To Romesh "The Death of Christianity"

Submitted by Lactantius Jr. (United Kingdom), Nov 15, 2006 at 09:26

o Romesh,

Writing as a deeply committed follower of the Lord Jesus Christ, I have to admit with much sorrow and shame, that throughout the centuries, many shameful things, and much killing has been done by "Christians," but the warrant and authority for doing this has not been derived from the Lord Jesus Christ, rather, it has been done in defiance of, and disobedience to, His teaching and the example of His life and death. My model has to be my Lord Jesus Christ, Who, though He had all the right to complain about the unfairness of his situation, never reciprocated with violence, but went ‘as a lamb to the slaughter'. The disciples and the early church lived daily with persecution, yet they never resorted to violence to solve their problems. In fact they were all killed, except for one for what they believed; yet look at all they accomplished, despite their weakness, because they allowed God to work mightily through them.

As a follower of The Lord Jesus Christ, I am obliged to condemn violence whenever I see it, especially that found in the church, or the history of the church. And where is such authority derived? from my paradigm, the Lord Jesus Christ. He never used violence, even when violence was perpetrated against Him, to the point of allowing Himself to be sacrificed, rather than calling the host of angels who could have protected Him, nor did He call on His followers to use violence, not only condemning the use of violence in Matthew 26:52, stating categorically that "He who lives by the sword must die by the sword", but exemplified it in His own life, by neither advocating it nor practising it (even to the point of refusing to save His imprisoned cousin, John), and then gave us our best model concerning how we are to act towards our enemies in Matthew 5:38-44. "Here's another old saying that deserves a second look: 'Eye for eye, tooth for tooth.' Is that going to get us anywhere? Here's what I propose: 'Don't hit back at all.' If someone strikes you, stand there and take it. If someone drags you into court and sues for the shirt off your back, giftwrap your best coat and make a present of it. And if someone takes unfair advantage of you, use the occasion to practice the servant life.

No more tit-for-tat stuff. Live generously. "You're familiar with the old written law, 'Love your friend,' and its unwritten companion, 'Hate your enemy.' I'm challenging that. I'm telling you to love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer, for then you are working out of your true selves, your God-created selves." Certainly, most everyone today wants peace...where will we find it? there is only One true source for peace...The Lord Jesus Christ Who is indeed the Prince of Peace, the only legitimate model Who can truly give us a paradigm for the peace we so eagerly desire, and will Christianity die? Here is What Jesus says:- "…………..and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it." Matthew 16:18 "The sky and the earth won't last forever, but my words will." Matthew 24:35 And what of the "peaceful" atheistic world Romesh, does that live in peace and harmony without the teaching and example of Jesus Christ, The Prince of Peace?

The total number of deaths in World War 1 totalled ~37 millions, in World War 2 they totalled ~61 millions. Stalin's policies resulted in the death of ~7 millions, Hitler was responsible for the deaths of ~6 million Jews in the "final solution to the Jewish problem," and Pol Pot was responsible for ~2 million deaths in the killing fields of Cambodia.

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