The Holy Bible is a unique and nonpareil Holy Book that enlightens the way before humans and leads them to the shores of safety. Among the noblest teachings of the Holy Bible is the call for the entrenchment of love and peace among all peoples regardless of their religious or ethnic affiliations.
It is an axiomatic fact that when peace prevails among peoples, a time comes when they jointly work together for the progress of humanity with nations turning their attention to solving the prevailing and chronic social problems related to food insufficiency, hunger, unemployment, and the proliferation of uncontrolled diseases among others.
In a statement that raised concern and worry, Head of the Russian Orthodox Church Patriarch Kirill said during his Sunday sermon on September 25, 2022 that "Russian soldiers dying in the war against Ukrainians will wash away all their sins." He added, “The Church prays that this battle will end as soon as possible, so that as few brothers as possible will kill each other in this fratricidal war.”
This statement strongly drifts far from the spirit of Christianity and the teachings of Lord Jesus Christ, for when does killing others for any cause ensures washing away all sins? This is merely an embodiment of the rule of the jungle that encourages killing one another and wreaking havoc in societies for attaining mundane gains under the unfounded euphemism of "divine's cleansing of sins."
One of the 10 commandments states, "Do not kill". In other words killing others for any reason contravenes the teachings of the loving and almighty God. In the Holy Bible, Lord Jesus' main message to people is to love one another and to be peacemakers. This is clearly revealed in numerous Bible verses, here are some of them:
"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." (John 14:27) and Blessed are the peacemakers, for the will be called children of God. (Matthew 5:9)
What a noble privilege which people enjoy to be called "children of God" when establishing peace and eliminating wars so that "they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation; neither shall they learn war anymore.” (Isaiah 2:4)
His Holiness Pope Francis has repeatedly called for ending bloodshed in the Russian-Ukraine conflict and he dispatched several envoys in the hope of finding means to solve this conflict peacefully but to no avail. He even expressed his desire to go to Ukraine as soon as possible in the hope of establishing an everlasting peace.
Violence breeds violence and wars breeds misery to nations which leads to the displacement of thousands of people, the death of others, and the elimination of any bright future for the generations to come.
Wars and bloodshed contravene the spirit of Christianity. Let the world heed the call of the Holy Bible, establish peace worldwide, and map out smiles of happiness of the faces of peace-loving people because killing others and dying in wars does not wash away sins.
