Why is it that almost all non-Christians attack Christianity but hardly any other religions? I never hear anyone arguing with Muslims or making fun of Buddhists. All I ever see is, Christians are dumb, Creation is phony, Christianity is a lie, Christianity is controlling, etc. Why is it only Christianity? The way I see it is that people are afraid of the TRUTH, so they attack it and try to get rid of it because the TRUTH hurts. Christianity is the most historically accurate religion and has yet to be proven as false, and yet, people still attack it, but can't penetrate the TRUTH that resonates throughout it. It’s also interesting that this country was founded on Christianity, yet that is the one religion that people have chosen to attack. Is it because Christianity goes against everything you believe? Is it because Christians are slow to accept others beliefs? I’m curious, because all I see on blogs and in the world is a lot of Christian bashing, but not much bashing of any other religion. This hardcore rejection of the TRUTH is sad, but that’s Satan doing his evil work in the world. Satan hates Christianity and the TRUTH because the TRUTH has already defeated Satan and set people free, if they choose to accept that freedom.
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First, I cannot argue for or against your claim that Christianity is the most historically correct religion, because I do not have the expertise in the subject, but I would be interested in knowing where you are getting your facts.
Second, I think they is a lot of "everyone else bashing" it is just that we don't see it. In countries with not Christian population the other religions will spend their time bashing each other, and with the "War on Terror" many Christians have been bashing Islam. It is not that people do not do it, its just that they do not always bash other religions on line or in front of a journalist. I, personally, see most Christian bashing of fundamentalist Christianity, just like most people have a problem with fundamentalist Islam. People fear the extremes of religions because they have the ability incite religious violence, but many (unless they have been convince by the fundamentalists first) do not have a problem with other religions. Religion can be a very unifying things across the world--even between people of two different religions, because most religions have a lot of their morality in common. Search peacebuilding and religion online to see some examples.
Third, I agree with you that religion bashing is done because of fear--maybe not fear of truth (other people believe their religions are the truth) but fear of conflict, fear of the unknown, fear of someone unlike them. I think you should be careful about how you talk about this subject, because passionate words will make you sound like one of the people you believe is bashing Christianity. Religious conflict occurs everywhere and one could argue that in today's world most religious conflict occurs between two religions and neither of them Christianity. Take many conflicts in Africa and Asia for example.
Hmmm... Interesting yet uninformed. This nation was not founded on Christianity. It is a common Christian mistake to belive this but many of the founding fathers were diest.
I believe there is much religious intolerance in this great country, just because you never heard it happening does not mean it does not. I have heard many say they will not vote for Candidate Obama because he is Muslim as if that had anything to do woth his leadership. Many bash Muslim people and crack jokes on Jews and I am sure the list can go on. I think, as a generalization, we all do other religion bashing and negative talk to some extent... This HAS got to change.
And I say all this as a well informed Christian.
Love is like a box of chocolates; if you chose wisely you won’t be disappointed and have to spit it out.
~T
A nation of well informed men who have been taught to know and prize the rights which God has given them cannot be enslaved. It is in the region of ignorance that tyranny begins. ~Benjamin Franklin
I'm sure I count as one of the Christianity bashers, because I've written more than a few blogs about it. Contrary to your opinion, I do not bash Christianity because it is the truth; I speak against those fundamentalist Christians (and perhaps even regular Christians) that do things against my own beliefs. I used to be a Christian, and I can no longer accept the basic ideas of the religion.
I think you are seeing most people bash Christianity because here, it is a majority religion. Something like 75% of Americans are Christian. So when you're fighting against some of the beliefs of religions, Christianity will be the one that pops up the most often because it is an overwhelming majority in this country. Elsewhere, you'll see Islam bashing a lot, you'll see the direct persecution of Jews and Muslims and Hindus, but you don't hear a lot about that here, because it's all about Christianity.
As far as your claim that Christianity is the most historically accurate, I'm very curious where you get that claim from. Do enlighten me.
~C
Check out the latest entry in the Between The Lines column!
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I would suggest that you are more aware of "attacks" against christianity because you are (I strongly suspect) a christian. But I assure you that there are plenty of people (myself included) who will happily dispel the irrational claims of ANY religion. In the U.S., you do see a lot more criticism leveled against christiantiy, because (obviously) there are a greater number of christians in this county than any other religion.
Christians are dumb,
Sometimes yes, sometimes no. Most do tend to behave irrationally, however, when the subject of their religion is being discussed.
Creation is phony,
It is.
Christianity is a lie,
Not necessarily, since one must be aware that the things you say are false in order for them to be considered a "lie."
Christianity is controlling,
It is.
Christianity is the most historically accurate religion
You're kidding, right?
and has yet to be proven as false, and yet, people still attack it,
And this statement is a good example of WHY people "attack" those who argue for their religion as you have, here. It is a basic logical fallacy to claim that because something has not been proved false, that it must be true. In fact, the burden of proof lies with you to prove that your assertions are true, and not your opponents to prove that they are false. There is absolutely no actual, objective evidence that has ever been presented by anyone, any where or any when concerning the supernatural claims of the christian religion (or any othe religion, for that matter) that would satisfy the normal definitions of the term "proof."
It’s also interesting that this country was founded on Christianity,
Factually incorrect. As stated clearly and passed into Law by one of the earliest acts of our Congress...
To quote one of my favorite authors...
TTFN,
Blackout
-------------------------
Yes, I've changed my username from "percivale" to "Blackout." Go here if you want to know why.
I didn't take the time to read all the comments, but this is why I think people "attack" Christianity more than other religions (other religions are "attacked," but certainly not as often.
Christianity is not tolerant of things that go against it. The God described in the Bible is l;ove personified, but He longs so badly for His children to follow in His steps. That means doing away with what we would call normal things: theft, drunkennes, sexual immorality, drug addictions, gossip, lying, pride, selfish ambition, etc.
Christianity offers no other way except the only way: Jesus.
That's why people attack it most...
Read and comment as you like....http://www.progressiveu.org/blog/starving-musician
Uhh... no. Because most moral people (yes, even non-Christians, I know how shocking that must be for you) don't do those things in the first place and realize that you can only gain forgiveness from the person you hurt. It doesn't matter if everyone else forgives you, if the person you hurt doesn't, everyone else's forgiveness means nothing.
~C
Check out the latest entry in the Between The Lines column!
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The God described in the Bible is love personified,
Whever I hear christians talking about "God's love" and "God's forgiveness," I am drawn back to story of the Exodus. The inconsistency of christian platitudes measured against the worship of a figure that murders the infant children of his followers' enemies is simply irreconcilable to me.
