And the runner-up is…
Who’s the worst mass murderer in history?
It’s not who you think.
When you read the headline, the usual list of bad guys popped into your head. Right? Most readers likely answered one of the following:
Mao Zedong: Estimated death count — 49-78 million (1949-1976) [See Footnote 1]
Joseph Stalin: Estimated death count — 23 million (1925-1953) [See Footnote 2]
Adolf Hitler: Estimated death count — 17 million (1933-1945) [See Footnote 3]
Those all seem like pretty accurate guesses. Lock it in. Any of them make for a reasonable final answer.
Truth is, those three were dilettantes compared to another historical figure followed by millions and indeed, billions. By one widely-believed account, considered gospel by more than two billion worldwide (including the majority of people in the United States), someone in history is responsible for even more deaths. According to this reliable source, the worst evil-doer of them all murdered more human beings than Mao, Stalin, and Hitler — combined.
And then, he lapped them all, spiked the ball, and did an end-zone dance.
By now you’ve guessed the genocidal maniac who’s murdered over and over and over again for centuries as none other than the so-called divine creator who goes by the name:
Before we examine his documented record, let’s make one thing clear. This isn’t just an opinion. This is documented fact according to a book of texts called The Old Testament. Since three major religions including Christianity, Judaism, and even Islam all credit this book as an accurate historical reference, it’s fair then to conclude there’s no alternative other than to agree with the following historical events, as they were first reported. In other words, if you believe in the holy book, you must also accept that these historical accounts took place.
So far, God’s murderous reign of terror includes the following instances. These are listed according to the estimated number of deaths (the largest mass killings are ranked first):
— THE ENTIRE WORLD’S POPULATION [except for Noah and seven relatives]
According to Genesis 6, 7 — God became so angry with the world’s population that he killed all but eight people, who were spared the blade of the almighty sword. God also murdered countless animals, except for those lucky few who made it onto that funky thing called an ark.
— ALL FIRSTBORN OF EGYPT
According to Exodus 12 — Thousands of innocent people were killed in Egypt to prove the power of God to the Pharaoh. Collective mass murder is what it really was. Guilt by association.
— 70,000 PEOPLE
According to 2 Samuel 24 — Kind David ordered a census to be taken which resulted in a terrible plague, killing tens of thousands. Next time I get one of the U.S. Government Census forms, I think I’ll pass.
— THE ENTIRE POPULATIONS OF SODOM AND GOMORRAH [except for Lot, his wife (who would be killed later), and their two daughters]
According to Genesis 19 — God became so upset at all the partying going on in these adjacent cities, that he wiped them both out by “fire and brimstone.” So much for mercy. I guess Sodom and Gomorrah must have been a lot more fun than Las Vegas because we’re still here.
— THOUSANDS OF ISRAELITES [14,700 by this account]
According to Numbers 16 — After followers of the Korah movement were murdered by God (see below), many people were upset. So, they had to be punished and were all wiped out by a plague. I guess God ran out of fire and had to use some other killing methods.
— PHARAOH AND SOME OF THE EGYPTIAN ARMY
According to Exodus 14 — While pursuing Moses and the exiled Jews across the Red Sea, God intentionally flooded the miracle valley, drowning hundreds and perhaps thousands of men and horses. Just like in the movie. I gotta admit, this one rocked on the “wow” scale.
— AMORITE SOLDIERS
According to Joshua 10 — Soldiers who were retreating after pursuing the Israelites were killed by giant hailstones as divine punishment. Hailstones — now that’s what I call getting creative. God’s wrath is never dull.
— THE FOLLOWERS OF KORAH [estimated at 250 people]
According to Numbers 16 — After Moses won the Jews their freedom, another sect spun off from the main congregation. For this, the leaders were “swallowed by the earth,” and the followers were executed by fire. So far, I haven’t read of any Islamic radicals getting swallowed by the earth or burned alive. I’d like to file a complaint.
