This world cries out for “Peace,” but in all the history of man upon the earth, there has never been a sustained period of time in which peace reigned.
In the last 3,000 years of man’s recorded history, there has only been 286 years without a war. There have been over 15,000 wars resulting in 4 billion deaths.[1]
For the humanist, materialist, and non-theist, this record is a stunning indictment upon the premise that man is evolving into a more civilized and peaceful species.[1a] In fact, the opposite is true. As time progresses, men simply develop more creative ways to kill other men. The Biblical view of man as a fallen being, who is incapable of peace, is precisely what the evidence validates. Unless God intervenes in the history of mankind, we would certainly annihilate our species and destroy the earth.
The following are 177 major wars which have been fought on the earth during the recorded history of man. These wars are listed in order of the greatest number of casualties first. I included this complete list as a graphic illustration of just how far the earth has been from peace during the entire time that mankind has lived upon it.[2]
60,000,000–78,000,000 – World War II (1939–1945).[3]
30,000,000–60,000,000 – Mongol Conquests (13th century) see Mongol invasions and Tatar invasions.[4]
25,000,000 – Qing dynasty conquest of Ming dynasty (1616–1662).[5]
20,000,000 – World War I (1914–1918) (see World War I casualties).[6]
20,000,000-100,000,000 – Taiping Rebellion (China, 1850–1864) (see Dungan revolt).[7]
20,000,000 – Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945).[8]
16,000,000 – White Lotus Rebellion (China, 1794-1804)
13,000,000 – An Shi Rebellion (China, 755–763).[9]
10,000,000 – Warring States Era (China, 475 BCE–221 BCE)
8,000,000–12,000,000 – Dungan revolt (China, 1862 –1877)
7,000,000–20,000,000 – Conquests of Tamerlane (1370–1405).[10]
5,000,000–9,000,000 – Russian Civil War and Foreign Intervention (1917–1922).[11]
5,000,000 – Conquests of Menelik II of Ethiopia (1882–1898).[12]
2,500,000–5,400,000 – Second Congo War (1998–2003).[13]
3,500,000–6,000,000 – Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815)
3,000,000–11,500,000 – Thirty Years’ War (1618–1648).[14]
3,000,000–7,000,000 – Yellow Turban Rebellion (China, 184–205)
3,000,000 – Afghan Civil War (Afghanistan, 1979–Present)
1,000,000–1,500,000 – Soviet intervention (1979–1989)
20,000–49,600 UK and US Invasion of Afghanistan (2001–2002)
1,200,000 – Korean War (1950–1953).[15]
2,500,000–4,000,000 – Hunnic Invasion (408–469)
800,000–3,100,000 – Vietnam War.[16]
2,000,000–4,000,000 – Huguenot Wars.[17]
1,500,000–2,000,000 – War against Armenians, Greeks and Arameans, by the Turks.
2,000,000 – Shaka’s conquests (1816–1828).[18]
300,000–3,000,000 – Bangladesh Liberation War (1971).[19]
2,000,000 – Russian-Circassian War (1763–1864) (see Caucasian War)
1,300,000–6,100,000 – Chinese Civil War (1927–1949) note that this figure excludes World War II casualties
300,000–3,100,000 – before 1937
1,000,000–3,000,000 – after World War II
1,000,000-3,000,000 – Nigerian Civil War (1967-1970)
1,000,000–2,000,000 – Mexican Revolution (1910–1920).[20]
1,000,000 – Gallic Wars (58 BCE–52 BCE)
1,000,000 – Iran–Iraq War (1980–1988).[21]
1,000,000 – Japanese invasions of Korea (1592–1598).[22]
1,000,000 – Second Sudanese Civil War (1983–2005)
1,000,000 – Panthay Rebellion (China, 1856–1873)
1,000,000 – Nien Rebellion (China, 1853–1868)
618,000–970,000 – American Civil War (including 350,000 from disease) (1861–1865).[23]
900,000–1,000,000 – Mozambique Civil War (1975–1994).[24]
868,000–1,400,000– Seven Years’ War (1756–1763).[25]
868,000 – English Civil War (1642–1651)
800,000–1,000,000 – Rwandan Civil War (1990–1993)
800,000 – Congo Civil War (1996–1997)
580,000 – Bar Kokhba’s revolt (Third Jewish-Roman War) (132–135CE)
570,000 – Eritrean War of Independence (1961–1991)
550,000 – Somali Civil War (1988– )
500,000–1,000,000 – Spanish Civil War (1936–1939)
500,000+ – Assyrian wars of conquest (8th–7th Century BCE)
500,000 – Angolan Civil War (1975–2002)
500,000 – Ugandan Civil War (1979–1986)
440,000+ – Kitos War
400,000–1,100,000 – First Jewish–Roman War (see List of Roman wars)
400,000–1,000,000 – Paraguayan War (1864–1870)
400,000 – War of the Spanish Succession (1701–1714)
371,000 – Continuation War (1941–1944)
350,000 – Great Northern War (1700–1721).[26]
315,000–735,000–Wars of the Three Kingdoms (1639–1651) English campaign ~40,000, Scottish 73,000, Irish 200,000–620,000.[27]
300,000 – First Burundi Civil War (1972)
300,000 – Darfur conflict (2003–)
230,000–2,000,000 – Eighty Years’ War (1568–1648)
270,000–300,000 – Crimean War (1854–1856)