Besides...
I hate to go "straight" for the throat (pardon the pun), but it is difficult to believe in the "love" of any person who has a book in their had that specifically commands them to kill me.
TTFN,
Blackout
P.S. I have blogged extensively on Why I Can't Be A Christian. Feel free to check it out if you want a more in-depth defense of my comments, above.
-------------------------
Yes, I've changed my username from "percivale" to "Blackout." Go here if you want to know why.
Ugh...I really hate it when discussions go on this tangent. What people don't understand is that the Bible is not entirely for us to obey. There are some laws that were meant for Jews way bakc when Moses was around. The entire book of Leviticus (the book you quoted) is all Jewish law - not American law, not modern-day law, not Christian law. There was no such thing as a Christian before Jesus Christ (hence the name) died. It's all long and complicated, but it's easier to understand when you look through the Bible as a story - the Old Testament is the beginning (and things we don't have to worry about anymore), and the New Testament is the new (things we need to abide by if we want to live as Christ directed, and thus call ourselves Christians).
Once that distinction is made, the Bible becomes much clearer.
Read and comment as you like....http://www.progressiveu.org/blog/starving-musician
I really hate it when discussions go on this tangent.
Of course you do. Few christians are comfortable facing the many grotequeries found throughout the bible.
The entire book of Leviticus (the book you quoted) is all Jewish law - not American law, not modern-day law, not Christian law.
Well, its not American law...that much at least as true. But as for whether or not it is christian law...
"The Law" in this verse is a direct reference to the Torah, also known as the Pentateuch (i.e. the first five books of the Hebrew Bible). The character Jesus did not exclude his followers from the provision of the Torah, and in fact expected them to follow these same instructions.
It's all long and complicated, but it's easier to understand when you look through the Bible as a story - the Old Testament is the beginning (and things we don't have to worry about anymore), and the New Testament is the new (things we need to abide by if we want to live as Christ directed, and thus call ourselves Christians).
I'm sorry, but this statement leads me to believe that you haven't really studied the subject. And, I do consider the bible to be a "story"...a brutal, blood-thirsty and grotesque story that describes a being that if "he" were real (though thankfully, there is no evidence to that effect), would not be the kind of "god" that I would be willing to worship. Whatever you can say about the character of Jesus, the "god" that he directs his followers to worship is attributed in the story of Exodus with killing the first-born children of his follower's enemies to gain their compliance with his wishes. I find that story to be completely disgusting in principle.
Once that distinction is made, the Bible becomes much clearer.
I have never encountered a christian sect (and I have studied quite a few of them) that held to the position that the story of Exodus is not historically accurate, nor suggested that the death of the first-born children was anything other than a "moral" act as defined by the basic theological tenets of their version of the christian religion. As such, I simply cannot credit the christian religion with any genuine belief that I could reconcile with my own opinons concerning what is "right" and what is "wrong."
TTFN,
Blackout
-------------------------
"Vi Veri Vniversum Vivus Vici." ~ V.
Actually, the reason that I hate it when religious discussions go on the tangent of God's love is because it's so simple to understand, but few people take the time (and this does not include pouring over the Bible and going over commentaries) to really figure out what God's love means. It's a personal thing that no scientific evidence can prove/disprove. Love is metaphysical - nothing physical can prove it.
When Jesus said that He came to fulfill the Law, He did exactly that. The entire Sermon on the Mount (from the section of Matthew) you quoted) is an elaboration of the Law. It's like this...
"You shall not murder" became "You shall not hate your neighbor and murder his reputation."
"You shall not commit [physical] adultery" became "When you look at someone lustfully (except for your spouse) you've already done the deed."
This is essentially the Mosaic Law's breakdown - everything is physical. When Jesus came, things began to relate to the heart. The concept that feelings can be in your heart, regardless of whether or not you act on them, and it is still sin. Jesus made the physical metaphysical.
While I do agree with you that the Bible has stories of detah, destruction, gore, and blood, you have to look at the entire thing.
-God spoke to Noah (to really start at the beginning) because Noah wanted to know God better. God saved Noah's family because of Noah's faith in God.
-God spoke to Abraham (then Abram) because He knew Abraham would listen. Because Abraham wanted to know the heart of God so much, God blessed that relationship and allowed for Abraham's true son, Isaac, to carry on the blessing. (Technically, Ishmael was born first, but Hagar was not Abraham's wife, and that act was out of compulsion and not divinely blessed)
-After Isaac came Jacob, and Judah, Jacob's fourth son was allowed to carry on the blessing because his heart was moved to not kill his brother Joseph.
While God did say that "[He] will have mercy on whom [He] will have mercy, and [He] will have compassion on whom [He] will have compassion," His true desire that that "all would come to repentance." Though God knows that this will not happen, as some will not allow their hearts to be moved by the Almighty's presence, His desire to love all is still there.
The last section of your comment (about the detah of the first-born) has to be taken in light of what I wrote above. God favored the Jewish people because their "founder", Abraham, was considered a "friend of God." God was willing to do anything as long as the descendants of His friend were kept safe. That included, though God didn't want to do it, the death of the first born in Egypt.
In closing,
Read and comment as you like....http://www.progressiveu.org/blog/starving-musician
Let me ask you a simple question.
Is the figure referred to as "God" or "the LORD" in the Old Testament, the same figure that the character known as Jesus refers to when he mentions the same names in the New Testament?
TTFN,
Blackout
-------------------------
"Vi Veri Vniversum Vivus Vici." ~ V.
Yes...and no. This is kind of complicated, as it's hard to wrap our finite human minds around.
There is God, the Father, the King of Heaven, the Almighty. Yahweh is His name, and He is Ruler of all.
There is Jesus, the Son, glorified by the Father by giving his life to save all of humanity.
There is the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God, who empowers Christians to live in line with what God, the Father, has called us to live through the death of Jesus, the Son.
Essentially, there are three distinct divine personalities, though they are all one in the sense that they all aid the Christian to take on more of a perfect character. We couldn't have salvation without Jesus, and we couldn't live rightly without the power of the Spirit, both of which were provided by the Father.
Kinda hard to understand, but I don't think they're all one thing. I think I'll see three different "people" when I get to heaven...
Read and comment as you like....http://www.progressiveu.org/blog/starving-musician
...and to quote one of my favorite sources...
