On Christian Bigotry and Hatred

If you believe conservative Christians don’t propagate a notably strong sense of bigotry and hatred towards those who believe differently than they, then I have some challenges for you.

First, seek out a member of the Ku Klux Klan or any other brand-name white supremacist. Ask that person as plainly as you can, “Why do you hate gays, minorities, and Jews?” Listen to their answer. I’m willing to bet an airline ticket to the Bahamas that the answer will be something like, “We don’t hate them. We hate what they stand for,” or “Those of us who believe in white nationalism are having our way of life taken from us, and we are fighting to stop that.” Or, if the person you are asking is exceptionally well-versed in their bigotry, you may even get to hear a biblically enlightening discourse on Genesis 9:26 and Genesis 11:1-9 on how “God himself enforced subjugation, and put the differences of race between men and women. Who are we to remove them?” Almost never will they say, “I admit it. You got me. I hate those bastards because that’s the way I am.”

Next, seek out someone on the other end of the spectrum. Find some no good race-hustlers, like Al Sharpton or Jesse Jackson, (in this writer’s opinion, two of the scummiest men on our planet). Ask them if they hate white people. They won’t say so. They will emphatically say that they don’t, that they just want equality and reparations for past wrongs, but reading between the lines, one can see the hatred and gut-centered resentment spewing out of their mouths. Men like these have problems; they hold people accountable for things they are not responsible for. So intense is their hatred that it ruined the lives of three innocent lacrosse players by means of character assassination when not a bit of evidence incriminated the boys.

Then, find a radical Muslim, a member or a sympathizer of a terrorist group like al-Qaeda. Ask him why he hates the Jews so much. Chances are, you’ll hear, “We don’t hate Jews. We once lived in peace with the Jews. We are fighting them to win back our freedom.” I am amazed how people can be so damn good at putting soft-peddle twists on hate speech to make it sound less objectionable.

Of course, there are those who are honest enough to admit their hatred, like those of Westboro Baptist Church, who make headlines all the time, telling gays how badly God hates them and wants them to suffer in hell. These mouthpieces of madness spend their waking hours telling teary-eyed families of fallen soldiers that their dearly beloved is in Hell from God’s wrath being unleashed on them because of America’s sins. They’ll tell you in no uncertain terms that “God hates fags” – and since God hates them, how can they not? If nothing else, one must appreciate the honesty! But honesty or no honesty, all these examples are in a clear-cut caste of religion-born hatemongers. The fact that every dimwitted idealist is right in his own thinking does not detract from the message of hate he preaches.

In the case of Christianity, the bigotry comes from the top down, from the condescension that arises when “objective” faith-based standards are proclaimed. There’s nothing wrong with employing objective standards of morality. We do it all the time without any help from religion. The problem comes from believers adding their own brouhaha into the moral mix, creating extraneous laws under the guise of “objective morality.”

These commandments of bologna they consider to be God’s immutable word, and there is no arguing with them. That’s the disadvantage of bowing the knee to a deity and counting on one as your ultimate source of morals: it’s his way or the Hell-way! The reasoning goes a little something like this…

- If God is true and just and right, and cannot be wrong, and…

- If believers in this God are to please him, who is true and just and right, and cannot be wrong, then believers must adopt his ways, opposing what he opposes, while approving what he approves of, and…

- Since God’s truth is absolute, what is true for the believer must also be true for the unbeliever.

~Therefore, if the believer is to please God, he must do all that he can to praise and uphold God and his people who fight for his will, and forcefully oppose those who do not align their conduct and message with the divine revelation.

In other words, when someone believes God is on his or her side, they almost invariably bind those beliefs on others and judge their fellow man by the same standards. Failure to comply with said truths results in shunning at least or persecution at worst. Once one begins this walk, there is essentially no going back; if God himself despises homosexuality, witchcraft, abortion, birth control, or masturbation, then there can be no room for disagreement on the issues. You have no voice in the matter. The faithful must therefore do all that they can (religiously, politically, or otherwise) to ensure that the “one true way” is followed.

If you happen to work as a minister, you preach your message to change the thinking of the masses. If you run a store, you refuse to sell products that clash with your faith, and perhaps even refuse service to adherents of other faiths or no faith at all (like the recent occurrences of Muslim cab drivers refusing to provide transportation to those who purchased alcohol, or Muslim clerks refusing to ring up a customer’s pork at the grocery store). If you are in a politically influential position, you use your “juice” to make some changes that further your cause; if God doesn’t want the faithful to have porn, consume caffeine, or use certain four letter words that offend the ghost they worship, then no one can be allowed to transgress on any point if it is in your power to prevent it.

And herein lies the framework for ages of smothering oppression. Here, you have not only the seedbed for tyranny, but fields ripe for religious bloodshed. Were the years of torture under theocracies not already behind us, we wouldn’t have to wait long for thumbscrews to be brought out and stocks to be put in public squares.