234,000 – Philippine-American War (1899–1912).[28]
230,000–1,400,000 – Ethiopian Civil War (1974–1991)
224,000 – Balkan Wars, includes both wars (1912–1913)
220,000 – Liberian Civil War (1989–1995 )
200,000–1,000,000 – Albigensian Crusade (1208–1259).[29]
200,000–800,000 – Warlord era in China (1916–1928)
200,000–400,000 – Politionele acties (Indonesian war of independence) (1945–1949)
200,000–220,000 – The Conquest of Chile (1536–1883)
200,000 – Second Punic War (218 BCE–204 BCE) (see List of Roman battles)
200,000 – Sierra Leone Civil War (1992–2001)
200,000 – Algerian Civil War (1991–2002 ).[30]
200,000 – Guatemalan Civil War (1960–1996)
190,000 – Franco-Prussian War (1870–1871)
180,000–300,000 – La Violencia (1948–1960)
170,500–873,000 – Turkish War of Independence (1919–1923)
170,000 – Greek War of Independence (1821–1830)
150,000–170,000 – Lebanese Civil War (1975–1990)
150,000 – North Yemen Civil War (1962–1970)
150,000 – Russo-Japanese War (1904–1905)
148,000–1,000,000 – Winter War (1939)
125,000 – Eritrean-Ethiopian War (1998–2000)
120,000–384,000 – Great Turkish War (1683–1699) (see Ottoman-Habsburg wars)
120,000 – Third Servile War (73 BCE–71 BCE)
117,000–500,000 – Revolt in the Vendée (1793–1796)
116,000+ – Yugoslav Wars 1991–1995
109,032–1,033,000 – Invasion and Occupation of Iraq (2003–2011)
100,500 – Chaco War (1932–1935)
100,000–1,000,000 – War of the two brothers (1531–1532)
100,000–400,000 – Western New Guinea (1984– ) (see Genocide in West Papua)
100,000–200,000 – Indonesian invasion of East Timor (1975–1978)
100,000–1,000,000 – Algerian War of Independence (1954–1962)
100,000 – Harrying of the North (1069–1070)
100,000 – Thousand Days War (1899–1902)
100,000 – German Peasants’ War (1524–1525).[31]
100,000–105,000 – First Kurdish Iraqi War
95,000-105,000 – Bosnian War (1992–1995).[32]
80,000 – Third Punic War (149 BCE–146 BCE )
75,000–200,000 – Conquests of Alexander the Great (336 BCE–323 BCE)
75,000 – El Salvador Civil War (1980–1992)
75,000 – Second Boer War (1899–1902)
70,000–400,000 – Greco-Turkish War, part of the Turkish War of Independence
70,000 – Boudica’s uprising (60–61)
69,000 – Internal conflict in Peru (1980– )
60,000–432,000 Turkish-Armenian War, part of the Turkish War of Independence
60,000 – Syrian Civil War (2011– )
60,000 – Sri Lanka/Tamil conflict (1983–2009)
60,000 – Nicaraguan Revolution (1972–91)
55,000 – War of the Pacific (1879–1884)
50,000–200,000 – First Chechen War (1994–1996)
50,000–100,000 – Tajikistan Civil War (1992–1997)
50,000–100,000 – Prussian Crusade (13th Century)
50,000 – Wars of the Roses (1455–1485) (see Wars involving England)
45,000 – 50,000 – American Revolutionary War (1775–1783)
45,000 – Greek Civil War (1945–1949)
41,000–100,000 – Kashmiri insurgency (1989– )
40,000 – Franco-Turkish War, part of the Turkish War of Independence
40,000–57,000 – Persian Gulf War (1990–1991)
36,000 – Finnish Civil War (1918)
35,000–40,000 – War of the Pacific (1879–1884)
35,000–45,000 – Siege of Malta (1565) (see Ottoman wars in Europe)
30,000–50,000 – Kurdish–Turkish conflict
30,000 – Sino-Vietnamese War (1979)
30,000 – Rhodesian Bush War (1964–1979)
28,000 – First Lebanon War (1982), part of the Lebanese Civil War
25,000 – 30,000 – Libyan civil war (2011)
25,000 – Second Chechen War (1999–2001).[33]
23,384 – Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 (December 1971)
23,000 – Nagorno-Karabakh War (1988–1994)
20,000+ – War in Abkhazia (1992–1993) (1992–1993)
19,000+ – Mexican–American War (1846–1848)
15,000–20,000 – Croatian War of Independence (1991–1995)
14,400–24,400 – 1948 Palestine War (1947–1949)
14,000–24,483 – Six-Day War (1967)
13,000+ – Nepalese Civil War (1996–2006)
11,053 – Malayan Emergency (1948–1960)
11,000 – Spanish-American War (1898)
10,000–21,000 – Yom Kippur War (1973)
10,000 – Amadu’s Jihad (1810–1818)
8,500 – Toyota War (1986–87) part of the Chadian-Libyan conflict
8,000 – War of the Confederation (1836–1839)
7,264–10,000 – Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 (August–September 1965)
7,000–24,000 – American War of 1812 (1812–1815)
7,000–10,000 – 1994 civil war in Yemen (1994)
5,573–13,521 – War of Attrition (1967–70)
5,000–12,000 – South Yemen Civil War (1986)
5,000 – 6,000 – Brazilian War of Independence (1822–1823)
5,000 – Turkish invasion of Cyprus (1974)
5,000 – Franco-Syrian War (1919–1921)
5,000–9,000 – Second Kurdish Iraqi War (1974–1975)
4,600 – Sino-Indian War (1962)
4,000+ – Western Sahara War (1975–1991)
4,000 – Waziristan War (2004–2006)
4,000 – Irish Civil War (1922–23)
3,781 – War of the Camps (1985–1988), part of the Lebanese Civil War
3,400–10,000 Jordanian-Palestinian Civil War
3,203 – Suez War (1956)