But, you kind of missed the point of my question. What I am suggesting is that IF the "being" referred to in the OT as "the LORD" or "God" is the same "being" that is referred to by the character of Jesus in the NT (and frankly, the texts clearly indicate that this is the case), then I cannot see excusing that "being" from the horrible actions attributed to "Him," simply because a secondary figure who is instructing his followers to worship this "being" is a nicer guy than the one up in "heaven." It would be different is the religion suggested that its followers should worship Jesus, but not "God." But since Jesus is presented (according to the religion's theology) to be an intercessor between man and "God," then the caracter of the "God" is of utmost importance to consider before one choses to worship that "God." If a man commits murder, but his son is a nice guy, then that man is still a murderer, and hardly worthy of respect (much less, worship).
TTFN,
Blackout
-------------------------
Check out Progressive PRIDE, a Gay-Straight Alliance for the Progressive U community.
You actually misread my reply, as I stated what I thought. While I do believe that God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit do work for the same goal (proclaiming God's glory to the world), I don't think I'll see one being when I get to heaven, These are three distinct personalities, but they are so intricatly intertwined that they might as well appear to be one.
The hard thing to understand about God's actions is that they are all to further His glory, something I will see when I get to heaven through the blood of Christ. He reprimanded the nation of Israel throughout the Old Testament because He didn't want His Name to be profaned, and thus make people think that He was not as awesome of a God as He is (Ezekiel 36:22). Because the world revolves around God's glory (of course, not literally), everything is about Him. I sometimes don't understand it, but I don't have to. I know that what He has is better, and I don't have to have proof to tell me He's right - I trust Him, ruthlessly.
I like Thomas Jefferson too...and that helps to prove my point, if anything...
Read and comment as you like....http://www.progressiveu.org/blog/starving-musician
...though I did notice the usual evasiveness on the essential point that I always encounter (and continue to encounter, in this comment as well) when confronting a christian about this very uncomfortable aspect of their theology. Let's try it again...
Do you or do you not think that it is "moral" for someone to kill the infant children of their enemies as a means of gaining their compliance?
TTFN,
Blackout
-------------------------
Check out Progressive PRIDE, a Gay-Straight Alliance for the Progressive U community.
First of all, I'd suggest that you break up the blog into paragraphs. It makes it a little easier to read than a long block of text.
People tend to talk to their audience. Most people here on this website and in this country are Christian. So religious debates tend to focus on that religion.
Well, the majority of religious conversations don't involve the first one of these. Occasionally, individuals will be called dumb, but that is not an attack on every Christian person's intelligence.
Creation isn't just a Christian idea. Genesis is part of the Old Testament, which is the Hebrew bible. And other religion's creation stories are targeted, again more in places where they are more prevalent.
I am dedicated to the truth. That is one (two in a way) reason I involve myself in these debates all the time. First, I do think Christianity and all religion is untruthful and if, through rational conversation people can be convinced of this, I don't think that's a bad thing. However, I also look for new arguments in favor of religion. I admit they are rare (most are used over and over again), but when I am presented with something I haven't seen before, I look into it. I'm willing to admit I could be wrong.
Um. How is it more historically accurate than other religions? And, even if it was valid to claim that it was on the burden of your opponents to disprove your belief, no other religion has been "disproved" either.
What is this TRUTH that resonates throughout it?
I can't say anything Blackout hasn't...
All religions are contrary to what I believe. And, yes, many Christians are intolerant of others (certainly not unique, but it is prevalent because of the power and size of the evangelical movement).
Seek and ye shall find. They're out there.
"Don't blame me. I voted for Kodos."
Homer Simpson
Because after many centuries some people can speak out without having their throats slit open, end up being burned, tortured or worse!
"“I never hear anyone arguing with Muslims or making fun of Buddhists.”"
Buddhism is like an open door, a transparent form of religion, it doesn’t attract or project negative nor positive, since it represents both in harmony. Buddhism is wisdom combined with discipline, permitting one who chooses to venture upon a path of self-discovery to gain and find what he/she seeks.
I believe Muslims a rare upon this platform, also, I believe those who do venture inside are addressed in a way they receive a bit more credit in order for them not to withdraw because of verbal unnecessary pressure or rudeness.
"“All I ever see is, Christians are dumb, Creation is phony, Christianity is a lie, Christianity is controlling, etc. Why is it only Christianity?”"
Because one will always attract to see or find what his/her focus is pointing at.
"“The way I see it is that people are afraid of the TRUTH, so they attack it and try to get rid of it because the TRUTH hurts.”"
Manny amongst believe to hold the TRUTH-Hence human drama!
"“Christianity is the most historically accurate religion and has yet to be proven as false, and yet, people still attack it, but can't penetrate the TRUTH that resonates throughout it.”"
The reason why people (verbally) attack Christianity, is because Christianity just like any other religious worshipping structure is and has always been an aggressor. In case some fine day Christianity prevails over Islam, or the other way around, assuming there is a religious warfare going on as we speak! Focus of all ruling interest will immediately shift upon non believers when they are done with all others religious and opposing obstacles.
Non believers being the least fanatic individuals around will be eradicated in the final chapter of this warfare!
"“It’s also interesting that this country was founded on Christianity, yet that is the one religion that people have chosen to attack. Is it because Christianity goes against everything you believe?”"
Our destiny is not to believe, but to become One, therefore many which are awake pursue freewill and freedom in order to recall it in this or the following ride amongst!
"“Is it because Christians are slow to accept others beliefs?”"
Worshippers allow themselves and more sadly, their very own offspring to be molded into something they are not, Unworthy!
Any belief system which inspires to commit vulgar atrocities is old school and therefore preaching that same old recipe for trauma and chaos!
"“I’m curious, because all I see on blogs and in the world is a lot of Christian bashing, but not much bashing of any other religion. This hardcore rejection of the TRUTH is sad, but that’s Satan doing his evil work in the world. Satan hates Christianity and the TRUTH because the TRUTH has already defeated Satan and set people free, if they choose to accept that freedom.”"
To put efforts in becoming more curious, eventually takes down the mind programmed concept of Satan!
http://www.wowzone.com/monkey.htm
Why is it that almost all non-Christians attack Christianity but hardly any other religions?
It's the dominant religion. And personally it's caused the most bullshit in my life (and probably the life of most non-Christian Americans)
I never hear anyone arguing with Muslims or making fun of Buddhists.
I don't know about Buddhists, but if you haven't heard people argue against Muslims and Islam, you're not paying attention.
The way I see it is that people are afraid of the TRUTH, so they attack it and try to get rid of it because the TRUTH hurts.
What people?
I see everyone has got to this blog before me and said all I wanted to say, so I stop here.
Leave Canada, please - Canadian Dude
"Is it because Christianity goes against everything you believe?"
No, as a Buddhist I believe Jesus of Nazareth was an enlightened one and taught many great things. However, he is not my messiah or anointed one.
