The Mask of Religion
Throughout human history, religion has been an incredibly influential force across the world. In the name of religions such as Christianity, Judaism and Islam, people both live rich and fulfilled lives. Some individuals even found spiritual insight, understanding and wisdom because of their faith in and love for God and their fellowmen. However, there are those who used religion for their own selfish interest and “filthy lucre gain” (Titus 1:11, KJV). Thus, in the name of religion, fanatics and false religious leaders had committed and continue to commit terrible acts against humanity.
Despite these religions' untarnished doctrines concerning compassion and goodness toward people, there are groups who keep on breaking God’s laws by rampantly killing and inhumanely treating their other individuals who are not members of their flock. For me, it is supremely unethical to commit crimes against other religious groups simply because of fallacious thinking and extreme bias. These manners of promoting one’s religion will never bring peace, harmony, and love. Religions who derive their pleasures from inflicting pain in the body, heart, and mind of other people will only continue to beget ignorant and foolish men indifferent, prejudicial and brutal to others (Quran 3:118) because they were made “twofold more than the child[ren] of hell” (Matthew 23:15).
As can be gleaned from the annals of human’s history, the early Muslim conquests that lasted from 634 to 750 and intermittently continued until the early 20th century, were forms of proselytism and propagation of one’s religion. In these wars, radical Muslims expanded greatly throughout the Middle East, killing all non-believers in order to spread their religion. Thus, extremist Muslims, in some historic periods, had committed abominable deeds against their fellowmen . Likewise, the Roman Catholicism, under the guise of Christianity , did horrible acts when it persecuted and killed many supposed “heretics and deviant Christian sects” during the Crusades and Inquisition . The Crusades, which proved to be unfortunate, painful and damaging events under a powerful papacy, also committed for two centuries inhumanity against the Muslims in securing holy places . Many thousands were killed in bloody conflicts for the same piece of land. Even these days, some of the lands that caused the death of many people are still the centerpiece for the continually escalating Israeli-Palestine conflict. Jewish and Muslim extremists kill each other in guerilla warfare .
Contrary to the above historic records, the three religions (i.e., Christianity, Judaism, and Islam) have a fundamental understanding of God as being a just and compassionate deity . If God has commanded in aforetimes (Old Testament) that Israel should “utterly destroy all” its enemies, it is because He commanded them to do so (Deuteronomy 2:33-34; 20:17). For that matter, we cannot be wiser than God because He knows precisely the intents of all men. In His power, He knows whether heathens, evildoers, and evil-hearted individuals will still relinquish their evil deeds. If not, God will command even the annihilation of places such as Sodom and Gomorrah.
Essentially, the three religions – Islam, Judaism and Christianity – forbade killing (e.g., “thou shall not kill”), more so, atrocities for its own sake. However, there are reasons beyond man’s ordinary thinking why God does things the way He wants to. Still, we should constantly remind ourselves that whatever God does, it is done in kindness. This is because those who are against Him only proves that they are of their father the Devil. Nonetheless, in the Christian dispensation, God shows His mercy to men to repent and abandon altogether their wrong deeds. Hence, Christianity had proved many times over how the true Christians were/are persecuted and killed and yet still had forgiven their fellowmen (I Timothy 1:13; Luke 23:34; Acts 7:60; Mark 11:25-26) because they did things out of ignorance and misconception. Thus, the Roman Catholic religion, from a truly New Testament standpoint, is an anti-Christ religion. One of the popes even ask for forgiveness for the murder of thousands of people during the Inquisition .
There are only counterfeit religious leaders who wrongly interpreted the true intent of the Truth about God. Hence, as mentioned in the books of the aforementioned religions, God has created everything to be initially good. But because his created beings, that is, men, are given freewill, it is up to them to choose between good or evil. Factually, there are those who are of God and those who are against him just like the Satan who was originally created good.
God originally made everything good. Under Judaic laws, Israelites are encouraged to be kind even to strangers and foreigners (Leviticus 19:33). God had originally implanted in men’s heart and conscience love, kindness and everything that is good (Romans 2:15, KJV). God had always wanted that all people be saved (I Timothy 2:4, KJV). In the Qur'an also, Muslims are encouraged to "argue nicely" to proselyte Christians and Jews, whom they perceived to be worshipping the same God (16:125, 29:46). All three of these religions, therefore, ask that nonbelievers be treated kindly and murder is strictly forbidden.
In conclusion, uncalled-for murder and warfare are unethical and inconsistent with the teachings of God, YHWH and Mohammed. One thing to keep in mind is that religion is hardly ever the sole reason behind previous barbarisms, cruelties or brutalities, but the works of evil men, Satan and his cohorts. All the unfolding of events and the surrounding circumstances are beyond man’s capacity to understand for the moment, but are actually the whole fulfillment of the many prophecies and revelations from God.
Works Cited
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