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I will start by saying that any arguments that I present in the preceding text against Christianity as a force for good, are in reference, not too individual Christians but to the religion itself, in its natural state (which is arguable what that is), but I am asserting now that its natural state pertains to the scripture, and the implications of it. So first I want to address a few of your points. You say that “Christianity embraces the fact that all men are flawed”, I would disagree with that, and say it is not fact. What is fact however, and something you cannot negate, is that Christians look upon homosexuality as a flaw, and one that is certainly not embraced. I want to draw attention to your wording, you say “Christianity embraces the fact that all men are flawed”, gay men are men also and therefore, logic would lead us to assume that your claim must imply that Christians embrace the fact that the flaw of homosexuality is A) inevitable, and B) acceptable. It is not arguable that the default Christian view of homosexuality is not a positive one. A second point you made which I will dispute is that you can point to “bright spots” in history where people have fallen in line with scripture. Firstly this depends on your perspective. There are many religious people, including Christians, who would regard a world where adultery is punishable by death as "bright". Secondly I will say that if society were a close reflection of scripture it would not produce an ideal world. The strict following of a text written 2000 years ago is a ridiculous concept, it’s written in the absence of 2000 years of progress, and is therefore mostly inapplicable and highly unreliable in a modern world. Not to mention it promotes immoral concepts. Now I will argue why I think that Christianity has a primarily negative impact on the world. The Christian religion claims to know many truths about the universe, however it is based on a concept which attracts falsity. That concept is faith. I define faith as the belief in something in the absence of sufficient evidence. This concept/mentality is promoted by the church and has created a culture of blind acceptance of truth, absent of critical thought and confusion between authority and truth. Faith is a destroyer of progress, the oppression of sciences due to their warranted contradictions with god, has caused a deceleration in the progress of humanity, and presented many obstacles in the search for answers. Christianity does not contribute anything to the search for truths about our universe and therefore the promotion of Christianity actively slows down the progress of the human race. The concepts and ideals promoted by Christianity are great for controlling the masses, but as for their false claims of seeking truth, the nature of religion has nothing to do with truth, it’s about control. The Christian way of life is often described as a moral one, I would say that to be a true Christian you cannot be moral. I think you will agree that equality, liberty, and tolerance are essential traits within a moral society, it is also undeniable that Christianity in essence contradicts all three. The scripture is rife with both sexism and homophobia. The man is favored as the superior gender and the female the inferior. It is in aggressive opposition of homosexuality and therefore intolerant. I cannot think of anything more detrimental to the progress of morality, the progress of technology and the progress in the search for truth, than living in a Christian world. Side: Negative force
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I do take up the defense of only my own religion. I would for sure be on the other side if I would have had to defend all religions to defend my own. There can only be one truth in the universe. Either only one religion is correct or they are all wrong. At any given time in history, most people believe in something else. One quarter of the world's population follow a religion that can be accurately described as evil. Taking up this challenge, however, comes with a disclaimer; Christianity gives no promise of being able to produce a perfect society. Islam's goal is global domination, so that "All religion will be for Allah." Christianity has no such prediction or goal. To the contrary, Christianity embraces the fact that all men are flawed, thus, all man made institutions (nations, societies, even the church) will be flawed to varying degrees too. There is no time in the past or future I can point to as a perfect Christian society. Some have been close, certainly closer than we are today, but no country has ever perfectly followed the word of God... If there was such a society, it would actually be in contradiction to what the Bible says about the nature of humanity. . What I can argue, however, is that Christianity is a positive force in the world. I can point to any dark chapter in history and show how they were moving away from God. I can point to any bright spot in history and show how they were, intentionally or unintentionally, getting closer to falling in line with scripture. Christians have certainly not been a consistent positive force in the world... Christ, on the other hand, has always been on the right side of history. Side: positive force
First of all, let me address homosexuality. There is no question among conservative Christians that it is wrong. It is clear as day sandwiched between "don't have sex with your mother" and "don't have sex with animals". Why some churches chose to overrule their own God and affirm homosexuality is beyond my comprehension. So if that is all it takes to condemn Christianity as a negative force in the world I suppose I lose. I make no apology for the Bible. But let me point out a couple things. The only valid opposition to homosexuality is one that is in the spirit of loving compassion for everyone. Hateful, judgmental, or violent attitudes towards homosexuality is not acceptable. In the epistles, the apostle Paul instructs one of the early churches to simply not socialize or worship with someone who was committing sexual immorality. We don't know exactly what that person was doing, but it seems like the example to follow... There is no instruction to ruff him up in a dark alley or call him names until he comes around. Just suppose for a second Christianity is right, and living an unapologetic homosexual lifestyle bars you from getting into heaven. In hindsight, wouldn't affirming homosexuality just be setting those people up for failure? From our prospective it would be like having the cure for cancer and just keeping it for yourself. There is, of course the additional social aspect of gay adoption and gay marriage, it is not hard to see how these things are debatable with or without religion. . It is funny you bring up adultery the way you did. If a fellow Christian told me "We should execute people for adultery." There is a pretty clear story in the gospel to shoot down that idea. Just read the first half of John chapter 8. But note what he says to her, he doesn't endorse her adultery. . The whole idea that Christianity is opposed to science is a myth. The Church was the center for literacy in the west for centuries. Without the church, western civilization likely would have devolved to the stone age. It was the church that held on to the Latin language after the fall of the Roman empire, and with it they retained Roman technology and knowledge. Catholic scientists developed the scientific method, and today the catholic church is the world's largest charitable organization, with enormous funding of hospitals and universities. There is no command in the bible to reject science or to not try to learn about the world. . Finally, another myth, there is nothing in the bible that says women are inferior to men. When the Titanic sank was it "Women and children first." or "No women on the life rafts, you are inferior."? There is such a verse in islam, but nowhere in the bible. Women are specifically called equal heirs to the kingdom of heaven. "There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." Galations 3:28 What the bible does say however, is that men are supposed to be the head of the family. Wives are called on to submit to their husbands, husbands are called to lovingly and sacrificially lead their families. The wording is very specific. It does not say "wives, submit to the husbands." It does not say "Women, submit to men." It says "Wives, submit to your own husbands." Is that really so horrific? . One last thing, this whole notion of "progress" and 2000 year old books. I agree completely... if the bible were a chemistry book. Technology and science progress generation after generation, so yes, very old books are not so useful. Spirituality however, is not the same. It is not built on generation after generation. It is each individual's personal journey you go on throughout your life. The same things you struggle with spiritually, your father, grand father, etc etc struggled with just the same. Side: positive force
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