# Why do Christians openly worship torture-murder and practice cannabalism? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 8, 2013, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-christians-openly-worship-torture-murder-and-practice-cannabalism/649721 "2013-02-08T18:41:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2013, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-christians-openly-worship-torture-murder-and-practice-cannabalism/649721/1 "2013-02-08T18:41:58Z")
Atheist here, just curious: Why do you Christians obsess over and venerate gruesome torture-murders as the centerpiece of your beliefs, and participate in ritual cannibalism you believe is real in celebration of that belief? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2013, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-christians-openly-worship-torture-murder-and-practice-cannabalism/649721/2 "2013-02-08T18:44:37Z")
Moved to The BBQ Pit from Great Debates. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2013, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-christians-openly-worship-torture-murder-and-practice-cannabalism/649721/3 "2013-02-08T18:47:20Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Moved to The BBQ Pit from Great Debates. I respectfully object. It’s a perfectly straightforward question phrased in the exact inverse of the kind of nonsense that started the last two atheist threads. ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2013, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-christians-openly-worship-torture-murder-and-practice-cannabalism/649721/4 "2013-02-08T18:49:12Z")
So you’re unfamiliar with the concepts of “self-sacrifice” and “metaphor”? ETA: sorry if I missed the point, I haven’t read the atheist threads. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2013, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-christians-openly-worship-torture-murder-and-practice-cannabalism/649721/5 "2013-02-08T18:53:10Z")
> [@Skammer](#): > > So you’re unfamiliar with the concepts of “self-sacrifice” and “metaphor”? > > ETA: sorry if I missed the point, I haven’t read the atheist threads. They are filled with deliberate ignorance and continued misrepresentation of atheists and atheism by a couple of religionists. ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2013, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-christians-openly-worship-torture-murder-and-practice-cannabalism/649721/6 "2013-02-08T18:54:11Z")
[Obligatory XKCD.](http://xkcd.com/1152/) ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2013, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-christians-openly-worship-torture-murder-and-practice-cannabalism/649721/7 "2013-02-08T18:59:36Z")
Cause Jesus said to? Duh! ---
**Author:** ![DrCube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2013, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-christians-openly-worship-torture-murder-and-practice-cannabalism/649721/8 "2013-02-08T19:09:46Z")
> [@Skammer](#): > > So you’re unfamiliar with the concepts of “self-sacrifice” and “metaphor”? You’re right about the torture-murder (although the Catholics and Mel Gibson seem quite enthralled with the gore itself, distinct from the sacrifice). But I’m pretty sure you’re wrong about the “metaphor”. Most Christians don’t believe they’re metaphorically eating Jesus, but that they are actually partaking of his body and blood, cannibal style. Someone correct me if I’m wrong. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2013, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-christians-openly-worship-torture-murder-and-practice-cannabalism/649721/9 "2013-02-08T19:11:06Z")
> [@NitroPress](#): > > Atheist here, just curious: Why do you Christians obsess over and venerate gruesome torture-murders as the centerpiece of your beliefs, and participate in ritual cannibalism you believe is real in celebration of that belief? Why are you a troll? ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2013, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-christians-openly-worship-torture-murder-and-practice-cannabalism/649721/10 "2013-02-08T19:12:20Z")
> [@NitroPress](#): > > I respectfully object. It’s a perfectly straightforward question phrased in the exact inverse of the kind of nonsense that started the last two atheist threads. Right. And parody threads belong in the Pit. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2013, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-christians-openly-worship-torture-murder-and-practice-cannabalism/649721/11 "2013-02-08T19:13:16Z")
> [@DrCube](#): > > You’re right about the torture-murder (although the Catholics and Mel Gibson seem quite enthralled with the gore itself, distinct from the sacrifice). > > But I’m pretty sure you’re wrong about the “metaphor”. Most Christians don’t believe they’re metaphorically eating Jesus, but that they are actually partaking of his body and blood, cannibal style. > > Someone correct me if I’m wrong. Catholicism believes in the literal body and blood, but I believe other denominations differ on this. That said, I’m not sure how many Catholics truly believed it. ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2013, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-christians-openly-worship-torture-murder-and-practice-cannabalism/649721/12 "2013-02-08T19:18:55Z")
