Is religion really the cause of most wars?
I wonder how often you may have heard this statement or even said it yourself: “Religion is the cause of most wars!”
This bold statement certainly requires investigation to see whether it is actually true or not.
According to one reputable source (Encyclopedia of Wars), only 7% of the 1763 recorded wars in history were fought on religious grounds.
If the above source if information is correct, then the often quoted statement of “Religion is the cause of most wars” most be challenged and a different answer searched for.
The Bible has this to say about the cause of war:
‘For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and defile a person.’ (Mark 7:21-23)
‘What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? 2 You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God.’ (James 4:1-2)
These quotes from the Bible may not be the most popular explanations for the root cause of war, but I would like to point to a challenging and inspiring reminder from our Country’s past that some historians claim actually saved us from the equivalent of the bloody French Revolution.
What are you talking about some might say?
Well according to the French historian Elie Halévy (1870-1937), the Methodist revival may well have saved England from a “bloody revolution” such as that which occurred in the American colonies and France.
This is another bold statement that needs serious investigation, but I would certainly encourage you to look into this further. The Methodist revival is one of the most significant in our history. It involved the famous John Wesley and George Whitefield preaching to multitudes of people about the reality of how Jesus Christ is able to transform the hearts and lives of people. Which in turn transforms every sphere of human influence and endeavour.
I would like to close with this challenge for each one of us to investigate these things further – especially how Jesus Christ can and does deal with the heart of the problem of war internally and externally as one surrenders one’s whole life to Jesus the Prince of Peace.
God bless you
Rev Patrick Barker (Pastor at Tiverton Baptist Church)