Really?

I'm going to be blunt for a moment. Most Christians need to develop a better BS detector. The Apostle Paul commended the Bereans (Acts 17:11) because they tested everything he taught. Good advice for Christian teaching and just as good for everything else that our culture attempts to convince us of.

I often hear that religion is the source of most, if not all, wars in human history. Really? World War I and II didn't seem to originate in some religious debate. Homer's description of the Trojan War contains oracles and portents, but it's root cause is pride and arrogance, not a religious dispute. The Spanish American War, the first and second Gulf War, the United State's Revolutionary War, and the 100 Years War all had nonreligious causes at their heart. The civil wars in Russia and China (responsible for the greatest number of war casualties in the last century) had nothing to due with religion (unless you count the goal to eradicate religion). In fact, most wars are fought for the acquisitions of goods or to expand power (sometimes referred to as security).

There have been battles fought for religious reasons. The Crusades remain a blight that should be learned from and not overlooked, but these are the exception rather than the rule. But it is too easy to reduce conflicts to comic book level. Northern Ireland saw a conflict that divided along denominational lines, but that conflict had more to do with two conflicting views of nationalism and self-rule. The truth of the matter was that many believing Catholics and Protestants worked together in spite of the conflict around them.

An MIT professor once told one of our students that no Christian had ever made a meaningful contribution to the scientific endeavor. The professor when on to say that a student would have to put away their thoughts of God in order to pursue a meaningful life in the sciences. Really? George Washington Carver, Nicholas Copernicus, Johannes Kepler, Galileo Galilei, Michael Faraday, Max Planck, and Louis Pasteur are just a few who would take issue with that sweeping statement. Belief in God is not all that rare in the scientific community though it is a bit lower than in the general public.

Not all Christians are at war with science, reject psychology, believe preChristians can do no good, or are Republican (or Democrats for that matter). Both the educated and the ignorant can wear blinders and be prejudice in some things.

Sweeping statements need to be questioned. Just because someone is in a position of authority does not mean his or her statements should go unquestioned.

It's never been easier to fact check the things we hear. While a general Internet search will bring up a great deal of misleading information, there are trusted sources such as Wikipedia (trustworthy, not perfect) that help out immensely. A good set of encyclopedias is still a wonderful way to dispel the fog.

We are warned in Scripture that our culture will fight the work that Jesus is doing in the world. It threatens our pride and ego. It calls into question our motives. But Jesus' work ultimately liberates us.

In the end, the best BS detector is based in a firm grasp of the truth, whether the subject is history or faith. But before we swallow anything whole, our first question should be, "Really?"