"Is it because Christians are slow to accept others beliefs?"
Slow as molasses in January! I have found that many religious people are very judgmental of other's beliefs and are hesitant to even be tolerant of them. Personally, I think people are entitled to be critical of a religion that demands others accept it as the TRUTH. However, not agreeing on religion doesn't preclude us living in peace.
Namaste.
Why is it that almost all non-Christians attack Christianity but hardly any other religions?
For me it is because Christianity affects my life so much more than does any other religion. I live in a Christian dominated society. Because of that I have made it a point to become knowledgeable about it. And I see its promotion of a deeply irrational ideology as not a good thing.
I never hear anyone arguing with Muslims or making fun of Buddhists.
Read some Sam Harris and you'll get a lot of muslim-bashing. Buddhism is not trying to insinuate itself into government the way Christianity and Islam is.
All I ever see is, Christians are dumb,
Well, they can be. A lot of them have used religion to damage their brain. Take this, for example:
This poor deluded sap has not even thought to ask himself, "If God wants a relationship with me, how come he made me here and not there?" or "How does Jesus dying allow God to do something that he couldn't have done without it?" or "How could someone dying by be crucified by Romans 2000 years before I was born, absolve me of blame for my poor actions now?" or "Wait, a second ... burning for ETERNITY?? Without even having a body?? How bogus is that?"
But the poor guy doesn't even stop there. He goes on to say:
Here's where it gets really funny. This guy believes ... and I'm not making this up ... that the same God that will send you (OK, me) to hell to burn for eternity is has an extreme amount of "patience, mercy, and grace". See how a person can damage their brain on religion?
In case you are wondering who said those things ... It was you in comments on this blog
Creation is phony,
No, no, no ... CreationISM is phony.
Christianity is a lie,
Certainly a lot of things people believe because of it is ... creationism for example.
Christianity is controlling, etc.
Certainly a lot of politically active Christian leaders want it to be.
Why is it only Christianity?
It's not. I think Islam is the same way. Anything that promotes unthinking dogma is almost certain to become that way if given a chance. That includes secular unthinking dogmas too ... like Communism.
The way I see it is that people are afraid of the TRUTH, so they attack it and try to get rid of it because the TRUTH hurts.
I have found that you can almost be assured that when someone claims that what they say is the TRUTH (especially TRUTH in all caps) they are about to tell you something ridiculous.
Christianity is the most historically accurate religion and has yet to be proven as false, and yet, people still attack it, but can't penetrate the TRUTH that resonates throughout it.
See ... I was right! The historical accuracy of Christianity is not particularly good. And the idea that God says to his son (which is also himself) that he is going to impregnate a virgin so that he (his son & himself) can come down to earth in a small and rather insignificant part of the earth, so he could after 30 years of doing pretty much nothing, spend a between 1 and 3 years telling pithy little parables (except in the Gospel of John, where he wont have to tell any) and somewhat sophomoric philosophy, and then suffer a humiliating death so that he could atone for the bad things that humans will do in perpetuity ... It may hurt like hell son, but its OK because you're me and afterwards you'll be sitting at my right hand ... so the beings that I want to have a relationship can come up here and finally see me doesn't resonate with TRUTH to me.
It’s also interesting that this country was founded on Christianity,
No it wasn't. It's founding charter, the Constitution even guarantees that it is OK to NOT be Christian.
yet that is the one religion that people have chosen to attack. Is it because Christianity goes against everything you believe?
No, it is because there is simply no reason to believe it is true and a LOT of reasons to believe it is false.
Is it because Christians are slow to accept others beliefs?
No, l think it is more like Christians have an annoying propensity to tell us their beliefs are the TRUTH, and be attribute disbelief of this assertion to our inability to accept the truth instead of the ridiculousness of their assertion.
I’m curious, because all I see on blogs and in the world is a lot of Christian bashing, but not much bashing of any other religion.
Poor, poor little old you!
This hardcore rejection of the TRUTH is sad, but that’s Satan doing his evil work in the world. Satan hates Christianity and the TRUTH because the TRUTH has already defeated Satan and set people free, if they choose to accept that freedom.
You see, there you go. You attribute our disbelief to the work of Satan instead of the ridiculousness of your assertion. Don't you think it a bit petty of both God and Satan to be fighting over us? If God wanted us to believe in him, he could do that in a snap of his omnipotent fingers. Suppose we were to do a controlled study of intercessory prayer and we found that there was a robust phenomenon there that is exactly like what we would expect if God existed. That would be some evidence for him. The problem is that we have done controlled studies of intercessory prayer and what we find is that it doesn't work. Suppose someone isolated DNA from the Shroud of Turin and they could conclusively demonstrate that there was DNA in cells that had 24 chromosomes; 22 human autosomes, 1 X chromosome, and 1 Chromosome that had no junk DNA, but did have all the 30,000 genes that a human male needed to live (which by the way would still make it a fairly small chromosome). That would be enough to convince me that not only God existed but that the bastard did impregnate an earth woman and that the Shroud actually was Jesus' burial cloth. Or ... how about this one -- Christmas Eve and the star Betelguese goes supernova. We train our telescopes on it and right there before our eyes written from the debris of the star in perfect Times Roman font was "Peace on Earth ... Love God". Again that would do it for me.
Something like that would certainly torque off Satan wouldn't it? It would make it a LOT harder for him to perform his nefarious deeds. Nobody's free will would have to be harmed. All that would be happening is that God would be giving us evidence that he actually does exist instead of playing this sick I-see-you-but-you-can't-see-me game. About the only reason I can see for God not doing it is that God, like Satan, doesn't exist.
Cheers
DB
===
If a million people say a foolish thing, it is still a foolish thing. - Anatole France
Don't you just love people who prove your point? I ask a simple question, "Why do people attack Christianity?" and within 24 hours I get 13 comments bashing me personally and Christianity. What a surprise! Anyways, most of you view Christianity the wrong way. You ask questions like, "If God is so merciful, why do you say I'm going to burn in hell?" You need to flip that question around, "Why won't I burn in hell since I'm so sinful?" It's because God is merciful. And it's so nice that people associate being a Christian with having brain damage, cause that makes logical sense!!! You all say the Bible doesn't make sense, it's not historically accurate, etc. Evolution is what doesn't make sense. How is it that I still have 2 arms and 2 legs? If I could evolve I'd have at least 4 arms and 4 legs to move faster and get more stuff done. How is it that I still have an appendix? The only thing an appendix can do is kill you. Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. And people have even been born without one, which, if evolution were true, should have been passed down because it's a useful "mutation". And those charts of humans going from hunched over "apes" to upright humans needs to be flipped around. When a man is over 800 years old, as the Bible says, he is going to be extremely hunched over. Whereas a man who's only 50-100 years old when he dies is still going to be upright.
