Christmas, Christians and Wars

I was asked, “If Jesus came as the Prince of Peace, why has religion been the cause of most of the wars in the world?”

Good question. I was surprised when researching an answer.

Religion isn’t the cause of most of our wars. According to the Encyclopedia of Wars, we have had 1763 recorded wars on this planet to date – that’s wars, not battles. Of those, less than 7% have been in the name of any religion – and 3.7% were in the name of one religion. Islam. Now you are down to just 2-3% of wars caused by all other religions combined.

So, if the followers of Jesus haven’t been killing people for the last 2000 years, what have they been doing? Here is a short list. . .

1. The church has become the largest single provider of healthcare in the world
   1. It pioneered modern nursing through F. Nightingale 1860 &
   2. started the Almshouses, the forerunner to nursing homes & hospitals &
   3. started the first homes for the elderly & the disabled &
   4. Founded original Red Cross working w/victims of the bubonic plague
2. The church founded almost all schools before the state, including free schooling for the poor, schools in the slums, education for the deaf, and started the first college for the deaf in 1864. The church educated children through Sunday School in America and Brittan when there was no state education or child labor laws
   1. Started free education for destitute children called the “ragged schools”
   2. Started 100 of the first 110 universities in the US
   3. Became the largest single provider of education in the world

3. The church was the first to stand up for the rights of women by declaring marriage sacrament,pioneered education for women and even pioneered the study of science through a believe in a Grand Designer.
4. Churches were the 1st orphanages – children were left at churches during the middle ages, as they are now at our ministry in Haiti &
   1. Pioneered modern Foster Care through Charles Brace &
   2. Started the worlds largest orphanage system &
   3. Wrote the fist laws to protect children from abuse and neglect &
      1. Pioneered education for orphans through George Mueller &
      2. Pioneered international child sponsorship &
      3. Pioneered surgery on infants through C. Everett Koop &
      4. Started the first Children’s Homes through the Methodist church &

5. The church led the movement to stop the slave trade in England as well as modern social work, &
   1. Prison reform through the Quakers &
   2. Microfinance or poor countries &
   3. Famine Relief &
   4. World Literacy through SIL & Wycliffe
6. The church Stated AA through the Oxford Group & a Christian developed Braille & even the Magna Carta was written by Archbishop of Canterbury, on which our Constitution & bill of Rights is borrowed.

Without Jesus, the Prince of Peace living in & thru His followers: We would have no Harvard, no Yale, fewer hospitals, no Cottonwood Church, no YMCA, no New Testament, no Christmas Carols. Mary Magdalene would have died possessed, Matthew a cheat, Paul a jerk and we’d be lost. There would be no hope of heaven, no help for living this life, and no check on sin. We would have no Salvation Army or Baptist Relief Fund, both of which doing more to relieve the suffering in this world than most countries. There would be no Amnesty International, Compassion International, Mercy Ministries, Medical Teams International, or Samaritan’s Purse. In Albuquerque, six of the seven free Thanksgiving meals in 2014 would have been closed (Good Shepherd, Joy Junction, La Mesa Pres, St. Felix, St. Martin, Salvation Army). We would have no Albuquerque Rescue Mission, no St. Judes, no Haiti English Camp, no Walk to the Manger or Christmas Shoe Boxes or fresh water in Pierre Brizare Haiti. The Prince of Peace is real. Jesus is living and the church is proof of it.

Bizarre Bible Stories 2! Now available in your local bookstore, Amazon, and I hope lots of other places.