3,000 – Civil War in Côte d’Ivoire (2002–2007)
2,899 – New Zealand Land Wars (1845–1872)
2,604–7,000 – Indo-Pakistani War of 1947 (October 1947–December 1948)
2,300+ – Saudi-Rashidi War (1903–1907)
2,100 – Saudi-Yemeni War (1934)
2,000–7,000 – Kosovo War (1998–1999)
2,000 – Football War (1969)
2,000 – Irish War of Independence (1919–21)
2,000 – Uganda–Tanzania war (1978–79)
2,000 – Turko-Cypriot War (1974)
1,724 – War of Lapland (1945)
1,600 – Mountain War (Lebanon) (1983–1984), part of the Lebanese Civil War
1,500 – Romanian Revolution (December 1989)
1,500 – Second Lebanon War (2006)
1,394 – First Nejd-Hijaz War
1,179–1,430 – Gaza War (2008–09)
1,000 – Zapatista uprising in Chiapas (1994)
1,000+ – Mexican War of Independence (1810–1821)
There has never been Peace on the earth, and there never will be until the Prince of Peace comes to rule the world. When the Messiah arrives, He will come for the express purpose of making peace for man.
For the humanist, materialist, and non-theist, this record is a stunning indictment upon the premise that man is evolving into a more civilized and peaceful species. In fact, the opposite is true. As time progresses, men simply develop more creative ways to kill other men. The Biblical view of man as a fallen being, who is incapable of peace, is precisely what the evidence validates. Unless God intervenes in the history of mankind, we would certainly annihilate our species and destroy the earth.
Even more distressing are the above wars which were cause by those who claim to be Christian, or members of other religions. The record of the Christian church during its 2,000 year history, is inexcusable. We must understand that Jesus did not command His followers to take up arms and threaten or kill those who refused to convert to Christianity. These unlawful, unjust actions took place as a result of corrupt and evil men from within the Christian church who approved and orchestrated these immoral actions. In the Christian church, to the present day, there are frauds who take the name of Christ, while failing to display the qualities of Christ. These people are not the true followers of Jesus Christ, and they do not represent Him, nor the church for which He died.
We should not blame Christ, or His church for the wrongful actions of evil men who took actions that were not sanctioned by Jesus, nor did He ever instruct anyone to carry out. The Christian church wins people to Christ by love, not force. Jesus was very clear about the manner in which the people who follow Him, should conduct themselves:
Matthew 5:44 But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you,
Luke 6:28 bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you.
Romans 12:21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
John 13:35 By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
The fact that men pretend to take up the title of “Christian,” while never intending to emulate the true character and behavior of a Christian–using this title for evil purposes, is great evidence to make the case that all men need a Savior. Evil men will even use what is Holy to perpetrate their evil deeds.
If we will examine the person of Jesus Christ, and the words that He spoke, we will see that He did not sanction any of these wars.
On earth, today, before anyone can find true peace, their sins must be dealt with. Our sins have separated us from God. Jesus provided an effective solution, by removing all sins and offering each person the opportunity to have their relationship with God restored. Without Jesus sacrifice, we will remain under the condemnation of God and experience a future judgement for those sins,
Isaiah 59:2 But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear.
1 John 2:12 I write to you, little children, Because your sins are forgiven you for Jesus name’s sake.
John 3:16-18 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. 18 “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
First, we must find peace with God. This is accomplished by coming to God in faith that Jesus death and resurrection can remove all our sins and restore our relationship with God.
Second, we find peace with other men, by experiencing a new spiritual life—having come into this new relationship with Jesus, and learning the principles He taught. We accomplish this new life as we are directed by the Spirit of God—where love is the primary characteristic of our life.
The reason that wars and violence persists on the earth is that men do not live under the Lordship of Jesus Christ and surrender their will to His will. As long as the earth is inhabited by unredeemed sinners, there will never be peace.
