[Steve] Communism has been oppressive. Are you suggesting that if Communism has claimed to be true based on a divine inspriration, it would have been less so?
[Arlo] Exactly. It is not "atheism", much as Platt may want to pretend it is. Human history abounds with "theistic" horrors; genocides, wars, brutality and mass murder, not to mention oppression, imprisonment and torture. The only difference in the modern "west" is that "theism" has been stripped of its real power, and THAT has been the difference. "Christianity" (meaning The Church) has been castrated by secular humanism and rational thinking, and exists as a back-seat commentator only. >From the genocide committed by "Christians" against the Natives in the Americas (including lesser acts of torture such as beating, branding, cutting out of tongues and death marches as we stole their land), to the Crusades, to the daily hangings, beatings, floggings, burnings and all sorts of horrors perpetrated against "pagans", "infidels", "witches" and the like, "Christianity" has fared no better than the "godless atheism" Platt squalks about tiresomely. (One other difference to note is that "Christianity's" neutering came about before the development of modern weapons (thank "god"), and despots like Pol Pot or Stalin had access to far greater means of killing than the "theistic" despots before them. One can only imagine the death toll if Christianity retained its power into the era of modern weaponry.) The things Platt tries to lay at the feet of "Christianity", freedom of religion, freedom of speech, trial by jury, are no part of the Occidental code. They are the product of secular humanism. Worse still is the revolting twisting of the Prime Directive of Christ into a Social Darwinian Capistocracy. Platt says he "gets on his knees on Sunday" as if somehow THAT would appease the very Christ he prays to; meanwhile what does he do to shelter the homeless, or feed the poor, of heal the sick? He goes on and on about "wealth" as if that is somehow remotely something Jesus' "moral principle" included. Sad. Moq_Discuss mailing list Listinfo, Unsubscribing etc. http://lists.moqtalk.org/listinfo.cgi/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org Archives: http://lists.moqtalk.org/pipermail/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org/ http://moq.org.uk/pipermail/moq_discuss_archive/
