One characteristic, above all else, defines the sociopath: an utter lack of guilt or remorse. One characteristic, above all else, defines Christianity: freedom from guilt and remorse. Christianity, as a rule, doesn't explicitly endorse the worst possible things a person can do. But it does forgive them, and that insidious negation of conscience is a quietly lethal thing. Anything's possible when you don't have to live with the guilt of doing it. And as one poll from NBC shows, even a group less trusted than rapists can be good, if there's no one around to take away the guilt of being bad.
The poll comes from MSNBC's This Week in God, 12/20/14 edition. It was conducted in concert with MSNBC's friend in print, the Washington Post. First up, this question, with results sorted by race and religious affiliation, or lack thereof:
The idea that people of faith are more moral or ethical is false, and one of the main reasons that I started The Immoral Minority in the first place.
Anytime any group claims to be the moral superior of others not in their group you can be dead certain that that is where you will find the most morally corrupt of them all.
As your drawing indicates, Christians in the not too distant past tortured and murdered anyone who was deemed to be a heretic. And these Christians got to decide the definition of a heretic.
ReplyDeleteGiven the chance, certain people today would gladly bring back the Inquisition.
All religions have historically tortured and killed anyone that didn't share their faith. First they try to convert you (if you are lucky) and then they just kill you. Religion goes hand in hand with the natural "tribal" behavior of humans. I don't expect this to change any time soon.
DeleteAh yes, the great Jehovah Witness Crusades, which brought about the Jehovah Witness Protection Program.
DeleteWell, the killing part doesn't tend to be as popular now as it was throughout history but sometimes, even in these modern and enlightened times, good people die as a result of running afoul of the tenets of certain religions. A fine example is Dr. George Tiller.
DeleteIf you claim to be pro-life, you cannot restrict your pro-life sentiments to the unborn from gestation to birth. Those sentiments have to cover the person through out their life. That's what being pro-life is all about. (We are all FOR life. Nobody wants to die before his time). So that would mean that if you are pro-life, you are against war, against the death penalty, and AGAINST TORTURE. You would treat everyone with the same respect that you expect to be treated with. Otherwise, hand in your pro-life signs and go find another cause to generate contributions to your group.
ReplyDeleteI weep for humanity with this kind of statistics. What is it in human beings that compel some to have the need to dominate and bring harm to those that they deem 'different' or 'less than'? I don't have that particular gene, so I am shocked when I hear this sort of information. I just can't fathom how this thinking, these beliefs are in any way acceptable. What has become of the human race?
ReplyDeleteObama Turns The Tables On Republicans By Arguing That Gitmo Is Too Expensive To Keep Open
ReplyDeletehttp://www.politicususa.com/2014/12/21/obama-turns-tables-republicans-arguing-gitmo-expensive-open.html
WTF?
ReplyDeleteIf you’ve followed his career as a flame-throwing right wing demagogue and one of the most unhinged writers at Breitbart “News,” it’s an unpleasant surprise to see John Nolte now being invited by Chuck Todd to sit on the panel of Meet the Press.
http://littlegreenfootballs.com/article/44145_Chuck_Todd_Has_a_New_Meet_the_Press_Panelist-_Breitbart_News_Crackpot_John_Nolte#rss-sm
And these same people who read the Bible over and over again become desensitized to the torture and killing, and blame video games whenever someone with a screw loose loses it and kills the innocent.
ReplyDeleteI disagree. My experience has been that most of these far right-wing christianistas (aka christo-fascists) are extremely Biblically illiterate. They are religious only as a coping mechanism, to over-compensate for their complete lack of true Christianity, which condemns all hateful conduct, including torture.
DeleteHe'd put on a clown outfit and do the "time warp" naked just to get ratings. I wonder who they'll replace him with as anchor?
ReplyDeleteThe Bible: Rated X
ReplyDeletehttp://www.forwardprogressives.com/the-bible-rated-x/
Just for the record, I have been a Baptist preacher's wife for over 40 years. I am white and southern. I have been against war since Vietnam. I am totally fucking against torture, with few exceptions. Those exceptions being those who advocate torture. Meaning Dick(less) Cheney et al should have to experience all forms of it before they approve it for anyone else. Now, after the fact, would be just fine with me too.
ReplyDeleteRAinNC
Reading Bristol Palin's blog IS torture. That girl has been writing and posting up a storm (or Nancy French has too much free time and she has already billed the PAC for too many hours). Yes, Bristol is joining forces with her mother to spout off about the War on Christmas.
ReplyDeleteBristol's idea about the War on Christmas has to do spending too much money. "If we take an honest look at ourselves, maybe we’re the ones waging it. Who us? Yep. Well, at least I can speak for myself. It’s not wrong to incorporate Santa into Christmas, or to buy lavish gifts, or to spend a ton of money in December. But I do know that sometimes it’s super easy to feel entitled, to let myself get too busy, and to overlook the joyful occasion of the birth of Christ in this season."
Look, Nancy and Bristol, the so-called War on Christmas came about when people did not want to see their tax money spent on lavish Christmas displays adorning their City Hall. There is supposed to be a separation between Church and State, and that would include the government not spending our money to support one religion, in this case, Christmas. Putting up a Hanukkah menorah and the Kwanza candles do not equal the score. It's NO religious decorations paid for with tax dollars.
