Sometimes people blame religion for wars. But it can be just because the tribes or factions who have a dispute just happen to have different cultures, and religion is part of that. For example, in Northern Ireland, Roman Catholic or Protestant terrorists were hardly seen as model Christians by most of the people in their churches. But back in the 16th and 17th centuries, and before, religion and politics were more intermingled in Europe. So, you could be murdered for being regarded as a heretic.
And in some cases huge numbers were killed. An example is the Saint Bartholomew’s Day Massacre in France. This video says that up to 70,000 Protestants might have been killed as a result. And Protestants would have killed Roman Catholics too – and other Protestants that they saw as heretics.
Nowadays, I do hear of religious violence in other parts of the world. Again, I wonder if it’s sometimes related to disputes between tribal groups. And much of the worst violence that I heard about in my lifetime was carried out by people such as Nazis and communist who had little interest in religion. And nowadays, I’m hearing about murders committed by “woke” people, but just as you shouldn’t blame religion for things done in the name of religion, you shouldn’t hold all “woke” people responsible for what some do.
In my early years I used to be a pacifist. But war is a complex issue. It’s very easy to be a pacifist, or a neutral country, when you’re surrounded by others who’ll defend you. I think the best approach is to strive for peace if at all possible, but it isn’t always possible. Here are two New Testament verses that touch on the subject.
Romans 13:4 (Refering to whoever happens to be governing you – Rome in the Apostle Paul’s time)
4 For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer.
Matthew 5:9
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
And here are a few songs about peace. Lots of hymns do use military metaphors, but Christianity, unlike some other religions, was never meant to be spread by violence.
The Old Testament does include violence endorsed by God. But it was more about executing judgement on nations, and sometimes even on Israel itself. But my impression of the New Testament is that the focus shifts to eternal judgement. Little was said about heaven and hell in the Old Testament. Rewards and punishments tended to happen in this life. Now, our focus is on hell and how Jesus offers to save us and open heaven to us when we believe.
Here’s a nice song set in the Old Testament era – the song that closed Prince of Egypt – the Disney film about Moses.
Hibernia Gospel 