I am a firm believer in justice and retribution. History proves the just and firm payment for wrongdoing. I look at the different wars throughout history and many of them stem from some kind of religious argument, or the conflict creeps its way into a holy war. I believe in a just God, but I also believe He is a fair and gracious God as well. If humans were ever given a deserving retribution, there wouldn’t be any humans left alive!
God’s intent was to not be alone when He created mankind. That’s why Adam was made, because God wanted someone to talk to and share things with. It’s pretty simple really. The problems all started when God felt that man was lonely at times too, so He made Eve. Some would say that was a mistake. However, God doesn’t make mistakes and He didn’t want an automaton for a friend. I think He partly made woman so man would have a choice of whom to spend time with. God undoubtedly knew that by giving man and woman freewill, there might be devastating and recursive problems in the future. But again, automatons are boring. Of course, the main antagonist of creation was the fallen angel Lucifer. Satan, the Devil, the “serpent most foul”, Abaddon, the “Prince of this World”, the “Ruler of the powers of the Air”, Apollyon, Beelzebub – whatever you chose to call him, he was allowed by God to infiltrate the peace of Eden. The whole point was to test the resolve and dedication of mankind. Would man and woman stray from what they knew was truth? Unfortunately yes, because sin plays at the desires of freewill.
The worst thing about freewill, is how easy it is for humanity to twist what God has given into something perverted. God gave His Son, Jesus Christ, to be the role model and ultimate sacrifice for humanity’s reprieve from an eternity in Hell. The problem is that humanity has taken Christianity, the faith in Christ as the Savior of the world, to the extreme. Mankind has systematically killed itself over faith, or lack thereof, in Jesus! This is the birth of the Holy War. Before going any further, “Holy War” needs to be defined so as to make sense of what I am going to write later on. Holy war – A war that is entirely, primarily, or ostensibly religious in motivation; a war over religion.
The ancient, or Biblical, times began the whole holy war idea when controversy started over who had the greatest god. Adam’s direct descendants knew of only one God, The One who created all things. But time changes everything. When Cain killed his brother, and was sent away by God (after being marked) things took turns for the worst. There are scholars who believe that God’s method of marking Cain, so as to keep him from being killed, was to color his skin a dark tone. This may have been the beginnings of the African peoples. Diversification of peoples became even worse, when the Babylonians mocked God with their tower. So God confused the people’s language and the many nations split from one main source. From here on, the holy war would take center stage for the next millennium.
Cherem
The beginnings were recorded in the Jewish Tanakh (the Old Testament of Joshua’s time), as cherem, which was a God commanded annihilation of an entire people. This was due to the prospect people’s total disregard for God or His laws. The cherem effectively consecrated the land of these sinful nations.
Arab Muslim Conquests – Jihad of the sword
Jihad always strikes fear in westerners and causes flared tempers from the Muslims. Jihad is possibly one of the most misunderstood words in the Arabic language and the Islam religion. There are actually four main forms of Jihad, that catalog the different struggles found in life. “Jihad as-sayf”, which is usually seen as simply Jihad by non-Muslims, can involve combat against those same non-Muslims. The earliest Jihad wars were recorded in the mid 600’s A.D., known as Jihad bil Saif (or Jihad as warfare). They were not meant to be forceful conversions for the faith, but merely the strengthening and even expansion of the Islamic state against foreign influence. This could however be seen as the spreading of the religious beliefs to pagans. The first known incident was during the migration of Muhammed and his followers to Mecca. Later Jihad uprisings would see the deaths of many defiant peoples and the slavery of countless Christians. The spread of Islam eventually sparked the retaliation of the Crusades.
Reconquista, the Crusades and the Inquisition
Reconquista was an early form of penitence, as early Christians fought to reclaim the Iberian Peninsula from Islam in the 700’s A.D. Around 1095 A.D., Catholics (more specifically the Popes) decided to take matters into their own hands when it came to trying to retrieve the Holy Lands from the Muslims, and the rest of the world from pagans. For the next 500 years, the Catholic church was the driving force of the colonization and purification of the world. This was essentially fueled by the lustful desires of money and power that were shrouded in the name of “spreading God’s Word”. In all reality, it was an ongoing crusade that involved the early travels of Christopher Columbus and other such Conquistadors. The 1500s – 1800s saw another form of holy war, dubbed the Spanish Inquisition. This was the darkest and most terrible time of the world’s history, when countless masses were either forcibly converted or executed as heretics.
The French Wars of Religion
This was primarily the fight between Protestants and the Catholic church which governed France. The reigns of Kings Francis I and Henry II, saw the birth of Lutheranism and Calvinism. The anti-Catholic proselytizing accounted for the early resistance by the French government. Thirty-six years (1562 – 1598), and eight wars later, protestants were eventually left alone.
The Thirty Years’ War
This war (1618–1648) was again the Catholics against the Protestants, which involved the majority of Europe, fighting in Germany.
Second Sino-Japanese War
This major war was fought between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan, before and during World War II (1937-1945). This was based on the Shinto State beliefs, or religious conflict against the Chinese state. This bled into World War II.
World War II
Some believe that the main reason Hitler even pressed the world’s allies into war, was solely due to religious differences. I believe it was only one piece of the bizarre puzzle. The Aryan regime (1933-1945) was led by the anti-Semetic Lutheran, Adolf Hitler, but the war was also infused with racism, not just religious hatred.
The Troubles
This thirty year civil war (1968-1998)between the Southern Protestant and the Northern Catholic regimes of Ireland is just one more case.
All this misconception and erroneous fighting notwithstanding, there is a punishment due for the sins of war. That is of course if the “warrior” does not seek forgiveness and repent from their sin. If one is unable to ask for God’s forgiveness, as in a timely manner before dying, it is perceived as suicide, an unpardonable sin. This is not because God will not forgive the sin, it’s that the offender is simply unable to make the request – already having died! The church also sees the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit (one of the three parts of God) as an unpardonable sin, being so written in the Bible in Matthew 12:30-32. Another unpardonable sin is the blatant disregard of God’s forgiving grace, a combination of presumption and impenitence. If the holy war (or any war for that matter) causes a person to fight against his/her brother or sister, the only recourse the warrior has is to continuously repent of his/her sins, keep faith in God and not commit an unpardonable sin.
The punishment due to mankind among itself, will be the direct result of the false security one can have when regarding the current state of our world. This is the impending doom of either all-out global war, again, or the final destruction of our natural resources because of mankind’s negligence. God had given mankind the commandment to subdue the earth and lord over it. That means to take care of it, as well as to use it for his own means. But if our global society continues to neglect the one most precious gift of God, our planet, we will reap the punishment due – final annihilation. If we, as Americans, neglect the signs of the impending doom of a religious overthrow of powers, our nation will cease to exist in its present state, whether it be good or bad! A covert Muslim has infiltrated our government, in its highest seat of authority and power. Christians may soon be hunted in the streets. The state of Islam will grow and become stronger and more secure in this country. Our forefathers intended to allow freedom of worship, not specifying any religion over another. The problem is that they obviously never understood what Islam is and how it opposes the west’s mentality of freedom.
Our punishment due for allowing a foreign Muslim/Communist in the White House could be a new Civil/Holy War on our home soil. Be prepared, in whatever way you feel necessary, it may be sooner than we all think.
While we wait, take a listen to this classic tune:
[audio:http://www.eds-online.net/music/01_Holy_Wars…The_Punishment_Due.mp3]
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