Atheist Philosopher, Sam Harris has attempted to convince the world that all of man’s moral decisions are based in science and are strictly determined by his brain. A product of the evolutionary process, Harris postulates that man learns to be moral and he is improving as he continues to evolve.[1a]
There is a fundamental flaw in Harris’ theories–they don’t pass the “smell test.” From the number of wars over the past 3,o00 years, described above, it is clear that man is devolving into a less moral, more corrupt being–every year.
This is a fact which the Bible, and specifically Jesus, predicted would occur in the last days–just prior to His return.
Matthew 24:37 But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. 38 For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, 39 and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.
The following is the account of man’s moral climate–just prior to the Great Flood:
Genesis 6:5 Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
According to Jesus, just prior to His return to earth for the second time, the wickedness of men will continue to increase, until it reaches a pinnacle at Jesus return. This is in fact, what we observe in the moral behavior of men today. Acts of violence and evil have reached a point where many people wonder how the human species will survive, if the current evil and violence continues much longer.
These are facts of history and are indisputable and empirical evidence that all of Sam Harris’ theories are wrong. Man’s morality does not come from his brain, and it is not a byproduct of human evolution. All human morality originates with God–who created all moral law and is Himself the source of Goodness, righteousness and justice. Left to his own, man will destroy himself. It is his nature to hurt, kill, rob, and destroy. Unless laws are enacted and enforced–by force, man will not evolve into a greater moral being, he will devolve into an animal.
The Bible is a true and accurate account of the genuine nature of man. He is a fallen being, who is much less that he was created to be.
First and foremost, man in his present condition is a fallen being. He exists in a state that has been greatly compromised from God’s original design. The flaw that is within mankind is called sin, a three letter word which means; deficient, the inability to be perfect. When God creates, whatever He makes is perfect. Man became imperfect by using the power of choice and self determination to rebel against God. This in turn changed the internal function of all people, preventing every living human being from having a right relationship with the Living God.
The true definition of sin
Sin is defined as moral imperfection. We all recognize that there is something terribly wrong with the world today. All around us we see and hear things that people do that shock us and cause our heart to feel a sense of sadness. We know that people should not harm each other, take advantage of one another and exhibit such self centered behavior. The world could be such a wonderful place if somehow we could all just treat each other better. What causes the selfish and immoral actions of a human being? Why do people want to hurt others? From deep within us, our heart cries out for justice, mercy, peace and love. We earnestly desire a life unencumbered by stress, anxiety and fear.
We seem to know and understand what is right, but when the time comes for us to personally do what is right, we often find it difficult if not impossible.
Everyday that we rise to greet a new day, news of pain and suffering fill the newspapers, television and our electronic devices. We ache within our soul for goodness to come upon all the people of our planet, yet in never does. The longer we live on the earth the worse things seem to get. Day after day injustice and selfishness plague us, depriving our world of the joy that could be ours if we were all better people.
One of the most profound proofs for the existence of God in my estimation, is the description by God of our human condition. Everything that the Bible says about us as human beings is absolutely true. The Bible is the only document that is completely honest with us about our genuine moral condition.
All of the people who are depicted in the Bible are shown to us with their failures, weaknesses, and wrongful actions. Their lives are on public exhibition before us, not to shame these individuals, but so that we might see that even those who have committed their lives to following God’s way, are still fallible. Without the help and mercy of the Living God, none of us would have any hope of becoming the person we genuinely want to be.
Sin is the act of translating specific thoughts into actions that are morally wrong. All of us understand that certain behaviors are a violation of a moral code of decency that we have implanted in our heart. Whether a person believes that God exists or not, everyone agrees that certain behaviors and actions are morally wrong: the abuse and torture of a child or elderly person, taking something of value that belongs to other people without their permission, and the killing of those who are innocent. These types of behaviors are generally considered wrongful actions by most human beings.
What determines whether or not something is considered morally wrong depends largely on an individual person’s definition of injustice. The problem with using the individual moral judgment of someone’s own feelings is that these feelings vary from person to person. There must be a universally acceptable basis for all morality. For the majority of people who live on the earth, the law of God, as described in the Bible, is the foundation for how we treat each other.
We can trace every law that exists today in virtually every country as having their basis and origin from the Ten Commandments of the Bible. Even those societies who do not believe in the first four commandments that deal with a person’s relationship with God do agree that the last six are important and are a part of all cultures and social orders.
5. Exodus 20:12
Honor your father and your mother.
6. Exodus 20:13
You shall not murder.
7. Exodus 20:14
You shall not commit adultery.
8.Exodus 20:15
You shall not steal.
9.Exodus 20:16
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. (Lie)
10.Exodus 20:17
You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.
To sin is to break these moral laws, which have not only been established by God in the Bible, but have been accepted by all nations and people as a moral code.
Over the years, the word that has been used for someone who commits a wrongful moral act is to designate this person a sinner. In ancient England, those who drew the bow to strike the bullseye of a target were called a sinner if they missed the mark of perfection. This term was later used as a meaningful definition for all human behavior in relationship to God’s law. When we miss the mark of perfection in our words and actions, we are called a sinner. This term is not meant as a derogatory remark but simply as an accurate description for what immoral behavior is defined as.