And then you all wonder why Christians are slow to accept others beliefs and generally don't accept them. It's because those same people don't accept Christianity, they just attack it. It's a two-way street. If people accept and respect my beliefs as a Christian, I do the same in regards to their beliefs. But once you start attacking me and my beliefs, it's going to be a fight and I'm not going to back down.
And you all are calling Christianity the "dominant" religion. Well, that's not entirely true. Sure, 75% of Americans say they are Christian, but does that truly make them Christian. No. I've heard as little as 4% of my generation are Christians. So to say Christianity is the "dominant" religion would not necessarily be a true statement, esp considering almost all the comments on this blog post are anti-Christianity.
I agree with you that most people that say they are Christian are truely not Christians. However, it is hard to believe that you just debunked the "theory" of evolution. Your examples were not legitimate reasons why the theory of evolution is not true. If the human race had four legs it would be quite difficult to walk, and isn't really necessary that humans have four legs and four arms. second it takes millions of years for evolution to occur if some poeple are now being born without an appendix then perhaps in a couple 100,000 years all humans will be born without an appendix. Second animals evolve out of its environment, and our environment has not yet deemed it necessary to be born with eight limbs.
Your chart flipping is also irrelvant and not a warrant to disprove the theory of evolution. Infact the theory of evolution has been proven true over years of scientific research.
Don't you just love people who prove your point? I ask a simple question, "Why do people attack Christianity?" and within 24 hours I get 13 comments bashing me personally and Christianity.
...your blog was a perfect example of the very lack of rationality combined with the excessive judgementalism that pisses off so many people where the subject of christianity is concerned.
TTFN,
Blackout
-------------------------
"Vi Veri Vniversum Vivus Vici." ~ V.
But excessive judgmentalism isn't bad - it just makes people mad. There's nothing wrong with telling someone flat out, "You're wrong. Period." And besides, who says that Christianity is unrational? It goes against what we hold true as a society, but that doesn't mean it's unlogical. Communism is such a good form of government, on papaer, but when you try to actually have communism, it falls apart. Not because it's unrational, but because people are unrational.
Read and comment as you like....http://www.progressiveu.org/blog/starving-musician
But excessive judgmentalism isn't bad -
That's certainly debatable...
it just makes people mad.
Speaking to the original point of the blog, when you engage in an activity that you KNOW will make people mad, you shouldn't be surprised when those people turn around and "attack" you.
There's nothing wrong with telling someone flat out, "You're wrong. Period."
There is if you want people to actually respect your opinions. Taking this stance pretty much precludes you from the possibility of having a "friendly" disagreement.
And besides, who says that Christianity is unrational? It goes against what we hold true as a society, but that doesn't mean it's unlogical.
Christianity is illogical because one must engage in a logical fallacy (known as "begging the question") in order to believe in it.
TTFN,
Blackout
-------------------------
"Vi Veri Vniversum Vivus Vici." ~ V.
True - one must accept the hard truth that he is sinful and wrong in front of the God of the universe. One must accept, by faith alone, that God saved all of humanity by sending His only Son as a perfect sacrifice.
These things are not hard to accept unless you're totally against everything that Christianity stands for (forgiveness, grace, redemption, truth...)
Read and comment as you like....http://www.progressiveu.org/blog/starving-musician
True - one must accept the hard truth that he is sinful and wrong in front of the God of the universe. One must accept, by faith alone, that God saved all of humanity by sending His only Son as a perfect sacrifice.
How can it be a "hard truth" if that "truth" is only supported by subjective opinion? What you're saying sounds like double-think to me.
These things are not hard to accept unless you're totally against everything that Christianity stands for (forgiveness, grace, redemption, truth...)
I think you are forgetting some ot the other things that christianity "stands for"...fear, religious intolerance, the subservience of women, anti-gay bigotry, forced conversions, etc. I would also say that you would have a hard time defending the idea that christiantiy stands for "truth," when the core premise of the religion is the unquestioning acceptance of subjective assertions. To me, it doesn't seem difficult at all to reject a religion whose holy texts says rather specifically that I should be killed.
TTFN,
Blackout.
-------------------------
Check out Progressive PRIDE, a Gay-Straight Alliance for the Progressive U community.
Well, I believe you might try to cheer up a bit, the comments you received upon your questions, weren’t all that bad and well brought.
Try to pounder it a bit, by imagining yourself to be a non believer while reading the comments.
Since you are already peaking out of the box, why not try to imagine yourself to be out of it!
Don’t take it personal, read between the lines!
http://www.wowzone.com/monkey.htm
Please use the reply button. And, answering your question does require (unless we want to not really say anything) that we point out our reasons.
"Don't blame me. I voted for Kodos."
Homer Simpson
Don't you just love people who prove your point? I ask a simple question, "Why do people attack Christianity?" and within 24 hours I get 13 comments bashing me personally and Christianity. What a surprise!
Er ... duh? What did you expect? You were asking why it is that people attack Christianity ... did you expect people to tell you they don't??
Being one of the more vocal attackers of Christianity I tried to tell you why. It is because it seems to promote REALLY poor thought. And since you were the one to ask ... who better to use examples from to demonstrate that.
Unfortunately, you seem to have missed the point and you haven't addressed the poor thought examples. You have though come up with more poor thought.
Anyways, most of you view Christianity the wrong way. You ask questions like, "If God is so merciful, why do you say I'm going to burn in hell?" You need to flip that question around, "Why won't I burn in hell since I'm so sinful?"
I don't know about you, but I haven't done anything so bad as to warrant an eternity burning in hell. OK, I lied ... I do know about you --- You haven't done anything that warrants an eternity in hell either. I can say this because NOBODY has or ever could do anything that warrants an eternity of punishment. Suppose that some time in the future there came to be someone who would make Hitler look like a saint. Suppose that he caused a trillion people to each suffer a trillion years worth of agonizing suffering. I think that anybody with a brain would say that is more suffering than any person could possibly cause. But for the sake of argument let's say there was a person who was capable of doing that.
That would be 1024 years of suffering he caused. Surely he would deserve hell --- unless (you might say) the moment before he died he realized his mistake, repented, and accepted Jesus as his personal savior ... in that case he would deserve paradise along with any other believer no matter what he had done. But for the sake of this argument let's assume he was an unrepentant scumbag and did go to hell. Eternity is a long time. After 1024 years burning in hell he all by himself would have undergone as much suffering as he had caused. And ... let's see ... give or take a couple of years, he still has ETERNITY to go. At some point the suffering that our scumbag is undergoing becomes out of proportion to the sin that he committed.
