Some Truth... or The Whole Truth?

Added: 2026-04-29

[00:00:00]You do know that Christians are like historically the most violent religious group, right? You guys keep saying that and I'm a new Christian, so I haven't had an answer to that until now.

[00:00:10]Okay, so that claim is built on a handful of really well-known events like the Crusades, the Inquisition, and various wars in Europe from people claiming or identifying as Christians.

[00:00:21]Of course, totally real historical events. As we well know, there are plenty of Christians throughout history and today who act in a way that completely contradicts the very teachings of Jesus. But back to the point, those events were often deeply political and not purely religious at all. Kings, empires, governments, they used Christianity as like a banner to unify people or to justify those power moves. That is very different from people who are obeying Christ. Jesus never commanded his followers to conquer land or force conversions or punish unbelievers. Now, the other side of the story really doesn't get quite the same attention from certain people, right?

[00:01:00]From the very beginning, Christians were not the aggressors. They were the ones being killed. The first few centuries after Jesus, believers were persecuted brutally by the Roman Empire. They were fed to lions, they were burned alive, imprisoned, and executed simply for refusing to deny Christ. Even today, Christianity is recognized as being the most persecuted group in the world. In places like North Korea and parts of the Middle East and Africa and in Asia, Christians are being imprisoned and executed simply for their belief in Jesus. Not for violence, not for political rebellion, just for their belief. There's two standout reasons why this narrative has gotten flipped. One, Christianity has been the largest religion in the world and when something is that big, the failures are way more visible. And two, Western history is deeply tied to Christianity, so people tend to blame Christianity for the actions of Western governments. There's this tendency to judge Christianity by its worst representatives instead of its founder. If you judge Christianity by Jesus Christ himself and his teachings, you'll know that Christianity is not a violent faith at all. It's one of humility and repentance and forgiveness and even loving your enemies. So, yes, people who have identified as Christians have committed violence throughout history, but those actions were typically tied to power and politics and or just human sin.

[00:02:18]Definitely not obedience to Christ.

[00:02:20]Here's a little bit of the irony to me always. The very people who criticize Christians for not being Christian enough fail to understand that the reason we follow Christ is because we know that we are sinful, that we are not good, and that we need a savior.

[00:02:33]We're not arguing our badness. Being a Christian doesn't, or at least it shouldn't, make us feel better than non-believers. It just means that we know we need help.