Sin originates in the heart
The source of these wrongful behaviors come from the inner fiber of a person’s being. Sin comes from the heart of a person and are not simply outward and unconnected acts. What we do comes from who we are.
This is why all human beings are called sinners. At the core of our being we are flawed. Our tendency is towards wrongful words and actions, not towards those things that are right. We are capable of wonderful deeds of which we may frequently perform. We are, however, more likely to commit unjust acts in many of the situations of our life.
How many times during a day do we have a wrong thought, action or word? If we would measure these against the good things we do throughout our day, we will be shocked to discover we are most times a sinner. This came as a terrible revelation to me when I began to make a mental note throughout my day how many times I commit sin.
If you carefully study human beings, you will notice one startling fact: We are all selfish and self-centered. Now, there are many moments when we are kind, considerate, generous, and thoughtful. These moments are wonderful examples of what a human being is capable of. The problem is that these moments are infrequent in our life. We can be entirely generous and self-sacrificing in one moment; seconds later, so angry that we could inflict harm or death on a person. If we were morally perfect, we would always be kind, generous and thoughtful. The fact that we are not is an indication that something is terribly amiss with our basic nature.
When God originally designed human beings for life on earth, we were perfect in all of our thoughts, words, and deeds. It was at the moment of Adam’s disobedience and personal choice to reject God’s authority over his life that sin entered his being. Because we are descended from this one man, we have all inherited his nature towards wrongful actions; and therefore, we do not have the capacity to be morally perfect.
God describes the true nature of all human beings, in Genesis Chapter 6:
Genesis 6:5 Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
The difficult concept for us to grasp is that it is our heart that is the culprit behind all of our wrongful actions. We do not really have the capacity to understand the deceitfulness of our own heart, nor its tendency towards evil.
Jeremiah 17:9 “The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?”
The wonderful and yet difficult fact of the Bible is that although God loves us tremendously, He is also brutally honest with us. The Bible describes all human beings exactly as they are: sinners with no hope of redemption by themselves. We are all a mess and we need Help. We cannot repair ourselves; it will take God to change us and make us into new people. This was the purpose of Jesus’ sacrifice on the Cross: A perfect human being, dying for the sins of all other human beings. Jesus possesses the life of the eternal God, dwelling in the body of a man. He is described as the Creator and Sustainer of all things (Colossians 1:17). When Jesus became a human being and then lived a morally perfect life, He was qualified to offer His perfect life in exchange for all of our imperfect lives.
The Bible teaches that the Blood of Jesus Christ has the capacity to cleanse us of all our sins and make us perfect in the sight of God. This qualifies us for admission into heaven. The Bible describes the fact that only the Blood of Jesus Christ can do this for us. There is no other way.
Hebrews 9:22 And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission (cancellation of our debt).
Sin is so much more horrible than we can really fathom. For a large part of my Christian life, I did not like to discuss or bring up the subject of sin. It was offensive to me as it is to most other people. The thought that we are known as sinners, is a grossly negative term. This is not so much a title of degradation or humiliation, as it is intended by God as a justifiable description of who and what we are.
We are not called “sinners” because we sin; we sin because we are “sinners.”
Sin is what we do because it is what we are best at. Does this offend you? It should; it certainly offends me. How can I be labeled as someone who constantly does unrighteous acts? This seems cruel and unfair. The fact is, as we look around the world (because we don’t often look at ourselves), we see that the people who live on earth are a mess. I have traveled to a number of places around the world, and I have noticed something that is true everywhere I go: People are the same. In our basic nature, people from all over the earth have one thing in common: We are all sinners.
A few practical examples that demonstrate our tendency towards selfishness:
In a conversation that is occurring between a group of people, listen to what is being said. Most often, you will hear people take turns speaking. Often, you will notice those who are in the group start to cut into the conversation before the person has finished speaking. When the next person begins to speak, he will often start his sentence with “I.” He will then talk about himself and seldom comment on what the person before had just said. Women are better at listening and considering others, but both men and women tend to focus on their own comments rather than what the person they have been listening to has just said.
I like this… I went there… My car… My house… Very seldom will you observe a person simply listening to what others are saying and then respond to what they said, without saying: I, Me, or My.
The next time you go to a store or restaurant and park your car, notice what happens as you walk towards the entrance of the building. If someone else should also be making their way towards the door at the same moment you are, what is your response? Do you feel the urge to get to the entrance before the other person? Sometimes when we arrive at the door first we will hold it open behind us for the one we vanquished—in order to cover up our selfishness. Very rarely will you see a person rush to the entrance so that they may hold the door open and allow others to go first.
When someone brings out a photo that has a group of people in the picture, including you, who is the first person you look for in the photograph?
These are a few simple examples of common circumstances that happen to us every day of our life; and most of the time, we are not even aware of how we react. Should we catch ourselves behaving this way, many of us would be embarrassed. We do not set out to be selfish; we just are, because this is our nature as fallen beings.
The reason for human suffering
The primary reason that the world is full of so much pain and suffering is due to the fact that every person on this planet is usually thinking about themselves, before all the other people in the world. We are, by our very nature, selfish beings. This is the greatest proof of our fallen nature. When God created us, we were not selfish; we were “others oriented.” When Adam fell and disobeyed God, his nature went from others oriented to—“me, myself and I.”