Paying lip service to concepts like “love,” and “tolerance,” and “acceptance” means nothing when your religion causes you to look down in disgust on people who believe differently than you. Regardless of a belief system’s intent, it is easily possible to be a bigot without ever uttering the phrases, “I am holier than you,” or “I am better than you.” And commanding one another to “love thy neighbor” does nothing to bring about love. It’s superfluous, like giving commandments to “have sex” or “eat food.” It is worthless to harp on about love when the principles of acceptance and tolerance end up being killed off by the person’s very own belief system, as is the case with every organized religion I know of.

In a world where petty differences divide us, it’s hard enough to bridge the gaps of disagreements with acceptance and love just being human. We don’t need notions of an authoritarian deity making matters worse. Religion is to be held responsible, in large part, for producing the hatred, which serves as the central precursor to persecution and death.

“The righteous shall rejoice when he seeth the vengeance: he shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked.” (Psalm 58:10)

(JH)

5 comments:

SocietyVs said...

That's deep Joe, it's a little wide of a brush although - still deep.

Anonymous said...

I have the hardest time trying to convince my Christian friend that he has to accept that he (according to his belief) is better than me (the unbeliever). He simply claims that we are the same (evil) only he has been saved (we've all heard that before). The contradiction lies at the heart of what it means to be saved. A Christian will claim that they are saved from sin, and that God saved them. Fair enough. But, where does the saving start? If you are a Calvinist, God does everything so you just won the lottery. If you are basically an everyday Christian, most denominations apply, then you were not saved because God forced to accept (irresistible grace) rather, you made a choice that everyone can potentially make, but most do not. you chose to worship god and receive his forgiveness. Now, if we all have the same ability to receive this forgiveness, but we refuse it, what does that make us? Well, according to the bible it means that we are "evil", "blind", "hard-hearted", "hate god", etc.... It follows that if the Christian were the same as us they would also not convert, but they do. So, why do they convert? They will say it is because God saved them, but this is not an answer. The bible has a Janus face when it comes to this question, it says that the saved are "the righteous" while simultaneously claiming that "no one is righteous." It calls Christians "saints" who "love the truth" and are the "good man who brings forth good things from the abundance stored up in his heart." Now christians can claim that all this is from God and not from them, but when we get back to the initial question of how you are actually saved they must come to terms with (barring Calvinism) the fact that only those who choose God are righteous and that logically follows that only good people are going to choose good while evil people choose evil. It is a simple, black and white concept. The result of which is an attitude that is inevitable, it is one that believe s that I am right, I know what is best, and I must impose it on you because you are lost, period. To me , the greatest irony is the dishonesty that it takes to keep Christians from accepting this fact, negating their so-called righteousness.

Anonymous said...

Adam S.:

For it is by grace we have been saved through faith, and this not of ourselves, it is a gift from God.

No one is righteous but we are seen by God as righteous because of Jesus Christ dying on the cross.

Joe:

Read Romans 12. They will know we are Christians by our love. Just because someone says they are a christian, doesn't mean they are. If find the true bigotry and hatred is on the far left, i.e. Rosie O'donnel. You'd have to be blind not to see it.

Anonymous said...

Joe,thank-you for the opportunity to post on your site. I do it with respect I hope. With regards to the statement. "We do it all the time without any help from religion". Concerning moral standards. This is true,religion,the bible,whatever book or method is not needed here. Romans 2:15 clearly states that God writes the law in our hearts. That is why lying,stealing,murder,etc. are universal in culture and religion as wrong. So as far as I can tell my conscience confirms the Law of Moses.
And as far as christians who become athiest,or back sliden,or whatever you wanna call them. As Jesus said,"many will say Lord,Lord" on the day of judgment. And Jesus says,"depart from me,I never knew you". You may claim to know the God of the bible,and know Him to be fake,but it seems from your present situation. He never knew you. Just because someone claims to be a christian,or a former decieved christian like you. This does not mean that they ever were a christian. Look at Judas,he was never a christian,even though people who don't study the Word think he was. John 6:70, Jesus clearly states "one of you is a devil". Refering to Judas,and this is someone who spent several years with Jesus. And yet he remained unsaved,or a devil. Clearly someone cannot be a child of God, and be a devil. Dark and light are seperate. So clearly you were never a christian,even though you may have tons of knowledge concerning the Word,you may even have made some "decision" for Christ at some point. But even the devil knows Jesus is Lord,and he's not spending eternity in heaven. So the jist of it is this,repentance,faith, salvation. It's all supernatural, and unless your truely saved you can't see,no matter how much you have read the Bible,or how many degrees in religion you have. The good news is since you were never a christian, just a false convert there is still hope for you my friend. In any event,I know were on different ends here and you are passionate about what you believe so the best of luck to you and thank-you again for your web site.

Corey said...

Most ‘Republicans’, ‘Conservatives’ and ‘Fundamental Christians’, could be legally and most certainly psychiatrically and medically, diagnosed as 'Sociopaths' and/or ‘Psychopaths’. Not only that, but these people are ‘Capitalistic Imperialistic Terrorists’ who should be removed from America, they are ruining the United States of America, and they are ruining the World.

Corey Mondello
Boston, Massachusetts
cpmondello@yahoo.com
www.CoreyMondello.com
12-10-07