By: Dr. Jerry Bergman
Montpelier, Ohio
The field of apologetics focuses on objections to Christianity and God’s existence. One major reason given by atheists to reject both Christianity and God is the enormous number of deaths caused by war and disease.
The atheists argue, if there is a good God, why does He tolerate this evil? The problem is, you cannot judge Christianity by those who do not live by the teachings of Christianity.
Christianity must be judged by the teachings of Christ. The core of Christ’s teaching is love for one another, summarized in the popular hymn “They’ll Know We Are Christians by Our Love.”
This teaching comes directly from Jesus’ command recorded in John 13:35, emphasizing unity, compassion, and serving others as the defining mark of discipleship, not creeds or ritual.
The central teaching of Jesus, loving your neighbor as yourself, was the second greatest commandment (Matthew 22:39; Mark 12:31). Jesus clarified that neighborliness extends to everyone, even strangers, as documented in the Good Samaritan parable (Luke 10:25-37).
Jesus’ commands include to “turn the other cheek,” to love your enemies and pray for those persecuting you, never retaliating, and advocating mercy over vengeance. These commands apply both to individuals and groups of individuals, such as governing bodies.
The “love your enemies” and “be peacemakers” Bible verses are only a few of the 37 other scriptures that emphasize the core of Christ’s anti-war teaching. Christian history teaches that the only justified war is a defensive one.
Furthermore, Jesus’ warning in Matthew 26:52 is “He who takes up the sword will perish by the sword.” AI interprets this teaching of Jesus as: “violence begets violence, and those who resort to forceful, aggressive methods will ultimately meet a violent end themselves.” Using violence to achieve goals leads to one’s destruction.
I was raised in a Peace Church that stressed these scriptures. Other peace churches that openly oppose involvement in war include the Mennonites, Amish, Quakers, Church of the Brethren, some Churches of Christ, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and Seventh-Day Adventists.
Churches Ignore Christ’s Words
The Nazis were faced with almost no opposition from the mainline German Churches, except for minor opposition from the Confessing Church. And, as is now well documented, if the German churches, which were 97 percent of the population, had openly opposed the war, especially after Germany invaded Poland, WWII would never have occurred.
Major American wars where Christians killed other Christians include the American Revolution (50,000 lives lost), the War of 1812 (35,000 lives lost), the Civil War (698,000 lives lost), WWI (20,000,000 lives lost), and in the European theater of WWII, 39,000,000 lives were lost. In total, almost 60 million lives lost.
The total casualties of Christians by Christians in European wars from 1700 to 1900 are estimated to be between 10 and 16 million. This range reflects the difficulty in tracking civilian deaths caused by famine and disease, which cause lives lost that often far exceed direct battlefield fatalities.
For example, in the British Army during the Napoleonic Wars, approximately 25,000 soldiers died in action, but nearly 194,000 died of wounds or disease resulting from the war. The French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars (1792–1815) alone cost from 3.25 million to 7 million deaths.
The Thirty Years’ War, between the Catholics and Protestants, primarily fought in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in all of human history.
As many as 8 million soldiers and civilians died from the effects of battle, famine, and disease. Parts of Germany reported population declines of over 50 percent.
Other religious wars fought in Europe include the Eighty Years’ War, the War of the Mantuan Succession, the Franco-Spanish War, the Torstenson War, the Dutch–Portuguese War, and the Portuguese Restoration War.
These wars cost the lives of tens of thousands in battle, producing famine and disease, decimating the population of some cities by over 70 percent.
My latest book covers in detail the holocaust of native Africans by those who claim to be Christians. The total number dead is close to over one billion native people.
The slaughter of indigenous people by Europeans in North, Central, and South America resulted in a 90 percent reduction in many local populations, potentially 55 million deaths from warfare and disease.
The war occurring now between Russia and Ukraine is supported by their respective bishops (i.e., in the Russian Orthodox Church and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church).
According to the media, each bishop and church support the fighting of their respective governments. The estimated losses of Russian soldiers, Ukrainian soldiers, and civilians are estimated to be in the multimillions. There must be a better way to settle the issues involved, even if many are valid.
All of the aforementioned wars were Christians fighting against Christians, or Christians against native populations. Surely, in these wars, some agreeable compromise could have been worked out.
Close to three billion lives were lost, not to mention the enormous suffering of largely innocent people, including spouses, parents, children, and friends of the deceased, totaling an estimated nine billion persons.
This fact is frequently exploited by atheists, anti-Christians, and, of course, the secular media. We cannot condemn Christianity by the behavior of those who do not follow Christ’s teachings.
When I was a student at Wayne State University, a guest speaker, an atheist, told us students at an assembly featuring a famous best-selling author, that we have tried Christianity for 2,000 years, and it has failed.
It is now time to try communism, he added. He is wrong. The problem is that we have not truly lived by Christianity. If we faithfully followed Christ as He taught in the few sample scriptures quoted above, none of the wars outlined above would have occurred.
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Dr. Bergman is a multi-award-winning professor and author. Has 9 degrees and has taught at both the graduate and undergraduate level for over 40 years. His over 2,100 publications are in both scholarly and popular journals. Dr. Bergman’s work has been translated into 15 languages. He has spoken over 2,000 times to college, university and church groups in America, Canada, Europe, the South Sea Islands, and Africa. He lives in Montpelier and is available to present in churches and schools. Jerry can be reached at JerryBergman30@yahoo.com