God is Not Responsible

In our world today, we hear about crimes being committed in the name of the Christian God. These crimes push people away from potentially learning about Christianity. However, suspicions arise as we look at these situations and the people who committed the crimes. As we examine the people behind these crimes, one may observe that they do not follow the rules and teachings of Christianity. True Christians seeking the will of God in their lives follow, or do their best to follow, the laws, commandments, and teachings of the Bible (New International Version). These crimes that people commit in the name of God of Abraham are actually condemned by the Bible. In contrast, Islam actually has doctrines that encourage destruction, killing, holy wars, and spreading the religion by force. Christianity condemns these actions. Therefore, if one was following the rules of Christianity, the crimes would not have been committed in the first place. Furthermore, these people who do commit these crimes neither are actual Christians or are they following the commandments and rules of Christianity. How can God be responsible for something he has no association with?
An example that Gregory Koukl gives in his article “God is Not Responsible” is an effective way in understanding this concept. Koukl explains, “If you were a builder and you regularly sent out crews with detailed plans for building houses, and then another group went out and destroyed buildings and said they were working for you, would you be responsible? Would you be responsible for the destroyed buildings?” Of course not! Just because the group claimed that they were working for you doesn’t mean they actually were. A proof of this would be that they don’t even have the plans to build. Likewise, God is not responsible for the crimes committed by people who apparently “commit them in His name.” They don’t have the plans. In other words, they aren’t living the life that God calls Christians to live. Therefore, God is responsible for His followers’ actions, not unbelievers who look to place the blame on anything or anyone but themselves.