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Showing posts with label apologetics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label apologetics. Show all posts
12.07.2007
7.18.2007
Safe Atheists?
The worst thing about atheism is that it isn't true.
The worst thing about Christianity is real and fake Christians that are hypocrites. Those folks, myself included to some extent, have done some dastardly deeds of evil.
There are some really nice, kind atheists out there. And there are some nasty "Christians." We've probably each met some of both. And certainly, from my perspective, those who claim to be followers of Christ and His Word will be held to a higher standard.
However, it has become popular to decry the "dangers of institutionalized religion" and talk as if religion, especially Christianity, is the sum of all evil. The assumption therein is that it is the objective atheists who hold the answer to peace and harmony.
Here's the historical fact as far as I can tell: the worst of what Christians have done cannot compare with evils of institutionalized atheism, and the blessings of the Church on societies around the globe cannot be overshadowed by any other movement, especially atheism.
Consider just this: The Black Book of Communism: Crimes, Terror, Repression (click here for a review), published by Harvard University, reports the death toll at the hands of communist (atheist by definition) institutions to be around 100 million people. That is almost inconceivable. Perhaps it is atheism that we ought to find dangerous...
The worst thing about Christianity is real and fake Christians that are hypocrites. Those folks, myself included to some extent, have done some dastardly deeds of evil.
There are some really nice, kind atheists out there. And there are some nasty "Christians." We've probably each met some of both. And certainly, from my perspective, those who claim to be followers of Christ and His Word will be held to a higher standard.
However, it has become popular to decry the "dangers of institutionalized religion" and talk as if religion, especially Christianity, is the sum of all evil. The assumption therein is that it is the objective atheists who hold the answer to peace and harmony.
Here's the historical fact as far as I can tell: the worst of what Christians have done cannot compare with evils of institutionalized atheism, and the blessings of the Church on societies around the globe cannot be overshadowed by any other movement, especially atheism.
Consider just this: The Black Book of Communism: Crimes, Terror, Repression (click here for a review), published by Harvard University, reports the death toll at the hands of communist (atheist by definition) institutions to be around 100 million people. That is almost inconceivable. Perhaps it is atheism that we ought to find dangerous...
Dangerous Christians?
In his June 10, 2007 Stand To Reason radio broadcast (free registration required to download - you can also podcast the show at the bottom of this page, and it is well worth the listen), Greg Koukl reports that the kitchen is getting hotter for Christians in America. For instance, there are presently more books being published against the dangers of Christianity than there are about the dangers of Islam. And as Greg says, the books aren't saying that we're wrong, "but [that] we're dangerous."
Especially considering the present moment in history, this is utterly ridiculous. It is one thing to deal with a truth claim, and it is still another to paint its adherants black to the ignorance of evidence. A collection of monstrous examples of the evils of religion does not prove that all religion, or Christianity for that matter, is false.
One example of the "new atheism" you've probably heard of is Christopher Hitchen's book, god Is Not Great; How Religion Poisons Everything. If you're looking for answers, see Stand to Reason (linked above) or the Rev. Dr. Mark D. Roberts, who also gives a strong response.
Especially considering the present moment in history, this is utterly ridiculous. It is one thing to deal with a truth claim, and it is still another to paint its adherants black to the ignorance of evidence. A collection of monstrous examples of the evils of religion does not prove that all religion, or Christianity for that matter, is false.
One example of the "new atheism" you've probably heard of is Christopher Hitchen's book, god Is Not Great; How Religion Poisons Everything. If you're looking for answers, see Stand to Reason (linked above) or the Rev. Dr. Mark D. Roberts, who also gives a strong response.
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