Doesn't Religion Cause War and Violence?

Doesn't Religion Cause War and Violence?

The claim that religion is the primary cause of historical violence is historically inaccurate and philosophically confused. A careful examination of the data tells a more complex and, in crucial respects, contradictory story.

The Twentieth Century — Atheism's Body Count

The bloodiest century in human history — the twentieth — was dominated not by religious violence but by explicitly secular and in many cases atheistic regimes. The Soviet Union under Stalin: 20-60 million deaths. Maoist China: 45-65 million deaths. Pol Pot's Cambodia: approximately 2 million dead out of 7 million population — one of the highest per capita death rates in history. Nazi Germany — which held Christianity in contempt while embracing a racial-nationalist ideology. These twentieth-century mass murders dwarfed all religious wars in history combined. If religion causes violence, the data demands we account for what atheistic ideology does with state power.

Jesus's Teaching and Historical Abuses

Jesus taught: "Love your enemies, bless them that curse you." (Matthew 5:44). "Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword." (Matthew 26:52). Every act of violence committed in the name of Christianity was a direct violation of the teachings of its founder. The Crusades, the Inquisition, religious wars — these were abuses of the name of Christ, not applications of His teaching. The valid charge is not that Christianity causes violence — but that humans corruptly use every ideology, including religion, to justify what they want to do anyway. The solution is the authentic Christianity of Jesus Christ — which produces love for enemies, not hatred. "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." (Acts 16:31).

The Cosmological Argument — Why Is There Something Rather Than Nothing?

Everything that exists has a cause for its existence. The universe itself began — the Big Bang represents a definite beginning to all matter, energy, space, and time. What preceded it? Nothing cannot produce something — "nothing" by definition has no causal capacity, no properties, no potential. The existence of the universe requires a cause that lies outside the universe itself: a cause that is timeless (existing before time began), spaceless (existing before space began), non-material (existing before matter began), and powerfully intentional (capable of initiating the universe). These are the attributes of what Scripture calls God. The atheist who says "the universe simply exists" applies to the universe a self-sufficiency he would never grant to a pebble or a star — and offers no principled reason for this exception.

The Fine-Tuning of the Universe

Physicists have discovered that the fundamental constants of the universe — the gravitational constant, the strong nuclear force, the cosmological constant, the mass ratio of protons to electrons — are calibrated with extraordinary precision. The slightest deviation from their actual values would produce a universe with no stable matter, no stars, no chemistry, no life. The probability of this precise calibration by chance is so infinitesimally small that even committed non-theistic physicists speak of it in terms of apparent "design." Physicist Freeman Dyson wrote: "The more I examine the universe and the details of its architecture, the more evidence I find that the universe in some sense must have known we were coming." The theistic explanation — an intelligent Creator who calibrated the universe for life — remains the most coherent account of this remarkable precision.

The Resurrection of Jesus Christ — Historical Evidence

The bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ is a historical claim evaluated by the tools of historical investigation. Four facts are accepted by the majority of historians of the period — including non-Christian scholars: (1) Jesus was crucified and died under Roman authority — confirmed by Roman and Jewish sources outside the New Testament. (2) The tomb was empty on the third day — His enemies did not dispute this but claimed the body was stolen, which implicitly confirms the empty tomb. (3) Multiple groups of people reported seeing Jesus alive after His death — including over five hundred at one time (1 Corinthians 15:6), named in a document written while eyewitnesses were still alive. (4) The disciples were transformed from terrified fugitives to bold witnesses who died rather than recant what they had seen. No alternative explanation accounts for all four facts simultaneously. The resurrection stands as the most powerful single evidence that God acted in history in the person of Jesus Christ.

The Moral Argument — Objective Ethics Require a Moral Lawgiver

Every person operates with some sense of objective moral obligation — the recognition that certain things are wrong regardless of personal preference or social convention. The torture of an innocent child is not merely "dispreferred" — it is genuinely, objectively wrong. But in a purely material universe with no God, there is no basis for this objective moral conviction. Evolution can explain why certain behaviours promote survival, but it cannot explain why we are morally obligated to do anything. A moral obligation requires a moral authority. An objective moral standard requires an objective moral lawgiver who stands outside and above human preferences and social conventions. That moral lawgiver is the God of Scripture — who is Himself the standard of goodness, not merely the issuer of arbitrary commands.

