Monday, June 12, 2017

Hellfire and Damnation

Christianity is no more a religion of compassion and humility than Islam is one of peace.

Anyone who insists on suggesting otherwise either owes more to the mainstream secular outlook than they care to admit, or lives in La La Land, though perhaps there is no need to make this distinction.

Anyway, I recommend that my would-be detractors familiarise themselves with the relevant texts. In the case of Christianity it's absolutely doctrinal. St Thomas Aquinas sold the concept of Heaven largely on the basis that the Blessed could spend eternity looking down on the sufferings of the damned, and thus take never-ending pleasure from them. Indeed, this was supposed to be one of the main perks of salvation.

No other major world religion focusses so clearly on judging and condemning one's fellow human being. And from the crucifixion to Hellfire, there is none that takes such obvious glee in torture. Tell me that hatred is a perversion of monotheism and I will tell you that it is embarrassingly easy to make the opposite case.

It's next to impossible to square the circle of decency and belief without a good deal of really awkward cherry-picking from scripture.


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