7.2 Am I Better Off Without Church?

I’ve been asked a number of times how I can believe in God when there have been so many wars caused by religion. Some even suggest that if people of faith would just leave behind their convictions about the existence of a God, then the world would be a much better, more peaceful place. The truth is that there is already evidence to suggest that taking God out of the picture does not necessarily solve the problem of world peace. The 20th century has been described as the bloodiest of all centuries, There has been more killing in it than in all the previous 19 centuries put together. Within the 20th Century, we had the rise of the Chinese, the Cambodian and the Russian regimes. These governments created societies that were absent of religion or belief in God and yet they were still guilty of creating massive violence and death against its own people. So I think it would be unfair to blame religion as the cause of every war that’s ever happened. But if you look at Christianity specifically and the atrocious things done in Jesus' name it's a shocking reality and there's no excusing it. Gandhi the Indian non-violent activist who fought for Indian independence from Britain once said, ‘I love your Christ but not your Christians because your Christians are so unlike your Christ.’ Gandhi’s criticism of Christianity speaks of the darker parts of Christian history. He was speaking out against those who claimed to be Christian yet were guilty of such injustice. I can only imagine his thought process, how can Jesus' message of peace-keeping, loving your enemies and doing good to those who wrong you justify war and death? Just think of the bloodshed during the Crusades, which was a series of wars during the Middle Ages between the Christians of Europe and Muslims. Both parties were guilty of serious atrocities in what they call the name of their religion. I wonder how Jesus would have responded to the death toll of hundreds of thousands of people. There is also the sad fact that many Christians have used the Bible as a foundation for slavery and others who have used the Bible to condone racism. This is horrific! And then there are those in Christian leadership who have been guilty of sexual and physical abuse and others who worked hard to try and cover it up. How could anyone ever let this happen? And as much as Christianity and those who claim to be Christians have done the wrong thing let alone failing to do the right thing, what I really want to stress is that the problem is with people. It is people who have let us down, people who have made mistakes, not Jesus. Because Jesus defines Christianity, not the people. It's Jesus who shows us what God is like. And it's Jesus who models a loving way to live as those who his community hated, Jesus loved. Those who his community wanted to kill, Jesus forgave. And those who his society considered disgusting, Jesus held and He healed. It should never be forgotten that Jesus was a victim of injustice and he called for the forgiveness of his enemies whilst hanging on a cross. There are those who have done wrong and they have tried to justify it by claiming it was done in Jesus’s name but this is so far from what Jesus ever instructed. It’s our need for greed, and desire for power that has caused us to hate, attack, enslave and cause suffering instead of offering care. And it’s tragic, because it's the exact opposite of what Jesus said we should be known for. “This is how everyone will recognise that you are my disciples, when they see the love you have for each other.” (John 13:35)