Notice the first thing that happened to Adam after his sin:
Genesis 3:7-8 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings. 8 And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.
Their eyes were opened; and for the first time, they noticed that they were naked. They felt guilt and hid themselves from God. Prior to Adam’s sin, he was not focussed on himself; he was looking at Eve and his relationship with God and all of creation. The fact that immediately after Adam’s sin occurs he becomes self-aware, illustrates the defect, which is in all of us. We are sinners by nature, being self-consumed. This defective nature that we all posses is the cause of all of the pain and suffering that is in the world.
Bad things happen to all of us because we live in a fallen world where selfish people do whatever they want to do, with no thought for how their actions will affect other people. There are many who are genuinely evil; and by their evil actions, they hurt and kill others. We suffer at the hands of evil people because this is the way that the world is, without God. If the people who live on this planet were seeking God and His righteousness, submitting themselves to His authority, our world would be far different from what we see today.
I am always amazed when Americans ask why God would allow so much destruction, suffering, and death, as with the recent massive superstorm “Sandy,” or the attack on New York on 9/11. Why would we expect God to protect us when we have repeatedly told Him that we don’t want Him in our public schools, our government, or our personal lives? Our children cannot pray in school. The ten commandments have been systematically removed from all government buildings. We kill millions of unborn children each year for the sake of convenience or as an irresponsible form of birth control.[35] We allow people to live perverse lifestyles that deteriorate and diminish all of us as human beings because we don’t want to be seen as intolerant.
Only one in ten of all abortions performed world-wide are done to save the life of the mother or in the case of a rape.[36] The other nine children who are murdered are all because of the selfishness and sinful acts of human beings.
Our nation and the world, in general, is facing a crisis of morality that has caused God to pull back from blessing us as a people. The Lord is allowing us to suffer the consequences for our own choices in rejecting Him and His law for our lives.
People who are sincerely trying to lead good lives become victims of the bad behavior of others who live lives of sin and are not really concerned with how their actions affect other people.
All of us have the capacity for goodness, but this does not make us good people. The fact is—because of our fallen nature, we have a greater tendency towards evil or wrongful actions than towards good.
How all our problems began
Up until Adam’s sin, he was morally perfect. From the moment that sin entered Adam—it would permeate the entire human race and the curse of death would be upon all the descendants of Adam. One of the most profound proofs for the existence of God is the fact that sin and death exist, just as God describes them in the Bible. In Genesis chapter three, we see how sin began and the immediate response by our loving God, to put away sin and make a provision to redeem us all.
Sin and death are two curses that every human being fears and recognizes as unnatural. All of us have a deep inner sense that death is abnormal and should not occur. The fact that God describes both sin and death in the Scriptures exactly as they exist in reality, is evidence that the Bible is the word of God. Everything that God declares about sin and the horrible consequences that come as a result of this curse is observable in the world today.
There is a fatal flaw in human beings and all of us are aware of this defect as we observe it in ourselves and others. We have moments of intrinsic goodness, but the greater part of our lives are plagued by a constant tendency towards wrongful actions that hurt and destroy ourselves and the lives of those around us.
Amazingly, God already knew the course that Adam would take when He created him. As stated previously, the New Testament describes Jesus as being The Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. This means that before the earth was created, God had determined that He would create a race of beings. These beings would make the choice to reject His claim of rulership over their life and sin against Him. This action would require a Savior to redeem the fallen, if they would have any hope of redemption.
Jesus offered Himself as the Savior before the world was made. He is therefore, forever called The Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
Revelation 13:8 …the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
Jesus volunteered to be the fail-safe plan for man when he sinned and condemned himself to an eternal death, even before Adam breathed his first breath.
How salvation occurs
The entire body of scripture indicates that mankind is lost in sin with no hope of redemption. Therefore, there is no work that anyone can perform that is sufficient to merit their own redemption. For this reason, unless God initiates the salvation, it is otherwise impossible. The common thought among those who are uniformed, is that human beings are basically good and that if our good works outweigh our bad, God will accept us into heaven when we die. Unfortunately, the Bible teaches the opposite; all men are sinners and therefore not good and incapable of self-redemption. This impossible state of man made action by God to initiate salvation an absolute necessity.
Under a provision carried out by God, all people could enter heaven, if they follow the requirements that God has prescribed.
First, an awareness that we are all separated from God by our sins with no hope of redemption on our part. (Romans 3:23)
Second, a sincere sorrow for the sins we have committed with an honest desire and willingness to turn from those sins. (Romans 10:9)
Third, an acceptance of Jesus sacrifice on the cross as payment for the sins we have committed, and a complete trust in Him for our salvation. (1 John 2:2, 1 John 5:12)
Fourth, a willingness to follow Jesus closely and be obedient to Him for the remainder of our life. (Luke 6:46)
Three additional requirements keep those who have been saved in fellowship with God. These three points are not required for salvation; they do however, give evidence of a new life that has been changed as a result of coming into a saving relationship with Jesus.