The other people who should be complaining about a War on Christmas should be the clergy because the holiday has lost its religious significance to commercial interests. But they do not protest because it is one of the few holidays that bring people into church (along with Easter) and some attendance and donations are better than none.
Bristol's conclusion is: "When we think about the “War on Christmas,” let’s just admit that – sure – there are people who don’t enjoy the season. But we should love those who don’t know Jesus yet and confess that we all wage war in our own hearts against the amazingly good and perfect gift we should be celebrating."
Listen, kid, I can enjoy the decorations, the food, the songs, the presents, the family getting together for a major delicious meal and it's all called Christmas because that's what it has turned into. I think that Bristol is more about the presents and buying expensive stuff for Tripp. I wonder if they go to church. I think that Bristol's acquaintance with Jesus is a casual and fleeting, using Him as a prop the way that Sarah uses Trig as a prop. Stop telling other people how to celebrate Christmas, Bristol. I've seen your Peace on Earth and Good Will to Men when you were blind drunk, swearing a blue streak, punching people, all with your child present and kept up too late to crash a party. Jesus wouldn't want to know anyone like that. Until you practice what you preach, keep it to yourself. How dare you tell others how to live their lives when your example is nothing that I would want to follow.
Amen, and double amen.
DeleteIf you want to follow the War on Christmas, check out Wonkette's post about Sarah's SPC videos. They are all the same. Sarah is filmed in the same red top, three quarters view, sitting in front of her roaring fireplace, same introduction music. She even uses the same sweetie pie baby doll voice, the kind that she might use to entice her horny fans.
ReplyDeleteThe videos are: a 30 second homage to John McCain for giving Sarah the big break of a lifetime, a gooey list of the gifts and she and Todd exchange at Christmas. All that Todd wants is a $50. gas card wrapped in a ribbon. Sarah says that she is happy with practical gifts like a manual ice auger and hockey skates, but I think that she would rather get the Christmas lilies and lavender bath salts.
But the most offensive video is the one about the War on Christmas, where an army of atheists' lawyers are preventing Sarah from celebrating Christmas the ways that she wants. (Since she shows a video of Eskimo bingo, I can't imagine anyone trying to break up that game unless there is gambling involved-- or child abuse.The kids do get a little unruly). No one is preventing Sarah from decorating her tree, serving her famous moose chili, or pretending to bake an apple pie (or was it blueberry?). The only things that people have objected to is the use of tax dollars to pay for public Christmas displays on government property. Please! Decorate your houses, lawns, churches and garages. But do not spend tax dollars decorating public schools or staging Christmas pageants. Do that in church and in your homes.
Sarah made a special point of saying that no matter what faith anyone is that she wants to allow them some Christmas joy.I hope that all of the Jews, Buddhists, Muslims, Atheists, Hindus, Wiccans, and anyone else get some of that Christmas spirit. Sarah wants to be allowed to celebrate Christmas the way that she wants. With that comes the opposite, allowing other people, no matter what their faith, to celebrate or not celebrate Christmas or anything else period. How dare she tell people that they all have to celebrate the birth of Christ in this time of year in this season (her words).
Well they sure aren't following Jesus' teachings.
ReplyDeleteThe ironic thing is, with their mindset, they'd have justified the crucifixion of Christ and the torture he endured had they been around in those days. He was a terrorist of his day as far as the Roman Empire was concerned.
Pope Francis, leader of over a billion Catholics (the world's largest single Christian denomination) condemns torture. Here's just one example of many:
ReplyDeletehttp://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2014/10/pope-francis-shades-us-over-prisons-torture.html
The Catholic Catechism labels torture as categorically, unequivocally wrong.
Atheist Sam Harris has written in support of torture.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sam-harris/in-defense-of-torture_b_8993.html
Atheist Richard Dawkins came to Harris's defense on the topic. This is anecdotal, but significantly represents the positions of two of atheism's most outspoken proponents.
So let's not place too much faith (pardon the play on words) in polls. Definitions of terms are fuzzy and stats are easily manipulated. A limited choice of responses, and even the order in which possible responses are offered, can skew the results. Polls can be deliberately devised to confirm the biases of any given group. It makes sense to regard any poll results with logical skepticism.
Amen. I was Roman Catholic for 50 years, then became an Episcopalian. Not one of those years did I approve of war, or torture. Actually, I marched against them many times. Nobody polled me.
DeleteThe most common religious symbol used by catholics the world over is a man nailed to a cross.
ReplyDeleteAt least the prostestants use a cross without the victim attached.
I am curious as to what the numbers are among non-whites.
ReplyDeleteDick Cheney and Evangelical Christians Epitomize Dark Age Barbarism
ReplyDeletehttp://www.politicususa.com/2014/12/22/dick-cheney-evangelical-christians-epitomize-dark-age-barbarism.html
New York Times Editorial Calls for Investigation and Prosecution of Torturers in Bush Administration
Deletehttp://www.politicususa.com/2014/12/22/york-times-editorial-calls-investigation-prosecution-torturers.html