Is it true that Columbus and other explorers commit genocide because Bible teaches you to kill heretics?

Question

I am not Christian, but I heard this from my history teacher. Book of Joshua instructs Christian to kill all heretics. So at least at that time (15-16 century), they killed them without feeling any guilt.

Answer 1

Columbus and those that followed did not, in general, follow a program of genocide as we would know it. Yes, they regarded the indigenous peoples of Asia, Africa, and the Americas as heathens, but they did not set out to exterminate them on those or, for the most part, any other grounds. European diseases accounted for the bulk of the deaths of the local populations, and warfare and slavery for a lesser percentage. It was seldom that any European group embark upon a deliberate program to completely eradicate a tribal group. If nothing else, the colonizing powers wanted to use the indigenous peoples for labor, and so killing them all was a bad practice. At any rate, for any Christian who believed that God wanted him to kill "savages", there would have been at least as many, if not more, who thought God wanted him to convert them to the faith.

Answer 2

It also states that God commanded Joshua to do so. I know this may seem confusing, but I'll try to explain. Before the Messiah (Jesus) came, there is a lot of killing in the Bible, I mean a lot. And usually it is God's people who are doing the killing. Back then those were days of war, all the great empires who rose and fell killed and destroyed. In those days either you became slaves to whatever empire had the power over you, or you fought them. Joshua and the Isrealites had left Egypt 40 or so years back where they were inslaved for some time. So you have this wandering mass of millions of people. They had to have a land to occupy, so God told them where they would go. Of course there were Kings, and people who they would encounter on there way that showed opposition. So they destroyed them. So you may think, that's horrible! the Bible teaches you to kill people? No, there is nothing in the Bible that ever says, kill those who oppose God. They were simply doing what God comanded Joshua to do (which Joshua heard God's voice) Which also meant there survival. Now back to what I said in the Beginning about Jesus. The Bible teaches that once Jesus (the Messiah) came and died for our sins that God made a new covenant with the Jews and the Gentile. Which in layman's terms was that God's mercy and grace went to a whole new level. That is why the killing and death you see ends in the New testament.
Now about Columbus and what he did. The slavery that took place, was because the Spanish in my opinion saw thereselves as superior to these people and therefore exploited that. Which in my opinion is still wrong. And the killing is horrible. I want even go into all that. If anything, they may have used parts of the Bible as an excuse for what they did, but there is no place in the Bible where it promotes killing people for no reason. Theres a lot of people that bash the bible on all the talk of slavery. But I believe people are very mixed up, they compare slavery of the bible with slavery of the civil war era, which is impossible to even compare since slaves for the jews were not ever based on race. I can give references if you like. hope this didn't confuse you

Answer 3

Hello,

I suggest your history teacher look for another career.The book of Joshua lived 1200 years or more before the beginning of Christianity and is old testament. Christ said if you use the sword you die by the sword, love your neighbor and those who do not accept the gospel, just kick the dust from your shoes in that town and move on. The new testament is a new covenant different from the ones in the old testament. Some of the Jews considered Christianity a heretical sect and it was not appreciated by the people of the old testament as St. Stephen and Christ himself found out.

Anyway this begs the question as to how Joshua could instruct Christians to kill heretics when he lived, loved and died over a thousand years before Christianity even started?

Michael

Answer 4

I've not checked the book of Joshua, but since it's in the Christian 'Old Testament', it's a basic book of the Hebrew Prophets, which has been accepted by Christianity and Islam. If I remember that part of the bible, the Hebrew people are returning to the promised land and have been directed by God to occupy the land. In the process, they destroyed those who stood against them.

I think most scholars and believers take this to be a specific act of God, through the Hebrew Nation, not a given commandment to destroy non-believers.

Meanwhile, the Book of Mark specifically provides examples of Jesus, the Christ, sharing salvation with people of other faiths (woman at the well, the good samaratin), not destroying them. The appearance of a tradition of Christians destroying people of other faiths in genocide acts is the result of individuals twisting the local faith to give the speaker power over others. It has nothing to do with the Christian faith.

I believe that this is also the problem with extremist of any faith, Islam, Hindu, Christian. Each faith has individuals who are so pulled by power that they have actually walked away from the true teaching of their faith and have hijacked the local faith to their own personal goals.

As such, I suspect that the Christians of the 15th-16th century who commited acts of genocide had no remorse. I also contend that they acted for themselves, not their god.

Answer 5

The Book of Joshua was in the OT. Your history teacher is misguided. Christians aren't taught to kill people but to love them.

Answer 6

If you want an interesting read, try "The End of Faith". All religions have information that can be interpreted any way you want. The Bible tells you to kill your children if they stray from the faith too. Early pioneers in the wild western USA - the Donner party was planning to kill and eat their Indian guides because they were not white or Christian. (Evidently Christians are too tough to be considered tasty - lol).

Answer 7

There was not any real attempt to commit genocide. Yes, entire towns were killed, but as a punishment for resisting, not any religious motives. The closest thing to genocide was the disease outbreak among native people, but that wasn't exactly planned or stoppable.

Answer 8

I don't think that was their motivation, but I do think that was their justification.

The first people he encountered, the Lucayans, were wiped form the face of the earth by 1520 from slavery, massacre, and disease (brought by the Europeans).

Note to genius: After establishing mining camps, the Spaniards enslaved the local people to not only work in the mines, but they also RODE THEM AROUND LIKE ANIMALS.

The European diseases were bad, but not nearly as horrific as the actions of the Europeans themselves.

Answer 9

Many killings have occurred in the name of religion, not just Christianity. It is unfortunate that religious teachings and their accompanying books are frequently translated so that they justify the actions of their followers.

Answer 10

No. Unfortunately, many natives were killed, but that was primarily from diseases that the Europeans carried with them.