Fifth, when sins are committed, an immediate confession of those sins to the Lord, whereby fellowship with Him is restored. (1 John 1:9)
Sixth, a constant expectation of Jesus’ promise to return to earth at any moment. The effect of anticipating Jesus’ imminent return, is that those who believe this will seek to keep their life pure of sin so that when Jesus arrives, He will find us living for Him and be pleased. (1 John 3:3, Luke 12:42-44)
Seventh, to be a witness to others of who Jesus is, and what He has done, so as to lead as many people as possible to a saving faith. (Luke 28:19, John 4:35)
It is my hope and sincere prayer that all those who read the words of this article and discover who Jesus is—will find the forgiveness of their sins and eternal life through His sacrifice. God is ready to forgive you, and He will do it at this very moment if you will come to Him humbly and be willing to admit that you are a sinner and in need of a great Savior.
You can be saved and have the absolute assurance that Heaven is yours, by praying a simple prayer from your heart. If you mean what you say to God, He will hear you and grant you the request you ask.
“Dear Lord Jesus, please forgive me for all of my sins. I want to accept your death on the Cross as the payment for all of my sins. I ask you to come and live inside me and be the Lord and Savior of my life. I receive you today and thank you for what you have done for me. I pray this in Jesus’ name, Amen.”
According to the authority of God’s word, anyone who prays a prayer such as this will find that God will show His graciousness to that person and grant him the forgiveness of his sins and admission into heaven. After this moment of salvation occurs, we must continue to believe these truths and live for Jesus, apart from a life dominated by sin as much as possible. If we continue to abide in Jesus for our entire life, when the moment of our last breath occurs, we will depart from our earthly body and find ourselves at home in heaven with the Lord. This is God’s promise to all those who will believe. On those who obey this Gospel, He will show His graciousness and His mercy.
NOTES:
[1] Conway W. Henderson (9 February 2010). Understanding International Law. John Wiley & Sons. pp. 212–. ISBN 978-1-4051-9764-9. Retrieved 31 May 2012.
[1a] 1. According to Sam Harris, in “The Moral Landscape: How Science Can Determine Human Values,”all human behavior depends on our brains. Moral truth can be be backed by science or empirical knowledge, critical thinking, philosophy and the scientific method. The basis of Harris’ theory is that moral judgements are produced by the brain and this brain was produced by evolution.
2. Critical of Harris’ theories: According to Pigliucci: “Unfortunately, Harris sees it as necessary to defend a naïve metaethical position… Harris reaches these conclusions only by offering what strikes me as a highly implausible and ultimately unsustainable account of the phenomenon of morality… Harris is impatient with all this, and often resorts to outright scorn in rejecting considerations that don’t fit with his position…Harris overreaches when he claims that science can determine human values. Indeed, it’s not clear how much the book really argues such a thing, despite its provocative subtitle… Harris is not thereby giving an account of how science can determine our most fundamental values or the totality of our values… He is, however, no more successful in deriving ‘ought’ from ‘is’ than anyone else has ever been. The whole intellectual system of The Moral Landscape depends on an ‘ought’ being built into its foundations.
3.Pigliucci, Massimo (17 September 2011). “Rationally Speaking: Genuinely puzzled: what exactly is Blackford saying about Harris?”. “Now, given all the above, I understand why Blackford agrees with my criticism of Harris. The only thing he seems to complain about concerning my review is that I claim that Harris is affected by the common malady of scientism. But even there, Blackford writes: “In the end, the problems with The Moral Landscape aren’t so much about thinking that all problems can be solved by science. Even if Harris may sometimes seem to think that, the real problems are elsewhere.””
[2] From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_wars_by_death_toll
[3] Wallinsky, David: David Wallechinsky’s Twentieth Century : History With the Boring Parts Left Out, Little Brown & Co., 1996, ISBN 0-316-92056-8, ISBN 978-0-316-92056-8 – cited by White
Brzezinski, Zbigniew: Out of Control: Global Turmoil on the Eve of the Twenty-first Century, Prentice Hall & IBD, 1994, ASIN B000O8PVJI – cited by White
[4] Ping-ti Ho, “An Estimate of the Total Population of Sung-Chin China”, in Études Song, Series 1, No 1, (1970) pp. 33–53.
Mongol Conquests”. Users.erols.com. Retrieved 2011-01-24.
”The world’s worst massacres Whole Earth Review”. Findarticles.com. 1987. Retrieved 2011-01-24.
Battuta’s Travels: Part Three – Persia and Iraq[dead link]
[5] McFarlane, Alan: The Savage Wars of Peace: England, Japan and the Malthusian Trap, Blackwell 2003, ISBN 0-631-18117-2, ISBN 978-0-631-18117-0 – cited by White
[6] Michael Duffy (2009-08-22). “Military Casualties of World War One”. Firstworldwar.com. Retrieved 2011-01-24.
[7] Taiping Rebellion – Britannica Concise”. Concise.britannica.com. Retrieved 2011-01-24.
[8] Nuclear Power: The End of the War Against Japan”. Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2011-01-24.
