How do Chritians justify all the terrible things done in the name of the lord.?

Question

i.e. Catholics, the utter rape of South America by conquistadors, supported by Vatican, or the retarded witch tests that killed thousands of innocents, etc. We all know there are plenty more examples.

A lot of people are justifying atrocities in the name of god by saying those were the atrocities of individual people. This leads to the conclusion that many false things have been said in the name of God. So how do you know your Bible, written by men, was the will of a God. Why are the authors of the bible not questioned, while whole generations of devout are condemned now as opposed to God. These examples of "bad" men mostly believed they were saving souls. Because men need an excuse to satisfy their conscience. The money & fame didn't turn off the conquistadors for sure. Yet now you deny they were following gods path. How do you know that the conquistadors were not doing the will of God, & Jesus is wrong, & God's chosen son was Columbus or crap like that. The Bible, just like the conquest of South America, was brought about by men. Think about it.

Answer 1

Christians do it because the Christian god acts that way.

If you buy into the bible, he slaughtered everybody on earth (except for a boatload of toadies) because he got irritated. He wiped out everyone in Sodom and Gomorrah (newborn infants all the way to bedridden invalids). He ordered everyone in a number of cities of the plain killed. He just seems to like killing things.

Answer 2

The history books dont always give enough details leading up major events. But I think we all have lopsided doctrinal positions from time to time. And we all need God's mercy and forgiveness sometimes more than we know. Just remember when you start pointing the finger of judgement on any one issue there are 4 fingers pointing back at you on a different issue that you are grossly out of the context of God's will in your life.

Answer 3

Those happenings which are very unfortunate are not justifiable by God. God is not an excuse for any type of personal gain. We are humans and make mistakes. God is the only perfect being who does not make mistakes in His actions.


Additional:
It is evident through works if something is truly doing God's work through the fruits of their work. If they are doing something beneficial for the world chances are a lot greater that they are acting in God's will. The scripture I have highlighted is a good example of one of the many scriptures talking about how men will deceive men in the future. However, God's word given to us is a valuable and always true source Given to us by God Himself.

Answer 4

I don't "justify" it. What happened was contrary to the law of Christ and I am not going to dare defend people who violate that law. However, it is wrong to blame Christianity, or even the Catholic Church, because it was also pious Catholics who were trying to put a stop to the brutality against the Indians, and it was the Catholics who were calling for fair Indian treatment...

In 1500 Franciscans wrote that they had baptized three thousand Indians. In 1510 Dominican missionaries arrived in Hispaniola and denounced cruelty shown to the Indians. Their prior, Bernardino de Minaya, unhesitatingly sought to protect the Indians.

Bartolome de Las Cases was the first clergyman ordained in America, and deserves much more than a few paragraphs about his importance. He graduated form the University of Salamanca and while in America he had Indian slaves, but in his thirties the Dominicans influenced him of the brutality that was going on. He went to Spain to plea for the Indians. Cardinal Ximenez favored him and Las Casas became Protector-General of the Indians. In 1516 he returned to America to legally enforce fair treatment laws, but an ill-timed Indian rebellion led many of the Spanish to totally ignore Las Casas.

He returned to Spain and petitioned the crown to let him establish a special colony specifically for the fair treatment of the Indians. Granted, in 1520 he returned and set up a colony in South America, but very shortly after, due to a series of problems, he returned to Hispaniola. He continued petitioning the monarch of Spain to plead for the fair treatment and conversion of the Indians, particularly of the natives in modern Mexico, Peru, Nicaragua, Guatemala and other places. In a monumental act of the opportunity to peacefully coexist with the Indians, Las Casas successfully converted a very hostile Indian chief in the islands and baptized all the tribe members. If even the harshest of the Indians could become fellow Christians, how much easier would the common Indians be to co-exist with?

As many of the Europeans ignored the calls of Las Casas to show decency towards the Indians, he decided to start acting against the impious Europeans. While serving as Bishop of Chiapa, he denied absolution, or forgiveness of sins, to Spaniards who treated the Indians badly. This brought him hostile attitudes from the colonists, laymen, and some of the clergy, and some even conspired to kill him. He also wrote that many of the people committed barbaric acts against the Indians were hard to get to come to church, and were impious men. Las Casas died in 1566 at the age of 92.

As far as monarchs supporting the conversion of the Indians, Isabella, Charles V, and Philip II were the most prominent monarchs in the defense of the Indians.

After much support from missionary groups, but much opposition from impious adventurers the “Laws of the Indies” were passed. The laws were humane and provided for the security of the Indians. Some whites, however, were upset by how the Christian church was trying to keep them from suppressing the Indians. The Church, many whites felt, was interfering with the colonization and exploitation of America.

In the sixteenth century the Dominican Francisco de Vitoria said that the Indians could be converted, and that Christians must spread the Gospel, and furthermore that no one should be forced to accept Christianity. Pope Alexander VI also thought the Indians were capable of being converted. In 1537 the Pope Paul III issued a Papal Bull declaring the Indians are to be converted peacefully upon their own free will. In 1658 Pope Alexander VII officially condemned the denial of communion or the refusal to let Indians go to Confession.

And for the record, I am part Native American, so if anyone has a "right" to condemn or forgive anyone for what happened agains tthe Indians, it is I. But I hold no grudge, because I see that many good people were trying to put a stop to it. But for those who were deaf, and committed atrocities without repentance, they deserve no defense.

Answer 5

No ones justifying it.They were very horrible things that should never have happened.But was I responsible for it? No. Many of my ancestors were persecuted by Catholics.I'm just glad that those things didn't turn me off Jesus,because otherwise,I would be on my way to hell right now.

Answer 6

Wait a minute pal........you must be confused. Pleeeeez do not confuse the true meaning of the Christian faith..........True Christians do NOT preach a convoluted doctrine or condone pagan articles of worship of any kind. True Christians DO obey all God's laws (commandments) and live by every Word of God...........But then again, how could you possibly know when you are spiritually blind yourself.....

Answer 7

Christians are not supposed to justify all the terrible things done in the name of the Lord!

Answer 8

They will try to justify it by throwing a bibble at you and showing you textual evidence of where it is justified. The only thing that they missed is that they can't justify a bad deed with a fairy tale. It's like saying there are such things as witches and ghosts and showing you a Harry Potter book as their evidence.

Answer 9

We don't. There is absolutely no justification for that kind of thing. The name of our Lord has been used for a lot of heinous crimes. The perpetrators will have to answer to Him, not only for the crimes, but for dragging His name through their slime.
"Not all those who say Lord, Lord, will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but those who do the will of my Father who is in Heaven" (Matthew 7:21)

Answer 10

what about all the terrible things done in the name of freedom and democracy? ... does it mean freedom and democracy are bad because some people use it to justify their own greedy means? .... i dont think so ... neither can it be said that those actions had anything to do with true christianity ...