> [@DrCube](#): > > Most Christians don’t believe they’re metaphorically eating Jesus, but that they are actually partaking of his body and blood, cannibal style. > > Someone correct me if I’m wrong. I don’t think it’s that simple. There is a huge number of different interpretations and understandings of the eucharist meal, and my understanding is that the RCC doctrine is that the elements do literally become Christ’s body and blood. But certainly very few catholics believe they are eating “real” human flesh and blood. Almost all Protestant denominations believe that partaking of the supper is done “in memory” of Jesus and is nothing more than a memorial feast of bread and wine. And there are those in the middle who believe that the elements contain Jesus’ “true presence” while still remaining bread and wine in substance. I suspect the vast majority of Christians in all traditions don’t really give the celebration that much thought one way or the other; it’s just part of the tradition and is done because Jesus asked his discipled to do it. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2013, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-christians-openly-worship-torture-murder-and-practice-cannabalism/649721/13 "2013-02-08T19:46:10Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Right. And parody threads belong in the Pit. I’m parodying nothing, merely asking a straightforward question that puzzles me and choosing to do it in the same manner as the religionists asking about atheist creationism etc. - rather tastelessly and with no regard to the sensibility of the topic. I mean, you people EAT your god-avatar? ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2013, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-christians-openly-worship-torture-murder-and-practice-cannabalism/649721/14 "2013-02-08T19:52:25Z")
> [@DrCube](#): > > Someone correct me if I’m wrong. You are wrong. Catholics do not believe that the bread physically becomes the flesh or that the wine physically becomes the blood. And almost no protestants believe in transubstantiation at all - in my Baptist upbringing the bread and wine were routinely described as metaphor. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2013, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-christians-openly-worship-torture-murder-and-practice-cannabalism/649721/15 "2013-02-08T19:59:00Z")
> [@NitroPress](#): > > I mean, you people EAT your god-avatar? There’s even a word for it; theophagy. Q: “Why hasn’t Jesus come back?” A: “He tries, but the Catholics keep eating him!” ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2013, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-christians-openly-worship-torture-murder-and-practice-cannabalism/649721/16 "2013-02-08T20:15:13Z")
It’s kinda funny watching people make arguments that were debunked in the Bible itself. And obvious troll is obvious. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2013, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-christians-openly-worship-torture-murder-and-practice-cannabalism/649721/17 "2013-02-08T20:24:53Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > And obvious troll is obvious. About as obvious as asking why atheists don’t form churches. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2013, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-christians-openly-worship-torture-murder-and-practice-cannabalism/649721/18 "2013-02-08T20:32:20Z")
> [@NitroPress](#): > > I respectfully object. It’s a perfectly straightforward question phrased in the exact inverse of the kind of nonsense that started the last two atheist threads. There is plenty of nonsense in the **pchaos** and **koufax** threads. Neither poster has the foggiest idea what atheists think, and their attempts to figure it out have been painfully slow. But I can’t remember anything like this OP in there, and even if statements like that were made at some point, this OP is not where a GD thread is supposed to start. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2013, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-christians-openly-worship-torture-murder-and-practice-cannabalism/649721/19 "2013-02-08T20:42:43Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > There is plenty of nonsense in the **pchaos** and **koufax** threads. Neither poster has the foggiest idea what atheists think, and their attempts to figure it out have been painfully slow. But I can’t remember anything like this OP in there, and even if statements like that were made at some point, this OP is not where a GD thread is supposed to start. Yes I could have asked the question in a more respectful, clued, SDMB-like manner. Or in this “Hey, all you ignorant ‘Christian’ people, explain your quaint beliefs to me in ways that match my thinking, hokay?” manner. The only difference is that I cop (as if it wasn’t already evident) to choosing the latter; my point (as if…) is that the OPs of the atheist threads got away with being just that clueless and insulting for many, many posts. Bit of a double standard, I think, and points up why professing atheism is still a magnet for abuse in the US. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2013, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-christians-openly-worship-torture-murder-and-practice-cannabalism/649721/20 "2013-02-08T20:46:02Z")
> [@NitroPress](#): > > Yes I could have asked the question in a more respectful, clued, SDMB-like manner. Right. If you’d done that this thread would still be in GD. This isn’t a reprimand or anything, it’s just where this thread belongs based on the tone you took. We do have serious debates in the Pit sometimes. If you have questions, please send me a private message or ask in ATMB. I don’t want to take your thread off track. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-christians-openly-worship-torture-murder-and-practice-cannabalism/649721.md?page=2)