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From: purtell@reed.UUCP (Lady Godiva)
Newsgroups: net.women,net.singles,net.religion.christian
Subject: Re: Bigot or an anti-Christian?
Message-ID: <2716@reed.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 7-Mar-86 19:47:09 EST
Article-I.D.: reed.2716
Posted: Fri Mar  7 19:47:09 1986
Date-Received: Mon, 10-Mar-86 00:14:33 EST
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Reply-To: purtell@reed.UUCP (Lady Godiva)
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In article <15859@rochester.UUCP> ray@rochester.UUCP (Ray Frank) writes:
> In article <2586@reed.UUCP> purtell@reed.UUCP (Lady Godiva) writes:

>> 	Sadly it's true - it seems like there are always Christians, Jews,
>> Muslims and other "people of God" fighting each other about who is
>> really right about Him. 
>
> You forgot to include atheists and agnostics who also have been killing each 
>other since forever.  A good example of this is the old Roman empire.  They
>killed for a thousand years, not for God or gods, but rather what mankind 
>usually kills for; self serving greed, power, pride and honor.  

>He only uses God as his scapegoat so as not to be confronted with the truth
>about his real nature.  But then, we've always been good at rationalizing, so
>what else is new.  There are tens of thousands of murders and other violent
>crimes commited in this country yearly, does anyone out there think these acts
>are done in the name of God?  You might as well blame your cat for wars and
>suffering as blame God, well why not, any god in a pinch will do, right?  But
>the next time a person commits a violent act in the name of God and looks in
>the mirror, he well not see God, but just himself.

	Of course atheists, agnostics, and all sorts of people kill each
other. That wasn't the point. There is no irony in someone killing
someone because they did something to make the first person hate them.
I'm not saying it's right, but there's no irony in it. There is however,
an irony in people who profess to be following a loving God and then go
and kill people who do not follow that god. And there are people who
legitimately believe that the violent acts they are committing are what
their god wants them to do. If religion is being used as a scapegoat,
then it is being used so unconsciously, at least in many instances.
	I'm not attacking Christianity (it would be a pretty silly thing 
to do since I am a Christian) but I'm admitting that there are numerous 
bad examples of Christianity. I don't think that it has anything to do 
with God - I think it's all part of man's absurd nature. But it does 
reflect very badly on the religion, and consequently on Jesus Christ 
himself. And I think those are things that Christians have to deal with. 
If we as Christians profess to have "the Truth", and our fellow
"Christians" are out murdering people in the name of our God (the same
God) then it's something that we have to deal with. We can't just say,
"well ALL types of people committ violent acts, not just Christians or
people who believe in a God." That doesn't excuse us. ("But mom, all the
guys are doing it!") We still have to answer to people who wonder how
our religion can be valid if so many people who follow it commit such
heinous acts. 

	Share and enjoy -
	
		elizabeth g. purtell

		(Lady Godiva)