A Direct Invitation to the Honest Sceptic

If you are a committed atheist, you have likely been presented with the weakest forms of theistic argument. The tradition of Christian apologetics — from Justin Martyr to Aquinas to Pascal to Lewis to Plantinga — is far richer and more philosophically rigorous than popular atheist critiques typically engage. Read Norman Geisler and Frank Turek's "I Don't Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist." Read Alvin Plantinga's "Where the Conflict Really Lies." Read C.S. Lewis's "Mere Christianity." And read the Gospel of John — not as an opponent looking for weaknesses but as a searcher looking for truth. Many committed atheists who have done this honestly have found themselves unable to resist the conclusion that Jesus Christ is who Scripture declares Him to be. Come to Him with your honest questions — and find that He answers. "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." (Acts 16:31).

Closing — Come to Christ with Your Questions

Every honest intellectual question about faith has been engaged by serious Christian thinkers across twenty centuries. The tradition of Christian apologetics is not a tradition of intellectual evasion — it is a tradition of rigorous engagement with the hardest questions. Read widely, think carefully, follow the evidence honestly — and come to the Lord Jesus Christ with whatever you find. He receives every honest seeker: "All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out." (John 6:37). The door is open. Come now. "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." (Acts 16:31).

The Inadequacy of Atheism — Philosophical Problems

Committed atheism faces serious philosophical problems that are rarely acknowledged in popular presentations. First: the problem of consciousness. Why does purely physical brain activity produce subjective experience — the feeling of what it is like to be you? No materialist theory has adequately answered this question — what philosopher David Chalmers calls "the hard problem of consciousness." In a purely material universe, there is no principled reason why any arrangement of atoms should produce subjective awareness rather than purely mechanical processing. Second: the problem of induction — why should we trust that the future will resemble the past? The reliability of rational inference depends on the orderly character of nature, which is itself inexplicable on purely materialist grounds. Third: the problem of intentionality — how can purely physical states "be about" anything? Thoughts have content; atoms do not. These are not rhetorical questions but serious philosophical problems that atheism has not resolved. The theistic framework — in which a rational God created a rational universe for rational creatures — provides a coherent answer to all three.

C.S. Lewis on the Argument from Desire

C.S. Lewis argued that the universal human experience of longing — the experience of wanting something this world cannot fully satisfy — is itself evidence for God: "If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world." The persistent human experience of searching for something more — more meaning, more love, more permanence than mortality allows — is not adequately explained as a side effect of evolution. It is more credibly explained as the imprint of a Creator who made us for relationship with Himself. "Thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it repose in Thee" — Augustine's testimony across sixteen centuries resonates because it names a universal experience. Come to the God for whom you were made. Come to Jesus Christ who said "I am the way, the truth, and the life" (John 14:6). "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." (Acts 16:31).

The Changed Lives of Former Atheists

Among the most powerful evidence for the truth of Christianity is the cumulative testimony of those who came to faith through honest intellectual engagement rather than emotional crisis. Lee Strobel — former legal editor of the Chicago Tribune and committed atheist — spent two years investigating the historical evidence for Christianity in order to disprove it, and became a believer. Alister McGrath — doctorate in molecular biophysics from Oxford, trained atheist — found his atheism intellectually untenable after engaging seriously with philosophy and theology. Josh McDowell — set out to write a book disproving Christianity, found himself unable to, and believed. These are not anti-intellectual conversions — they are evidence-driven journeys by people who took their scepticism seriously enough to test it rigorously. The invitation stands for every honest sceptic: follow the evidence wherever it leads. "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." (Acts 16:31).

Scripture Speaks to the Honest Questioner

The God of Scripture is not a God who demands intellectual surrender. "Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD." (Isaiah 1:18). God Himself invites reasoned engagement. The Psalms are full of honest cries to a God who can be wrestled with: "How long, O LORD? wilt thou forget me for ever?" (Psalm 13:1). Habakkuk argues directly with God over the existence of evil: "O LORD, how long shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear!" (Habakkuk 1:2). Scripture does not model blind faith — it models vigorous, honest engagement with the hardest questions while refusing to let the difficulty of the questions displace the reality of the God who answers. The doubter, the questioner, the intellectually unsatisfied — all find themselves welcome in the pages of Scripture.

Pascal's Wager — The Stakes of the Question

The seventeenth-century mathematician Blaise Pascal — one of the most brilliant intellects in history — argued that the stakes of the God question are asymmetric. If God exists and you believe: infinite gain (eternal life). If God exists and you disbelieve: infinite loss. If God does not exist and you believe: finite loss (some comfortable unbeliefs abandoned). If God does not exist and you disbelieve: finite gain (some comfortable beliefs maintained). The rational response to this asymmetry is to take the possibility of God's existence with ultimate seriousness — to invest genuine intellectual effort in determining whether it is true. Pascal's Wager is not an argument that bypasses reason — it is an argument that God's potential existence is too consequential to dismiss with a shrug. Every honest person owes the question their most rigorous engagement. The Bible's claim is that such engagement, pursued honestly, leads to Christ. "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." (Acts 16:31).

