“Religion – the opiate of the masses.” “Religion is the cause of every war.” “Religion is the cancer of humanity – without religion there would be no more wars.” Mordacious words. Fighting words. If you share your faith in Christ, you will have probably come across some of these scathing remarks.

But how true are they? How evil is religion?

At a time when people are remembering the death of Nelson Mandela and the evils of apartheid, I would like to submit to you my candidate for evil.

The greatest evil in the world is not religion, it is not racism, it is not colonialism. The greatest evil on earth is… communism, which is merely atheists armed with political and military power. More people have been killed in peace time by their own communist government than have died in war by foreign invasion, under apartheid, or as a result of any religious conflict. The numbers tell us the real story:

• 160 million civilians have been murdered by communists in the 20th century.
• 68 million killed by Mao Tse Tung and the communist Chinese.
• 40 million killed by Lenin, Stalin and communist Russians.
• (These figures do not include citizens who died in famines induced by the collectivist policies and planned economy of communism: 27 million starved in communist China, 8 million starved in Ukraine, 4 million in communist Russia. They also exclude the deportations of 2 million “Kulaks,” Poles, Moldavians, etc.)
• 3 million killed by Pol Pot and communist Cambodians.
• 2.2 million killed by the victorious Vietnamese government after the Vietnam War (more than double the number which Americans killed during war.)
• 500,000 killed during the ‘Red Terror’ or bloodbath of Marxist Ethiopia and Eritrea.
• 150,000 killed by Fidel Castro and communist Cubans.

Next time someone claims religion is the cause of war, just tell them, “If that were true, then communist countries which ban God and the Bible – like Cuba, Angola and North Korea – would be bastions of peace. Would you like to go live with your fellow atheists?”

Sin is the cause of all wars. Sinners who reject Christ are the cause of all sufferings on earth. Every hurting person is hurting because of the sin of another, not because of God. Even the baby born with a deformity is either the indirect fruit of humans polluting God’s clean environment or the direct fruit of a parent who used or abused drugs or alcohol. No suffering can be blamed on God. “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights…” (James 1:17). Every ray of sunshine, breath of clean air, drop of fresh water, morsel of tasty food… every good gift and every perfect gift can be credited to Him.

The truth is people fight because of their own sins. God did not make them do it. People can choose to lay down their lives, like Christ did for us. Jesus tells us, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.” (Matthew 6:19-20) The more people believe in only the reality of this world, instead of preparing for the next, the more they fight for “my rights” and “my share”. People who have hope only in this life fight for the fleeting fortunes of this world.

Now you know the greatest evil on earth is not religion, but atheists armed with political power. The more Christian a nation, the less the killings. CHRIST is PEACE. That’s good to remember… and good to share during this Christmas!

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Your freedom is very important to God. A book, a CD, and a DVD on True Freedom.