— SOLDIERS OF KING AHAZIAH
According to 2 Kings 1 — 102 soldiers were killed by fire for trying to capture Elijah. Message — “Don’t screw with Elijah!”
— NADAB AND ABIHU
According to Leviticus 10 — These first two sons born to Aaron were sacrificed by the father to prove his devotion to God. They were burned alive. Burned alive!!!
— LOT’S WIFE
According to Genesis 19 — This poor woman was turned into a pillar of salt because she “looked back,” whatever that means. However, God is really getting creative with his torture methods, here. On a scale of 10 — this merits a 10.
— ER
According to Genesis 38 — The eldest son of Judah was killed by Yahweh (God) for unknown reasons. Hey God — at least tell us why you’re killing the poor bastard, okay? That’s just cruel.
— ONAN
According to Genesis 38 — After ER was killed (see above), the second son of Judah refused to impregnate his brother’s widow (“spilled his seed on the ground”), so he too was killed by God. Note to Sky Daddy — If spilling seed on the ground is sinful, there won’t be any men left.
What about in our future? Will even more people die?
WELL, OF COURSE!
REJOICE!
Millions more, in fact. Just in case you haven’t figured the game out by now, that’s the way God works. And it’s not just for punishment’s sake. We’re not just talking about murdering bad people here. It’s even a cornerstone of divine prophecy. Consider this disgraceful passage from the Book of Revelation which describes the cataclysmic events which are predicted just before the so-called “Second Coming” is to take place. According to Zechariah 13:8-9 — two-thirds of the Jews in “the whole land” will be killed.
“In the whole land, says the Lord, two-thirds shall be cut off and perish, and one-third shall be left alive.”
Two-thirds of the (Jewish) population of Israel will die as a part of God’s holy plan? I’m not sure even the most radical militants in Hamas would go that far with the killing frenzy.
What’s truly terrifying is that hundreds of millions (perhaps a couple of billion) people not only buy into this genocidal hogwash, but THEY WANT IT TO HAPPEN. They even WORK TOWARD’S IT HAPPENING.
Now please, you tell me — who among us are the crazed lunatics?
Note these facts and figures don’t include countless natural disasters that occurred well after The Old Testament was written. For instance, the Plague alone (years 1200-1450) killed an estimated 150 million worldwide. Then, add all the other weather-related catastrophes, and that’s an even greater number. All needless deaths.
However, to be both fair and accurate, no post-Biblical death (so far) has been prescribed as a punishment from God. Only the events brought up in The Old Testament were punishments dealt out by the hand of the big guy. The holy book makes it clear — he’s responsible. No one else. Not the forces of nature. God. Time and time again, his DNA is all over the crime scene. CSI could finger this killer in the opening credits.
From this, draw your own conclusions. But these absurd inconsistencies pretty much leave us with only two options.
Option 1 — Either “God” is undeniably a mass-murderer who has taken billions of innocent lives, seemingly without justification [See Footnote 5], or…
Option 2 — “God” is a fabrication of man and the historical accounts described above are pure fiction.
You decide.
Footnote 1 — A precise estimate is difficult to determine since Chinese records are scarce. Mao certainly bears responsibility for tens of millions who died from unnecessary famine, forced starvation, and mass executions that occurred during The Great Leap Forward and Cultural Revolution. SOURCE
Footnote 2 — This figure does not include World War II civilian and battle deaths, which are estimated at another 20 million. It’s difficult to assess how many lives were wasted by the Soviet Union in the battle with Nazi Germany (Axis Powers).
Footnote 3 — Hitler’s body count would be considerably higher if we included most of the World War II deaths which occurred in Europe and Africa, which resulted largely from his decisions and policies.
Footnote 4 — Many of these incidents were taken directly from The New Book of Lists (by David Wallechinsky and Amy Wallace), published in 2005.
Footnote 5 — Will all this massive killing going on, this begs the larger question — why is he called a loving God? And why would anyone worship this maniac?