I'm glad you brought that up.
"Your website is very interesting! I learned a lot about the atrocities committed by those who called themselves 'Christian'."
"But you cannot hold Christians today accountable for the bad things done 'in the name of Christ', any more than I can hold atheists today accountable for the hundreds of millions of murders committed by Hitler, Stalin, and Mao Tse Tung."
So True.
"If you want to judge the Christian world view, then judge the world view --not the actions of individuals who CLAIM to be Christians. Where was the Spanish Inquisition justified in the Bible. Where does Christ say, "Make everybody a believer, and if they resist --kill them!" The Christian world view is based on the Bible. If individuals decide to torture and kill others at will, then they CANNOT be Christian -by definition."
By YOUR definition of the 'Christian World View'. Queen
Isabella and her Inquisitors were utterly convinced
that THEIR World View was in perfect accord with the will of
'God'. Your personal interpretation of the Bible would have sent you to
the rack and the fire as easily as any Jew. 'Heresy' means
'choosing' or selecting by one's own preference.
The fact is, 'Christian World View' is a term that could
include literally hundreds of interpretations of scripture,
all insisting that they and only they are right,
the ones going to heaven.
All of these different sects base their beliefs on (usually) miniscule variations
in scriptural interpretation, fiercely and often
violently
defending their version of 'God's Will'.
"Your pages are very helpful in condemning the atrocities committed in the name of Christ, and I agree wholeheartedly. However, neither your pages or your links have a spoonful of effect against the Christian world view or the Bible. The Bible is the only perfect source for the Christian world view."
Yes, in fact it is the only source for the hundreds of
different versions of the 'Christian World View'. (Its
convoluted metaphors are interpreted in a myriad of ways, or 'dialects')
But the Bible is a
book;
it is NOT the 'mind of God'. The underlying
metaphor of Christian faith and
what is left of Jesus' teachings form a workable spiritual path-
but no more or less accurate than any of the others. Fundamentalist
Bullying-
Ay, there's the rub-
because one thing all of these Christian cults often share in common
is aggressive evangelism, acquisition of new members like
Amway; both increasing the income base and 'verifying' faith-
and blanket condemnation of 'unbelievers'; another act of
bad citizenship that characterizes their annoying boorishness and generates
all the hostility towards them.
The point is not to 'debunk' Christianity- the point is to show the error of Fundamentalist bullying. Any belief, no matter how preposterous, should be acceptable in a free society, until it infringes on the rights of others.
From: John Hill
October 13, 1998
On your Debunking Fundamentalism page someone's email reads:
"But you cannot hold Christians today accountable for the bad things done 'in the name of Christ', any more than I can hold atheists today accountable for the hundreds of millions of murders committed by Hitler, Stalin, and Mao Tse Tung."
You answer: So true.
But this is false! Yes, we can and should hold Christians accountable for their past action. These actions have been scripturally based and carried out without conscience and without regard to humankind. The blood of generations of innocent men, women, children are the cost of their belief in the same bible that was use to justify the killing of these people.
And, Hitler was NOT an atheist. He was a Catholic and wrote many times about the benefit of Christianity. Although this could be considered for propaganda purposes, his writing clearly shows he believe in god and parts of Christian theology. Stalin, while most likely an atheist, killed, indiscriminately, segments of the Russian population without regard to religion in most cases. Stalin was a pathological, paranoid, cold blooded killer. Mao Tse Tung, was not a declared atheist either. He killed off dissidents in much of the same manner as Stalin, to promote his cultural revolution that included a religious element. Even Castro, an atheist, knew he could not kill the church in Cuba and did not even try.
There has never been a situation in history where an atheist civilization has committed these types of crimes against humanity. We have always been in the minority and therefore it would be extremely difficult for us to persecute anybody.
Sincerely yours
John Hill
Thanks, John, for clarifying that. Religious fundamentalism has always been a convenient excuse for bloodshed. In fact, the bloodshed and power hunger are the driving forces; the mantle of spirituality is only a costume that lends crediblity.
Bible Contradictions
Fundamentalist's Flat Earth
The Spanish Inquisition
The Founding Fathers Were NOT Christians