Wind ’em up and see ’em flap their jaws. No thought necessary.
We were reading an interview with a Scotch actor whose name is not important: call him Legion. They asked him, “What makes you angry?” and he answered, “Religion!” And went on to say, like they all say, that “religion” causes all the world’s wars and every other problem you can think of, and what a paradise this world would be without it, imagine no possessions, be sure to wear a flower in your hair, etc. etc.
Completely disregarding, or else completely unaware of, the fact that communist governments, officially and aggressively atheist, murdered more people in the 20th century alone than all the world’s religions put together managed to bump off in a thousand years. Or two thousand.
Heart of stone, and head of thickest fat–does he really, truly believe in some kind of atheist utopia? What does he think it would be like–a theme park for sex, drugs, and not having to pay for things?
It’s not surprising to hear an actor from the UK say such things. It’s sort of required of them. But I would like to know where they get it in the first place. From their parents? Their schools? What they see and hear on television, growing up? Is there someone who sits down and teaches them how to be morons?
It takes a special kind of stupidity not to see the camps, the barbed wire, the piles of dead bodies strewn in communism’s wake.
It is true that Christians throughout Western history have not been good Christians. It was not Our Lord Jesus Christ who told us to launch the Thirty Years’ War. We have not obeyed the word of God. That doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with God’s laws. No one proposes to discard man’s laws because criminals break the law. Although I can easily imagine a leftid coming up with that.
Christianity–and even, to a certain extent, other religions–seeks to restrain the ferocious evil that dwells in the human heart.
Atheism’s habit is to turn it loose.
Mao and Stalin, Pol Pot and Castro–you could look it up.
It’s quite noteworthy that you isolate the problem. It is not the beliefs of Christianity which causes the problems, its disobeying those beliefs. Sadly, some have become confused and come to believe that since they identify as Christians their works are, by default righteous.
For this reason, there have been instances in history where people have used Christianity as an excuse for misdeeds. (“Yep, we killed all them natives, but they was heathans and deserved all they got”) Such reasoning defames the very name of Christianity and stains it in the minds of onloookers.
However, the absolute greatest example of Christian behavior would be Jesus. He treated people respectfully, with the exception of religious leaders whom had perverted the law. Jesus was kind to the lowly and downtrodden. Most notably, there was the co versation with the Samaritan woman at the well.
The best description I ever heard of Samaritans, is that they were a hated minority. In Jesus day, women were not treated respectfully by many people. Combine these and her social status in Israel would have been exceptionally low. Nonetheless, our Lord Jesus spoke to her respectfully and as an equal. That is true Christianity in practice.
The other thing that jumps out to me with regard to the Scottish actor is that he is conflating religion with belief. They are not the same thing. When I use the term religion, I am speaking of denominational religion where one denomination claims its understanding of matters to be correct and views those whom believe differently as being unenlightened, possibly even condemned.
I am opposed to any such practice. While I understand the need to have a set of beliefs, i would not go so far as to say that my understanding of the Bible is uniquely correct. I don’t agree with every doctrine of mainstream Christian churches, but I am permitted to judge only myself and if I were to look down upon others for not agreeing with my interpretation of matters then I would be usurping Jesus’ appointed position as judge.
Once again, it is the actions taken in the name of religion which are the problem. If I adopt an unusual and nuanced set of beliefs, that is between God and I. If I use these beliefs as pretext to mistreating others, then I am simply using religion as a way of sheileding myself from responsibility for my own actions.
John 4, Jesus’ conversation with the woman of Samaria–one of my favorite chapters in the Bible.
It was obviously included for good reason. The One whom inspired the Bible was able to anticipate our needs and made certain that of all Jesus’ works, the most important object lessons were included.
One that comes to mind is the fellow that hired a bunch of workers earlier in the day, more towards midday and even some late in the day, but paid them all the same. That might be useful to remember when we see people accept Christ at the last minute and see that they are granted salvation, the same as if the had served for decades.
For an excellent analysis of this, see John MacArthur’s book on Jesus’ parables.
Its pretty naive to think that without religion there wouldn’t be any conflict. As you pointed out Lee, more people have died by the hands of government than any religion. In truth everyone has a religion, which is really just a worldview. As for people who have done the wrong things in the name of Christianity, its more important to see what God’s Word has to say about it.
Could this be an underlying message when Jesus told the disciples to fish out of the right side of the boat? The further to the left, the further from God.
Yet we are currently engaged in a war on terrorism with a faction of some religion that interprets in their own way their own gospel of bringing death to anyone not believing in what they believe in. In fact, this same religion was the subject of another religion’s punitive wars back in Medieval times. While religion itself has not been the sole reason for humanity’s discourse within itself… religion’s total contribution to man has not been entirely stellar either. I’d not be too hasty to dismiss “Legion’s” remark as simple atheism at work. Religion does bear some responsibility…. albeit not entirely.