A lot of Christians become appalled when you bring up the fact that organized religion has been responsible for horrific brutality throughout the ages.
"But the folks in my congregation have never taken up arms and invaded the Methodist church across the street," the loyal Baptist says. (Unfortunately the commandant, "thou shall not lie," prevents the militant Church of Christ person from saying the same thing.)
So, by that logic, if someone started yet another modern-day Nazi Party and didn't brutalize a specific religion or harm anyone in general, it'd be fine and dandy, right?
"No, the Nazi's before us were the ones that slaughtered six million Jews, we just give them dirty looks when we ask them for loans," is what they'd say to justify their existence.
But the truth is organized religion has been responsible for many massacres throughout history.
They just take turns.
A group of extreme Muslims are now using their Holy Book to murder the innocent.
And though it's a relatively small group of Muslims, it still represents a continuing trend of religiously likeminded people getting together to kill people who don't believe the contents in a certain book are of a factual nature. Not only that, they even go after people who interpret the book differently.
I really don't how to combat this age old problem when all the books in which they believe tell them that people who don’t buy into every word printed in said book are unworthy of life.
While I'm certainly not one for censorship, it would be difficult for me to vote against replacing all the passages in Holy Books that talk unfavorably about non-believers with something to the effect of, "If someone doesn't believe in the words you're currently reading, it's their loss. Who needs 'em!"
Or even better...
"If someone doesn't believe in the words you're currently reading, be nice to them and perhaps your kindness will cause them to ask questions about the specific religion that produces such friendly people!"
That would at least stop a few zealots from killing in the name of their religion as the above is very difficult to misinterpret.
However it wouldn't solve the problem entirely as some would read the part about being nice to the non-believers and claim the verse was an attempt at reverse psychology. "In saying 'be nice to them,' it's saying, 'kill them!'"
Or some smart nut would convince a bunch of dumb nuts that the verse was attempting reverse psychology.
Just think about how many lives would have been saved throughout the centuries if none of the Holy Books had been written.
Therefore, for the purpose of saving lives, you'd think we would get rid of these killer books.
Or at least make a horror movie about them.
"What's lurking in your bookshelf is thirsty for blood..."
But instead we pass them onto our children with a cute little inscription in place of what should be a stern warning. They proceed to pass them onto their children, who pass them onto their children, etc.
And though radical Islam is what we're accustomed to hearing about these days, we're likely only a couple centuries away from the day when radical Scientology is the number one enemy in the War on Terror.