Another way to look at it is ... punishment is supposed to be an impetus to change one's bad behavior. ETERNAL punishment cannot do that, can it? The scumbag will never have a chance become better off for having suffered.
It's because God is merciful.
Were your God to exist, then the best you could say is that he is merciful to those who believes the way he wants them too. How much sense does that make?? He gives us free will because he values us having the option to believe other than he wants; but he sends us to eternal torture if we actually use it that way.
And it's so nice that people associate being a Christian with having brain damage, cause that makes logical sense!!!
Oooh, oooh ... that would be me. I said it. I am so happy you actually read it.
Guess what ... I stand by it. Since you seem to be unable to follow the logic let me spell it out for you:
(1) The brain is an organ for thinking.
(2) If a person doesn't think well then the brain is not working well.
(3) If the brain is not working well then it is by definition damaged.
(4) The arguments that you and other Christians give are not well thought out.
(5) Therefore with respect to religion ... Christians are brain damaged.
You all say the Bible doesn't make sense, it's not historically accurate, etc. Evolution is what doesn't make sense. How is it that I still have 2 arms and 2 legs? If I could evolve I'd have at least 4 arms and 4 legs to move faster and get more stuff done. How is it that I still have an appendix? The only thing an appendix can do is kill you. Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. And people have even been born without one, which, if evolution were true, should have been passed down because it's a useful "mutation". And those charts of humans going from hunched over "apes" to upright humans needs to be flipped around. When a man is over 800 years old, as the Bible says, he is going to be extremely hunched over. Whereas a man who's only 50-100 years old when he dies is still going to be upright.
:yikes: Now there's a well thought out argument if I've ever seen one :ouch!: [/sarcasm]
... what the hell, I've got a few extra minutes.
(1) You still have 2 arms and 2 legs because you are human and you haven't lost any. Individuals do not evolve. Populations evolve. The reason the human species has 2 arms and 2 legs instead of 4 arms and 4 legs is because:
(a) it is not clear that 4 arms and 4 legs would be advantageous.
(b) to develop that would probably require a multiple mutations in developmental genes all at once such that it could never happen. Generally novel structures come from modification of pre-existing structures in small steps.
(2) You still have an appendix because you evolved from an ancestor that was herbivorous. That ancestor had a CECUM. A cecum is an extension of the large intestine that occurs at the iliocecal junction. It is a place that harbors bacteria that break down cellulose (the normally undigestible fiber of plant material). For Herbivores this adaptation allows them to obtain carbohydrates that would otherwise pass through undigested. The price the herbivore pays for this is that the cecum being a blind sac can easily become infected. To offset this the intestine has its own immune tissue, called GALT (Gut-Associated Lymphatic Tissue). One can show the existence of these histologically by staining the cells with special dyes. What one gets is small areas of GALT showing up in the intestine. These small areas are called PEYER'S PATCHES. Thus, Peyer's patches are there to help fight infection.
We do not need a cecum to obtain carbohydrates from our foods in sufficient quantities. Having one would take away resources to maintain it without getting anything in return. However, our ancestors had the genes to make it and we got our genes from them. Since evolution cannot spot an optimal solution (natural selection has no foresight) it only looks for better solutions (better than what we had before). The course evolution took in us was to reduce the size of the cecum into a remnant.
Interestingly, everything in the appendix has been reduced in size EXCEPT the GALT. The appendix contains all the Peyer's Patches normally found in a full sized cecum. This is done to try to keep it from getting infected, and even then it still does. Unfortunately we find ourselves at a bottleneck. The lumen (the hole in the center) of the appendix is at its smallest size that allows fiber to enter and clean it out. If we reduce the size any more then the appendix will become even MORE likely to get infected. So any mutation making the appendix bigger is selected against, and so is any mutation making the appendix smaller. Of course it would be best if we didn't have one. But NOT having one is something that would be obvious to an intelligent designer, but it is something that a blind process like natural selection could never foresee. So the fact that we have an appendix at all is strong evidence FOR evolution and strong evidence AGAINST an intelligent designer.
(3) As for ape to human evolution ... go here and take the creationist fossil challenge. It is a set of skulls. The skull labelled A is a modern chimpanzee skull. The skull labelled N is a modern human skull. The skulls in between (B thru M) are arranged in order of their fossil dating, oldest to most recent. Answer the following questions:
(A) Where do ape skulls end and human ones begin?
(B) What criterion did you use to make your selection?
(C) If you can't tell then why is this not a great example of transitional fossils showing that humans did evolve from ape-like ancestors?
And then you all wonder why Christians are slow to accept others beliefs and generally don't accept them.
oooh, oooh, that's NOT me. I'm not asking you to accept my beliefs. I'm asking you to judge the evidence.
It's because those same people don't accept Christianity, they just attack it.
Hey, you believe God exists. I believe he doesn't. We can't be both right. I just think that all the rational evidence is on my side.
It's a two-way street. If people accept and respect my beliefs as a Christian, I do the same in regards to their beliefs.
Bullshit! No you don't and you know it. You think everybody else is going to hell. If you think that then how can you accept their beliefs?
But once you start attacking me and my beliefs, it's going to be a fight and I'm not going to back down.
First of all, I think you have intentionally damaged your brain with your religion. I pity you. Second of all, the only weapon I am fighting with is reason. If you want to fight back using that, then I would applaud you for it. But instead you "fight" with denial and hurt indignation. That's not fighting ... that's holding your hands over your ears saying "NAH NAH NAH, I CAN'T HEAR YOU"
And you all are calling Christianity the "dominant" religion. Well, that's not entirely true. Sure, 75% of Americans say they are Christian, but does that truly make them Christian. No. I've heard as little as 4% of my generation are Christians. So to say Christianity is the "dominant" religion would not necessarily be a true statement, esp considering almost all the comments on this blog post are anti-Christianity.
Ahh ... the "no true Scotsman" fallacy. It always plays well like a fine whine (spelling error is intentional).
IAN: No Scotsman eats quiche.
BOB: I have a friend, Angus McTaggart. He's Scotch. He loves quiche.
IAN: Well ... No TRUE Scotsman eats quiche
So who are you to determine who is and who isn't a Christian? I would be willing to bet big bucks that YOU would be included in the No TRUE Christian group by some Christians. So what makes you think you are right and they are wrong?
Cheers,
DB
===
If a million people say a foolish thing, it is still a foolish thing. - Anatole France
Ooh, wow. You can use big words to appear smart. That's great.