Romans 1:20 — Without Excuse

"For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse." (Romans 1:20). Scripture declares that the evidence of God's existence is sufficiently clear in the natural world that no person can legitimately claim ignorance. The honest sceptic who examines the cosmological argument, the fine-tuning argument, the moral argument, and the historical evidence for the resurrection — and finds each individually suggestive and their convergence compelling — is standing on ground Scripture described two thousand years ago. The evidence has always been there. The question is always the same: will you follow it honestly to its conclusion? The conclusion is Jesus Christ — Lord, Saviour, and risen God. "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." (Acts 16:31).

The Final Question — Who Is Jesus Christ?

All roads in serious engagement with the question of God's existence lead ultimately to the same question: who is Jesus Christ? He claimed to be the Son of God, the way to the Father, the resurrection and the life. He performed miracles in public, before hostile witnesses, in an identifiable historical location. He was crucified and died. His tomb was found empty three days later. Multiple witnesses reported seeing Him alive — and died rather than recant that testimony. The question of whether God exists resolves, for the honest investigator, into the question of whether Jesus Christ rose from the dead. And the evidence for that resurrection — four historically established facts that no alternative hypothesis adequately explains — points unmistakably to yes. If Jesus Christ rose from the dead, God exists, and everything He taught is true. Come to Him. "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." (Acts 16:31).

The Gospel Invitation — Direct and Personal

The Bible closes with an open invitation: "And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely." (Revelation 22:17). This invitation is addressed to the thirsty — those who sense that something is missing, that the material world has not satisfied the deepest hunger of the human soul. Come not because you have all the answers. Come because you are thirsty. Come not because you have resolved every intellectual question. Come because you have honestly followed the evidence and found it pointing to Jesus Christ. Come with your doubts and your questions and your incomplete understanding — and receive the living water that only He can give. "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." (Acts 16:31). «Glory to God in our Lord Jesus Christ, for ever and ever and ever. Amen.» The authentic Christianity of Jesus Christ produces love for enemies, service to the poor, and the transformation of the human heart from within. Come to Christ — the Prince of Peace — and be transformed from within. Amen. Amen and amen. Come to the Lord and be transformed. Amen. Amen. Amen!

## Let us Pray:

"Lord Jesus Christ — if You are the risen Lord the Bible declares You to be — I come to You now with my honest doubts and my genuine search. I acknowledge I may have been wrong. I am willing to follow the evidence wherever it leads. And I am willing to trust You as Lord and Saviour — on the basis of Your death for my sins and Your resurrection from the dead. Receive me now, and give me the eternal life You have promised. Amen."

«Glory to God in our Lord Jesus Christ, for ever and ever and ever. Amen.»

The Holy Scriptures address this question with the full authority of the one who inspired them — the living God who knows the human heart and understands every objection before it is raised. What He has said on this subject is not the product of human opinion or denominational tradition; it is the preserved and authoritative Word of God, which He has declared will never pass away. The reader who examines this testimony honestly and without a predetermined commitment to reject it will find it both intellectually satisfying and personally transforming.

The cumulative weight of the biblical evidence on this question is not easily dismissed. It draws on multiple independent witnesses across centuries — the Law, the Prophets, the Psalms, the Gospels, and the Epistles all speak consistently to the same truth, each from its own vantage point and in its own manner, together forming a body of testimony whose coherence is itself one of the strongest arguments for its divine origin. The reader who reads these texts carefully will find not a collection of disconnected religious opinions but a unified revelation with a single coherent message.

The practical question that every reader must eventually face is not merely an academic one — it is personal and urgent. The truth about this subject has direct implications for how one lives, how one understands suffering and purpose, and how one faces the certainty of death. The Holy Scriptures do not present these truths as abstract theology detached from daily life; they present them as the most practical knowledge a human being can possess, because they concern the most important realities of human existence and the eternal destiny of every soul.

No honest engagement with this question can avoid its personal dimensions. God calls every person who reads these words not merely to intellectual acknowledgment but to personal response — specifically, to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as the one through whom all of the truths discussed in this article find their ultimate resolution. The cross of the Lord Jesus Christ is not peripheral to any of the questions the Christian faith addresses — it is central to every one of them. And the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ from the dead is the historical event that validates every claim the Christian faith makes.

The invitation that the Holy Scriptures extend through this article is not to religious performance or institutional affiliation but to personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. He who addressed every question honestly during His earthly ministry addresses them still through the Word He has preserved. And He who promised to give rest to all who come to Him keeps that promise to every generation. "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28). This is the personal invitation of the Lord Jesus Christ to you.

