Christianity colonized Judaism theologically, taking over its central theological concepts of the Messiah, eschatology, apocalypticism, election, and Israel, as well as its scriptures its prophets, and even its God, and denying the continued validity of those ideas for Judaism. Indeed, no other major world religion has colonized the central religious teachings and scriptures of another faith and then denied the continued validity of the other, insisting that its own interpretations are exclusive truth. Through the Christian doctrine of supersessionism, Judaism came to function in Christian theology as the other whose negation confirms and even constitutes Christianity.
No, it doesn’t. To the extent it shaped Western culture, it did so by contributing the irrational and malignant parts; misogyny, genocidal intolerance and conquest, rejection of logic and facts, homophobia, innumerable other evils. Western culture has advanced largely by ignoring or rejecting Christianity.
Christianity by its worldwide conquests and cultural imperialism has probably permanently damaged human culture, I’ll give you that; made it into something dedicated to a hatred of enjoying life, and the hatred of happiness in anything other than the enjoyment of cruelty and tyranny. Christianity has twisted the world into something worse wherever it has touched.
Oh you’ve been no trouble. After all, we’re not the ones getting mad because our ill-considered arguments fell apart at the slightest touch.
You want to be a Christian? Be a Christian. Most of us are fine with that (I mean, there’s always a few hardcore antireligionists anywhere you go).
You want to put forth silly, snide and unjustifiably self-righteous justifications for why Christianity is the bestest religion? Then maybe this board isn’t the best place for you because while faith is personal, weak arguments are self-evidently bad and you’ll get called on them.
As an atheist, I’ve met enough Christians to know not to make sweeping generalizations like, “When I meet a Christian who isn’t a whining, butt-hurt hypocrite, I’ll start taking them seriously.” Instead, I make an effort to distinguish my beef with an individual from the philosophy they share with millions of other people, the vast majority of whom intend me no harm at all.
Which is why, instead, I’ll say: When you, Ulfreida, stop being a whining, butt-hurt hypocrite, I’ll start taking you seriously.
Recently I’ve been getting reels in my FB feed from Hitchens, Dawkins, Frye, and other well spoken atheists. Their positions are so clear and common sensical, that it is hard to imagine why anyone would believe in anything other than the weakest “god of the gaps.” I’ve been atheist for over 5 decades, but I have realized that exposure to these pithy arguments has made me even more critical and dismissive of religions belief and religion than previously. But, not wanting to be a jerk, I want to restrain myself from saying that in situations where I would be unnecessarily critical of people I care for.
Thought this as good a place as any to brag on my grandkid. She just started kindergarten. Got a text from my kid saying they were being taught the Pledge of Allegiance. My grandkid felt the need to tell her teacher/class,
“There is a god part in it. Gods aren’t real but humans are. But I think they have the god part there because people make statues of gods. But gods aren’t real.”
My daughter says she expects to get a call from the school….
Casa Dinsdale - proudly raising Atheists for 3 generations!