And I can accept other peoples beliefs while still believing they're going to hell. If they want to believe something else and have no interest in Christianity, fine it's their choice. That's where free-will comes in. God created us to love Him and so that He could love us. However, you can't force someone to love you because then it's not love. Hence, the free-will.
And God is perfect, which is why that unless humans confess they're sins they'll go to hell. It doesn't matter how big the sin is, sin is not perfection. It taints perfection, making it impure and God won't stand for that. That is why it's either heaven or hell.
And I'm soooo sorry for using all that "poor thought" called the Gospel. Maybe you should try thinking as opposed to spewing all the crap you learned in schools about evolution. All you've said are arguments that I've heard a million times over.
Well, maybe it’s about time to learn and listen, or listen and learn!
I’m sure more advise will follow soon!
Like I said before, try to cheer up a bit, you’re like right in our faces now!
http://www.wowzone.com/monkey.htm
Wow. Sarcasm. That's original.
While sarcasm may be fun for you to write, it is generally not really an effective means of persuading someone who doesn't already agree with you.
"What a crazy random happenstance!"
Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog
Read my Blog!
More NAH, NAH, NAH, I CAN'T HEAR YOU!!!
First an important point. You were the one that made a bunch of asinine statements concerning evolution. I think anybody reading them even with little to no background in biology would know they were ridiculous. Nobody felt FORCED to respond to those. But I did respond, and I responded to every point you mad, and I gave you the evidence for it. Your response ... "All you've said are arguments that I've heard a million times over". You actually have the balls to say I'M the one who is refusing to think ... :yikes: That denial of reality IS brain damage ... seriously.
Now back to the fun stuff. Let's look at a couple of assertions you have made above:
So he NEVER shows himself or gives us any conclusive evidence that he even exists. And if we decide not to love that which we think doesn't exist, he will send us to swim in a burning lake for eternity. Some love.
My guess is that you are biblidolator (a person who thinks that the bible is God's inerrant word and that word should be taken literally). So I'm guessing that you think the Noah story is historical.
If it is then your "perfect" God made something that was so fucked up, he decided to destroy it all except for 8 people and a pair of all animals (except one version of the story allows for 7 pairs of the clean ones). Now besides showing that he not such a good creator, it shows him to be ultra psychotic as well. If the Noah story is true then your God makes Osama Bin Laden, Adolf Hitler, Josef Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot, and whatever other asswipe from history you may want to name look like Mohatma Gandhi by comparison. If the Noah story is historical, your God is the biggest terrorist of all time ... past, present, and I dare say future.
So much for you "perfect" God.
Cheers,
DB
===
If a million people say a foolish thing, it is still a foolish thing. - Anatole France
Your link doesn't work.
"Don't blame me. I voted for Kodos."
Homer Simpson
Should now.
~C
Check out the latest entry in the Between The Lines column!
Want the highest rated list to change? RATE those blogs, then!
As a society, we know more about Christianity than any other religion. It's easier to take something you know about and make arguments for or against it.
Living is easy with eyes closed, misunderstanding all you see.
First off if by "non-Christians" do you mean Atheist? Because if so, they don't only pick on Christians, they tend to pick on organized religion, and Christians are the ones who fight back. This leads me to my second point, why not pick on Christians? I know that when I pick on my younger sister it is only to gat a rise out of her. As soon as she stops reacting to me, I stop picking on her because the fun is over. Stop reacting and whining and maybe they will stop picking on us. Thats right I said us, I too am a Christian, but it really doesn't bother me when people bash my beliefs. To find out more about my beliefs visit my earlier post Christians Are Stupid, I Am One Of Them.
Do understand
In life, we are all programmed to a certain level and extent.
This only, keeps us alive and harms us from jumping of buildings or cross fifth avenue while reading a page message on our mobile.
It all boils down to common sense which we need in order to survive the obstacles which lay ahead during the course of our lives.
Well, what does that mean in a deeper sense of it all?
We require a common sense to understand education, whether it’s parental or school wise doesn’t necessarily fit in all the gap’s! Gap’s which bring confusion in understanding the bigger picture which concerns each and every individual upon this planet.
Those gap’s are defined by one thing only! I !Our personal belief system which we use to define one thing from the other, whether we define a stone from another by its shape or a person from another by the projection of one’s thoughts is the way we are in our personal reality.
A newborn child is amazing!
Because it doesn’t carry an ego or own opinion whatsoever, there is no gap to be found in its belief system because it beliefs everything which taking place in it’s surroundings.
Even an illusion created upon a stage of a (clown)magician is real for a child, the amazement it creates upon its face is not because of not knowing how the trick is being performed, but the first experience of seeing something which overwhelms his own talent and imagination!
It inspires…
Which brings us right where we have to be in this blog you wrote!
The ? with individuals who inspire others is simple, they draw attention, the same way Jesus drew attention. To be honest, I don’t know much about Jesus! Still, I understand why he got nailed against a cross, I also understand why he might having chosen to allow this to happen! I also understand why the book created around his figure has gained popularity!
I also understand why you are feeling the way you do!
I understand why you have lost your temper inside this blog!
I also understand you are a good person!
I understand the reason why this blog came to live was no other than to wake people up, because deep inside your true self, you want to help!
Regardless of what people might refer you to be, you are already, because you are being acknowledge to be, otherwise we wouldn’t have this conversation.
Your main problem right now is only one thing, still it is very important!
Support!
You are playing a game of football while you’re facing a whole team handling You alone on the field!
Your alone on the field while already presuming everyone is against you being there!
You want and like to score a point, only to prove your point!
Why is it no other worshipper is around to manifest and support your presence upon the field?
You did read what was coming your way, still, you read it in a way which allowed you no other emotion to express but negativity.
You didn’t even touch the ball, and it’s eating you from the inside out!
You’re attracting what you hate in life!
All this because you don’t receive any support from (other) worshippers who are reading your struggle from the side line, as we speak!
How come?
Don’t you speak the truth?
What does it take one to make or create truth other than the one you are willing to believe or accept?
It’s important to gain understanding about how to proceed in order to survive a shower of personal disbelief, many persons amongst those you are talking in the face, carry life experiences which surpass your personal reality, meaning, life is not necessarily what you see or read in a book!
I will bring you an understanding to know, most people only read what they want to hear, while many you face have read and probably experienced life changing moments while still around and alive to share when it’s appropriate.
Life changing I is mind changing eye, or the other way around!
This isn’t a fight, if you would take the time to read it all over (your blog and comments), while skipping to try to score, you might realize, no one is trying to prove you wrong, while only trying to give some meaning to the doubt you carry inside!
