the next time someone tells you "both parties are the s

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Modern massacres in the name of Christianity (within the last 30 or so years).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabra_and_Shatila_massacre

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greysteel_massacre

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rwandan_Genocide

Studies have proven that Atheists understand what is written in the bible than most Christians. Atheists definitely know more about about religion than the large percentage of Christians. That tells you how tolerant Christians are about other religions. I can turn on any on the dozen or so Christian broadcasting networks on local cable and routinely catch them telling lies about other religions in order to instiill fear on their listeners. To scare people into conforming. I live in a family full of Christians and they can not even tell me what is in the Bible beyond maybe 5 passages. I regularly quote verses from the Bible to them and listen as they try to "reinterpret" what I have said. Most Christians are like that. Only want to believe the parts of the Bible that are convenient to them. Otherwise the Bible is just an excuse for them to do what they want and then say God will forgive them, while they don't think God will forgive anyone else who disagrees with them. If you want to be respected as Christians, then you need to behave as Christians and stop reinterpreting gospel to meet your narrative. I'm sorry that it is inconvenient for people who disagree with you to understand the lies of Fox news and the hypocrisy of the Bible better than you do. If we do not do that you will continue with things like telling the lie that Christians are being persecuted.

Christians persecuted in North Korea? Hell North Korea is an equal opportunity discrimination state. They discriminate against everyone. Meanwhile, in South Korea, Christian groups burn and vandalize historical Buddhist landmarks and Temples. Korean Christians in the United States teach that Buddhists are devil worshippers.

The Bible is not always an easy book, but most supposed "contradictions" can be explained by looking at the individual context of the verse in question. For example, one account of Jesus' resurrection says a single angel greeted the women at His tomb, while another account says two were present. There's a few different possibilities, such as only one of them speaking or both sharing the same message. Nonbelievers always want to say that God is cruel, but they never provide an absolute source for such moral comparisons. The fact of the matter is that God owes no one anything, beyond the promises He's already made. That goes completely against our selfish egos, which shows how fallen we truly are. I think the #1 thing most atheists hate about Christianity is the notion that we're made in God's image...because if that's true, then we're accountable to Him, not the other way around.

Amen!

Erm, a bunch of Christians with a persecution complex do not an oppressed minority make, my friend.
That poll is functionally meaningless in terms of an argument against what he said, because it just reports what these uber-Christians believe is going on, it doesn't have any evidentiary link whatsoever to the actuality of the situation, which is what the discussion was about.

In fact, all that poll does is reinforce the argument that Christians believe they are being persecuted and attacked by Atheists when that's clearly just not the case, and there's no real evidence to back up such a stance.
If there was, you can bet the right wing would be crowing it to heaven on the 24/7 networks for months.
Shocker:
Poll of delusional people who believe in fairy tales shows widespread delusional persecution complex regarding those who don't believe in fairy tales.

FFS.

Christianity as an organization? Absolutely.



Absolutely not.

As opposed to how many Christians preach religious freedom until it comes to anyone who isn't one?

And all across sub-saharan Africa, christians persecute all non-christians.

How about the vast amjority of the Old Testament? Genocide, slavery, raping and pillaging, violent takeover and persecution of others' nations, plagues, fiery destruction, extermination of the entire world, executions for the most petty offenses. The atrocities in the Old Testament put Atilla the Hun, Ghengis Khan, Stalin, and Hitler to shame. Exactly what comparisons are you looking for?



As an atheist, what I ahte about Christianity (as a religion) is the notion that we're made in God's image...because if that's true, God is most definitely not some all knowing, all seeing, benevolent, merciful god of love.

A close second is that Christianity is all too often used as a justification for treating anyone different as a sub-human.

They are real harsh about children making fun of old bald dudes.

The Rwandan genocide was a consequence of the Rwandan civil war and had nothing to do with religion. The Sabra and Shatila massacre is comparable to the Jonestown massacre--which happened (among others) in the name of atheism.

Actually, no. A lot of Zanu-PF members are non-religious, for instance.

Depends on who's study it was, which Christians, and which atheists we're talking about.


I wouldnt go that far. But hey, if you've got a "study" proving otherwise then that must be the be-all and end-all of all Christian vs. atheist discussion.


I think I stated that clearly enough.



Nice to see that some people have the inclination to watch and/or listen to that much Christian broadcasting.


Just about every practicing Christian I've ever known is very well versed on the contents of the bible. I really can't think of any exceptions to that.


I'm on the Christian side of the Christian/atheist wall, not a practicing Christian (churchgoer). How Christians should behave is determined by each denomination.


No, you're telling me anything has no persuasive affect at all. If anything, it would tempt me to start watching Fox and conservative talk shows just so I could start pointless threads with the intent of starting flame wars (i.e. trolling) like some liberals do on a regular basis......

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christianity_in_Africa#Current_status



http://www.usnews.com/opinion/blogs/world-report/2014/02/27/religious-violence-is-out-of-control-in-the-central-african-republic
http://religioninafrica.com/terrorism-fans-hatred-between-africas-religions/
http://www.progress.org/tpr/even-children-face-christian-violence-in-uganda/
http://www.frontpageafricaonline.com/old/op-ed-editorial/commentary/5609-the-call-for-liberia-to-be-a-christian-state-has-no-constitutional-backing.pdf
http://newskenya.co.ke/news/latest/east-african/growing-christian-radicalism-from-alms-to-arms/dln2v.425390
http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=43521
http://rainbowethiopia1.net/2013/08/14/western-christian-extremists-backed-anti-gay-forces-seek-action-against-anti-hiv-and-stigma-group-in-ethiopia/
http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/breakfast/witch-children/3127376
http://moneyinafrica.com/news/news_region/central_africa_news/christian-militias-invade-second-city-in-c-africa/
http://wildhunt.org/2011/03/did-missionaries-trigger-the-witch-hunts.html

What I'm saying is you can't lump all those tragedies together, and blame them on God, because the text never says He approves of or desires such things. Every massive tragedy in the Old Testament had a set pattern; God would first confront those who hated Him, either directly or through a prophet. He would offer them a choice, to either abandon their evil ways and repent, or suffer His wrath (which, as the sole Creator, He has every right to). Secondly, he would allow a "grace period" to pass, sometimes issuing repeated warnings (like the plagues in Egypt) as reminders of the full consequences. The final outcome would result from the actions and desires of God's enemies and what they wanted, not His. Many times in both testaments, God stresses He takes no joy whatsoever in the destruction of the wicked...but as a pure and holy judge, he can not allow unrepentant sin to continue forever.

You're making one crucial error, in assuming our present state reflects how we were originally created. Humanity was pure in Eden; we were capable of sin, but we didn't have an inner desire to chase after it. Without external temptation, I think we never would've fallen...but our love for God would've been one-dimensional. In order to fully resist temptation, we have to keep God as our constant source of strength. The Creator is always stronger than the created, and we are the latter.

While its true that some who claim to follow Christ treat people that way, its not a fact for all of us, and Jesus Himself never did. Condemning a belief system because of its adherents is always a mistake; the moral judgment should be based on that belief's founder, and how they lived. Jesus loves all people, but He is not soft where sin is concerned. There has to be a set standard for human behavior that applies equally to all, and never changes. Otherwise, nothing is ever 100% right or wrong for any of us.