[9] Selected Death Tolls for Wars, Massacres and Atrocities Before the 20th Century”. Users.erols.com. Retrieved 2011-01-24.
[10] Timur Lenk (1369–1405)”. Users.erols.com. Retrieved 2011-01-24.
Matthew’s White’s website (a compilation of scholarly estimates) -Miscellaneous Oriental Atrocities
[11] Russian Civil War”. Spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk. Retrieved 2011-01-24.
[12] Oromo Identity”. Americanchronicle.com. Retrieved 2011-01-24.
Glories and Agonies of the Ethiopian past”. Ifeas.uni-mainz.de. Retrieved 2011-01-24.
[13] Brennan, Richard (2006-07-16). “Inside Congo, An Unspeakable Toll”. Theirc.org. Retrieved 2011-01-24.
James Astill in Bukavu and Isabelle Chevallot (2003-04-08). “Conflict in Congo has killed 4.7m, charity says”. London: Guardian. Retrieved 2011-01-24.
Come Back, Colonialism, All is Forgiven
Bethany Lacina and Nils Petter Gleditsch, “Monitoring Trends in Global Combat: A New Dataset of Battle Deaths, European Journal of Population (2005) 21: 145–166.
[14] The Thirty Years War (1618–48)
[15] Bethany Lacina and Nils Petter Gleditsch, Monitoring Trends in Global Combat: A New Dataset of Battle Deaths, European Journal of Population (2005) 21: 145–166
[16] Charles Hirschman et al., “Vietnamese Casualties During the American War: A New Estimate,” Population and Development Review, December 1995.
[17] Huguenot Religious Wars, Catholic vs. Huguenot (1562–1598)
[18] Shaka: Zulu Chieftain
[19] Matthew White’s Death Tolls for the Major Wars and Atrocities of the Twentieth Century
[20] Missing Millions: The human cost of the Mexican Revolution, 1910–1921
[21] Timeline: Iraq
[22] Jones, Geo H., Vol. 23 No. 5, pp. 254
[23] The Deadliest War
[24] Clodfelter, cited by White
[25] Urlanis, cited by White
[26] Northern War (1700–21)
[27] The curse of Cromwell
[28] John M. Gates, “War-Related Deaths in the Philippines”, Pacific Historical Review , v. 53, No. 3 (August, 1984), 367–378.
[29] Albigensian Crusade (1208–49)
37.Massacre of the Pure, Time, April 28, 1961
[30] Attacks raise spectre of civil war
Journalists in Algeria are caught in middle
[31] Peasants’ War, Germany (1524–25)
[32] Wallinsky, David: David Wallechinsky’s Twentieth Century : History With the Boring Parts Left Out, Little Brown & Co., 1996, ISBN 0-316-92056-8, ISBN 978-0-316-92056-8 – cited by White
[33] Russian Federation: What justice for Chechnya’s disappeared? – Amnesty International
[34] NT Greek Concordance, Strong’s Greek: 12. ἄβυσσος (abussos) — boundless …11, 12. abussos. 13. abussos: boundless, bottomless. Original … the abyss.
[35] A 2004 study by the Guttmacher Institute reported that women listed the following amongst their reasons for choosing to have an abortion:[47]
74% Having a baby would dramatically change my life
73% Cannot afford a baby now
48% Do not want to be a single mother or having relationship problems
38% Have completed my childbearing
32% Not ready for a(nother) child
25% Do not want people to know I had sex or got pregnant
22% Do not feel mature enough to raise a(nother) child
14% Husband or partner wants me to have an abortion
13% Possible problems affecting the health of the fetus
12% Concerns about my health
6% Parents want me to have an abortion
1% Was a victim of rape
less than 0.5% Became pregnant as a result of incest.
[36] A detailed study from 27 different nations, including the United States:
25.9% Want to postpone childbearing.
21.3% Cannot afford a baby
14.1% Has relationship problem or partner does not want pregnancy
12.2% Too young; parent(s) or other(s) object to pregnancy
10.8% Having a child will disrupt education or job
7.9% Want no (more) children
3.3% Risk to fetal health
2.8% Risk to maternal health
2.1% Other
Total: 98.3% of all abortions are for convenience or as a method of birth control.
1.Bankole, Akinrinola; Singh, Susheela; Haas, Taylor (1998). “Reasons Why Women Have Induced Abortions: Evidence from 27 Countries”. International Family Planning Perspectives 24 (3): 117–27, 152.
2.Finer, Lawrence B.; Frohwirth, Lori F.; Dauphinee, Lindsay A.; Singh, Susheela; Moore, Ann M. (September 2005). “Reasons U.S. Women Have Abortions: Quantitative and Qualitative Perspectives”. Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health 37 (3): 110–8.
Categories: A poor representation of Jesus, Agnostics and Skeptics, Atheists, Be like Him, Common objections by Atheists, Errors of the Christian Church, Following Jesus, Jesus Church, Religion vs. Relationship, The Second Arrival of the Messiah, Thousand Year Kingdom
Robert Clifton Robinson 
Please see, "Guidelines For Debate," at the right-side menu. Post your comment or argument here: