A couple of years ago, I read that about 2000 children died in a region of Africa due to a vaccine. The vaccine was a normal vaccine given to infants; however, many of those children were already infected with HIV. What killed them wasn't the vaccine, but the reaction of the HIV towards the vaccine. Later, it was heard that millions in Africa were saved by the application of vaccines. Even the population growing rate went up due to the vaccines. What would happen if we would say that the vaccines were more harmful than good due to the atrocity of the children who died for the vaccines? Many more would have died because of the diseases.Religion could be just like this powerful medicine called vaccine.
Religion has been wrongly held responsible for tyrannic governments, slavery, genocides, colonization from Europe to the rest of the world. But religion has been indeed responsible for the creation of public schools, hospitals, hospices, orphanages, mental health houses and all sort of compassion projects as well as the wide spread reinforcement of ethic and morals, inspiration for total rehabilitation of cities, neighborhoods, families and individuals. Many lives had been reconstructed by the Gospel of Jesus Christ. More lives had been positively impacted by the effect of religion that those that had been harmed by the false pretended gospel.
The fact of the presence of evil, ignorance, and abuse religion as well as the committing of atrocities in the name of God, doesn't make religion wrong. The religion is good, people's hearts are wrong.
Should we condemned religion for having harmful side effects or when applied for the wrong purpose?
Like any powerful medicine, what religion needs is to get rid of falsehood, lies and abuse by those who lead. All main stream religions have some good; the problem are the ones who use them for their own self interest and those who take advantage of the ignorance of the followers.
The Lord says, "my people perish for the lack of knowledge."
Here are some examples of anti-biblical doctrines infiltrated in some form of Christianity. These false doctrines have no bible support; however, are sold as such to its followers (They appeal to ignorance portraying themselves as high knowledge):
"The myth of the lost tribes of Israel" to declare racial supremacy and racial inferiority.
"The cursed people of Canaan descendants of the grandchild of Noah and perhaps also Cain"
"The myth of the elect" applied to the rich and intelligent (prosperity gospel).
To use "Jesus said the poor would be always there" as an excuse to refuse to help the poor to improve their condition.
"Unconditional loyalty to Israel". The true is that God is actually very conditional, every promise of God comes with a condition. God wants us to love Israel, but not to support when they do wrong.
"Christian covenant is under Israel covenant." God's covenant is always with the faithful, whether you are Israel or the church. The real condition to win in God's side is that your justice should be higher than those you are fighting against you. If Israel justice is higher than the church; they would reign over the church and we have to submit. But, if our justice is greater than theirs, the church would lead, and they have to submit. The real king is God, nor the church neither Israel or anybody else for that matter.
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Religion according to God is the ultimate way to lead every important matter on Earth.
Jesus mission as He read in the book of Isaiah at the beginning of His ministry was brake the joke and declare deliverance to those who were incarcerated, feed the poor, protect the widows and the orphans and to proclaim the good news of the kingdom. This is still the mission of the church today.
The real command is to love, the covenant is to forgive as we had been forgiven.
The purpose is to bring God's kingdom to every man on Earth which is love, joy, faith, hope, goodness, peace, patience, mikeness, and self-control.
God is really a GOOD God.
