jesus provides the answer very clearly: For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness. All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man (Mark 7:2123). James (naturally) agrees with Christ when he says: What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you? Is not the source your pleasures that wage war in your members? You lust and do not have; so you commit murder. You are envious and cannot obtain; so you fight and quarrel (James 4:12). In the end, the evidence shows that the hatheists are quite wrong about the wars they claim to so desperately despise. A sinful human condition is the #1 cause of war and violence, not religion, and certainly not Christianity. A PowerPoint presentation of this article is available for download. Lives Lost 42,672,000 37,828,000 20,946,000 10,214,000 4,017,000 3,990,000 2,397,000

[1] http://goo.gl/r5iic [2] http://goo.gl/i84f0 [3] Atheists who say Hitler was a Christian and Christians who say Hitler was an atheist are both wrong. Most historians whove studied the matter agree he was a neo-pagan where spiritual matters were concerned. There is little debate that he also subscribed to various naturalistic philosophies, and looked to stamp out Christianity as well as the Jews. See Nazi Trial Documents Made Public. BBC New, Jan. 11, 2002. Lastly, the argument of Hitler being a Christian because the German army had belt buckles stating Gott Mit Uns (God is with us) is incorrect as it fails to understand from history that the German military inherited those from the royal house of Prussia and it was Otto von Bismarck and not Hitlers slogan. [4] http://goo.gl/yEXAW [5] http://goo.gl/pDbMU

m.blogs.christianpost.com/confident-christian/the-myth-of-religion-being-the-1-cause-of-war-10924/

2/4

22/09/13

The Myth of Religion being the #1 Cause of War :: CP BLOG

More
Slideshow: What Best Explains Jesus Empty Tomb? A Response to the Friendly Atheist (Part 2) A Response to the Friendly Atheist (Part 1) Slideshow: For Those Who Doubt Jesus Ever Lived Why Believe the New Testament?

Leave a Comment
Login with

Post

Page 1 of 1 See all (3 comments)

Chelsea Evans
9:12 PM on April 12, 2013

Follow

Mute

Hatethiests? No. It's hatethiesmists. As Christians say, hate the sin not the sinner. I personally am Agnostic. I don't hate theists. I don't think they are dumb. But to be religious is dumb of someone. It is a primitive coping skill. It allows comfort in being uninformed. Why feel when you can KNOW? Being religious ...more
Reply Agree(0) Disagree(2) Report abuse(0)

Kevin Noel Olson

m.blogs.christianpost.com/confident-christian/the-myth-of-religion-being-the-1-cause-of-war-10924/

Follow

Mute
3/4

22/09/13

The Myth of Religion being the #1 Cause of War :: CP BLOG

9:40 PM on January 24, 2013

Site on Hitler's sentiments on Christianity and Religion: answers.org/apologetics/Hitquote.html "National Socialism and religion cannot exist together.... The heaviest blow that ever struck humanity was the coming of Christianity. Bolshevism is Christianity's illegitimate child. Both are inventions of the Jew. The ...more
Reply Agree(0) Disagree(1) Report abuse(0)

Tony Jiang
9:57 PM on February 12, 2013

Follow

Kevin Noel Olson - http://wiki.ironchariots.org/index.php?title=Hitler

Reply Agree(0) Disagree(0) Report abuse(0)

Home
2013 The Christian Post. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

m.blogs.christianpost.com/confident-christian/the-myth-of-religion-being-the-1-cause-of-war-10924/

4/4