i don't really have the time to make this argument. but, a quick google search tells me that 73% of born-again christians think that homosexuality is a sin. i can't find numbers, but i would expect well over 26% of christians would argue that abortion clinic bombings are "sometimes" justified.
i think we need to have this debate; i think we need to get rid of religion. but, i don't think we should be singling out muslims when we do it.
BigBadJuju
+jessica The big difference is in the amount of power these two religions have. Look at the body count. You can't equivocate these two crazies. One is marginal and barely has the power to protest loud enough, the other has the world on its guard.
jessica
+BigBadJuju i really think you need to take a closer look at the body count. christianity has the near extermination of the western hemisphere in it's list of accomplishments.
BigBadJuju
Umm, no. Ancient holy wars are irrelevant. Christians today don't kill in the name of Christianity even a fraction of how much Islamists kill in the name of Islam. Don't get me wrong, all religions do some crazy shit, but the body count is incomparable.
jessica
+BigBadJuju i think you're mistaking what is no doubt a brief historical pause for some kind of permanent progress. if you take a broader historical perspective, you'll see that this pause is not unprecedented - and that it is in fact a consequence of christian hegemony rather than christian social evolution.
the kkk was not burning crosses very long ago, and hitler couldn't have succeeded to the extent that he did without support from the catholic church. the peace agreements in ireland are barely a few decades old. and, christians have no problem slaughtering people indiscriminately in africa.
mass christian violence has never been more than an inch under the surface; it's always been ready to erupt with the proper catalyst, which has always been economic.
BigBadJuju
+jessica I am not trying here to apologize for Christianity, or for any religion in that matter. Your argument may well have merit in the broader perspective. But I argue that, given the current circumstances, radical Islam is posing a more imminent threat and demands a more urgent action than any other religion today.
jessica
+BigBadJuju i don't agree. but, if i did, i'd still point out that what you do when you do that is deflect the argument away from an epistemological basis and towards an ethnic one, thereby creating a larger problem.
BigBadJuju
My argument has nothing to do with ethnicity. It has to do with the reality of radicals killing innocent civilians across the world in the name of religion. White European terrorist are just as bad as Middle-Eastern terrorists. You seem to argue from an idealistic perspective of how things should be and what we would like our problems to be. The reality is we have a distinct group that is making a lot of the troubles we have. And until you acknowledge this fact, this indisputable fact supported by every day events all over the world, your argument will remain detached from reality.
jessica
+BigBadJuju your argument has everything to do with ethnicity, whether you realize it or not. that's the faultline you're creating.