Those who have wrestled seriously with the questions raised in this article and have come to genuine faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as a result testify consistently to two things: first, that the intellectual journey to faith was more honest and more rigorous than the comfortable alternatives they had previously entertained; and second, that the personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ that followed transformed not only their understanding of these questions but their entire orientation toward life, death, and meaning. This is not the testimony of credulous people who have abandoned critical thinking — it is the testimony of people who followed the evidence to its honest conclusion.

The great gift that the Holy Scriptures offer to every reader who engages honestly with their content is not a set of easy answers to hard questions but a framework within which the deepest questions of human experience find their most complete and most satisfying resolution. The framework is God Himself — His character, His purposes, His acts in history, and above all the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Every question addressed in this article, when examined within that framework, is seen not as a challenge to faith but as an invitation to a deeper understanding of the God who created the mind that asks the questions.

This article has sought to address its subject honestly and from the foundation of the Holy Scriptures, without evasion and without minimising the genuine difficulty of the questions involved. The reader who finds the biblical answers compelling is invited to pursue them further — in the Holy Scriptures themselves, in prayer addressed directly to God, and in genuine engagement with a community of believers who take both the questions and the answers seriously. The reader who remains uncertain is invited to continue the search with the same honesty with which it began. God honours the sincere seeker: "And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart" (Jeremiah 29:13).

The Holy Scriptures address this question with the full authority of the one who inspired them — the living God who knows the human heart and understands every objection before it is raised. What He has said on this subject is not the product of human opinion or denominational tradition; it is the preserved and authoritative Word of God, which He has declared will never pass away. The reader who examines this testimony honestly and without a predetermined commitment to reject it will find it both intellectually satisfying and personally transforming.

The cumulative weight of the biblical evidence on this question is not easily dismissed. It draws on multiple independent witnesses across centuries — the Law, the Prophets, the Psalms, the Gospels, and the Epistles all speak consistently to the same truth, each from its own vantage point and in its own manner, together forming a body of testimony whose coherence is itself one of the strongest arguments for its divine origin. The reader who reads these texts carefully will find not a collection of disconnected religious opinions but a unified revelation with a single coherent message.

The practical question that every reader must eventually face is not merely an academic one — it is personal and urgent. The truth about this subject has direct implications for how one lives, how one understands suffering and purpose, and how one faces the certainty of death. The Holy Scriptures do not present these truths as abstract theology detached from daily life; they present them as the most practical knowledge a human being can possess, because they concern the most important realities of human existence and the eternal destiny of every soul.

No honest engagement with this question can avoid its personal dimensions. God calls every person who reads these words not merely to intellectual acknowledgment but to personal response — specifically, to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as the one through whom all of the truths discussed in this article find their ultimate resolution. The cross of the Lord Jesus Christ is not peripheral to any of the questions the Christian faith addresses — it is central to every one of them. And the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ from the dead is the historical event that validates every claim the Christian faith makes.

The invitation that the Holy Scriptures extend through this article is not to religious performance or institutional affiliation but to personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. He who addressed every question honestly during His earthly ministry addresses them still through the Word He has preserved. And He who promised to give rest to all who come to Him keeps that promise to every generation. "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28). This is the personal invitation of the Lord Jesus Christ to you.

Those who have wrestled seriously with the questions raised in this article and have come to genuine faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as a result testify consistently to two things: first, that the intellectual journey to faith was more honest and more rigorous than the comfortable alternatives they had previously entertained; and second, that the personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ that followed transformed not only their understanding of these questions but their entire orientation toward life, death, and meaning. This is not the testimony of credulous people who have abandoned critical thinking — it is the testimony of people who followed the evidence to its honest conclusion.

The great gift that the Holy Scriptures offer to every reader who engages honestly with their content is not a set of easy answers to hard questions but a framework within which the deepest questions of human experience find their most complete and most satisfying resolution. The framework is God Himself — His character, His purposes, His acts in history, and above all the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Every question addressed in this article, when examined within that framework, is seen not as a challenge to faith but as an invitation to a deeper understanding of the God who created the mind that asks the questions.

This article has sought to address its subject honestly and from the foundation of the Holy Scriptures, without evasion and without minimising the genuine difficulty of the questions involved. The reader who finds the biblical answers compelling is invited to pursue them further — in the Holy Scriptures themselves, in prayer addressed directly to God, and in genuine engagement with a community of believers who take both the questions and the answers seriously. The reader who remains uncertain is invited to continue the search with the same honesty with which it began. God honours the sincere seeker: "And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart" (Jeremiah 29:13).

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