Some comments might have been a bit harsh, well, don’t try to push so many buttons!
The confusion, is the pain you build inside, because you can’t let go of it!
People who don’t worship are not necessarily the enemy, while whI Need everybody inside a dogma?
What is that other than rape of one’s freewill!
If you could change your tone, you would learn so much more while surely become rapidly more happy than the way you are now.
I amazed you didn’t get any support, I don’t wonder why,...
Seriously, cheer up!
http://www.wowzone.com/monkey.htm
http://www.drjoedispenza.com/
http://www.wowzone.com/monkey.htm
"I have witnessed about 7 circumcisions and they made me feel quite ill.", said a blogger...
Were they Catholics?.. Did you happen to witness what the nun and priest do to the baby just after circumcision?.. It took a lot of depth memory exploration for me to finally see the memories of what the nun and priest did to me behind a locked door... They held a frightening grotesque porcelain wall plaque in front of me of their "chopped-out christ's sacred heart with a wreath of bleeding thorns", then the nun applied an anesthetic soaked bit of gauze on my extremely painful freshly skinned penis, and they covered my head with a piece of thin cloth, but a wrinkle let me see some of what they were doing... The priest bent over me, removed the gauze, and pressed his lips over my penis a moment, then reapplied the gauze... THAT'S how they infect a baby with their cosmic worm, "Opus-d Virus"... THOSE CATHOLICS ARE TOTALLY ABSOLUTELY INSANE EVIL, doing those vile things to millions of our babies all around the world, to perpetuate their insane fagot religion money-sucking/penis-sucking scam...
Those EVIL DEMONS should NOT be permitted to get even Near Our Precious Babies...
WAKE UP WORLD! THOSE VILE DEMONS ARE SEXUALLY MOLESTING YOUR BABIES in hospitals... No wonder humanity has gone Insane, and is trying to make peace with wars... Christianity is a Mind-Disease...
I believe topics like these are better to be addressed with own experiences and opinions.
One of the main reasons why circumcision is popular amongst religious structures is trauma.
The traumatizing experience a newborn goes trough during circumcision, inflicts large amounts of stress and fear upon the mind state of the one enduring it.
To inflict fear is and has always been a basic tool of any religious structure to get control over one’s mind.
Fear fragments the mind, whenever we deal with trauma, our mind get’s fragmented! On a personal level it allows us (our mind) to deal or overcome the trauma ones things get back to normal after the events lived.
Depending on what we are been subjected to, our mind can even create like a black out of those event’s only to protect one from becoming insane or speechless.
Still, one might not recall but the data is and will always remain present in the subconscious.
Whenever the mind fragments in order to create a trauma box, our mind is facing a challenge, this challenge is to figure out and be alert to whatever might case a similar trauma present itself over again, depending of the previous trauma form or situation, one can become conditioned in more than one way. On a social and personal level, this is bad news!
This is mostly were doctrine gains it power, because it can trigger actions in order to bring an emotion back to life, while the subject has or cannot relate to the deeper meaning of its mind state.
Manny amongst us in society suffer from effects that are related to trauma, that’s why so many are insane in the brain!
Video games are working on the same principals used by religious doctrine, to shape and create a mind (box) within a mind (box) which remains dormant until it gets triggered.
Like religion, one video game isn’t necessarily the other!
This may all sound weird, but to believe what’s written in a manmade bestseller while letting it control every aspect of your life, is something else!
People should learn to reboot their brain, but that’s another topic! lol
http://www.wowzone.com/monkey.htm
There is no need for this, it hurts while it picture’s a negative truth which might maybe not be who you really are.
If it does reflect truth, I feel sorry for you.
We have a fantastic edit button at our disposal below, use it wisely!
Thank Q for understanding,
http://www.wowzone.com/monkey.htm
Like I said before, the entire Old Testament is about God leading the Israelites out of Egypt, into the Promised Land, and then leading them up to the coming of the Messiah (Jesus). God favored the Israelites because Abraham, the first Israelite (the only difference between an Israelite and anybody else was that Israelites were circumcised), listened to Him and wanted to seek God.
God blessed Abraham by promising him too-numerous-to-count children, and He honored the friendship He had with Abraham by favoring the Israelites. Because He favored the Israelites when they were coming out of Egypt, and because He had promised them the land of Canaan, He was going to provide them with what He had promised.
The land, however, was full of people. Like you say, men, women, children, infants, animals, everything - the land was already populated. But God had promised them that they would receive this land.
In the Sinai Desert, God provided the Law, and Moses wrote it down, now found in Leviticus. Nothing God did before that applied to the Law, but not that the Law had been given, everything would suddenly be a sin or an act of righteousness. Because the people in Canaan were sacrificing their children (burning them to death, placing them on red-hot iron, etc.), engaging in prostitution (Baal and Asherah-poles were very prominent in Canaan), and doing things that were not in line with God's Law.
While it may seem totally unfair that God kill people that didn't know about the Law, what He had done in Egypt was no secret. The Bible records other nations being afraid of Israel because of how awesome their God was in Egypt. The people had a chance to go to the Israelites, turn away from their wickedness, and become God's people, but they didn't.
Is it unfair that a bunch of children were murdered? Yes. Is it unfair that people, in general, who were not abiding by the Law given by God were killed? No - that's justice.
Read and comment as you like....http://www.progressiveu.org/blog/starving-musician
Actually, technically speaking, Abraham was not the first Israelite, because Israel (Jacob) was his grandson. All it meant was that these people were descendants of Jacob. That's what made them different.
Also, while you're right about the circumcision, the Israelites also rejected the worship of other gods (not that they didn't believe in them, as they do today, but they specifically rejected the worship of any others). They followed one god exclusively, while their contemporaries saw gods in every living thing, essentially. You'll notice there are many gods in Egypt... so too was there many gods in ancient Mesopotamia.
~C
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...but rather "was killing these people was a moral act, and does such an act justify the worship of the being who (according to the myth) perpetuated the murders?".
Based on your explanation above, I would conclude that you believe:
A) That it is okay to kill people and take their land if you think that your "god" has promised to give you their possessions.
B) That it is okay to kill the infant children of your enemies if you think that they are doing what you think your "god" wants them to do.
People who kill other people and take their land are called invaders, and people who kill innocent children in order to gain the compliance of their enemies are called terrorists.
Frankly, I find it deeply disturbing that you think that killing people who don't conform to your religious beliefs respresents "justice." If you will excuse me now, I need to go throw up.
TTFN,
Blackout
-------------------------
Check out Progressive PRIDE, a Gay-Straight Alliance for the Progressive U community.