Rejoice when Persecuted
By Lance
I'm in a bit of a pissy mood right now, so I thought I'd have a little rant.
Many Christians that visit this site complain how poorly Christians have been treated by atheists; now and throughout history. Most of the responses from rational people have noted that if Christians were indeed persecuted, it was for political reasons and not solely because the persecutor did or did not believe in a god. I agree.
The Christians tend to bring up Hitler and Stalin a lot, but we can find plenty of evidence that Hitler thought he was doing god's work, and the Catholic Church had a big hand the Nazi regime. Similar evidence shows that Stalin killed all sorts of people for political and power reasons; not because he did or did not believe in a god.
Note to Christians: Stop your whining. We could argue forever about who was persecuted and why, but that is not my topic for today.
My point has to do with Jesus' teachings on this kind of persecution. I don't believe the bible, but since Christians do, they should abide by these teachings, and they should think about what these teachings mean.
In the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5:11 and 12, Jesus said, "Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you."
A little later on in Matt. 5:39 he says "But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other."
In Matthew 10:22 and 23, he says "All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. When you are persecuted in one place flee to another. I tell you the truth, you will not finish going through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes." Notice that he says "flee to another" and not "stand and fight back." Also notice that he was going to come back right away, but that is another story.
In Matthew 24:9 he says "Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me."
I could go on, but reading the bible makes me nauseous after awhile.
So here is my first point to Christians. Don't blame us non-believers for all your suffering. In your world view it is all part of your imaginary friend's wonderful plan. Don't blame Hitler. Don't blame Stalin or Pol Pot. Blame your god. He is the one doing it to you. I think he likes to watch you suffer. Or at least he thinks it is good for you.
Here is my second point. All this killing of other people is simply awful. I think anyone, religious or not, getting killed for their beliefs is just plain evil. But the Christian god apparently disagrees. In the Old Testament He told His people to kill the unbelievers (Deut. 13 and 14). In the New Testament, He turns the tables and uses the non-believers to persecute and kill His own followers. Blood, blood, blood. What a dick. We atheists, deists, agnostics, etc., are nowhere near as vicious and evil as this god. Even the worst of us don't hold a candle to this maniac.
Here is my third point. Note to Christians: Stop your whining. If you don't like being persecuted for your stupid beliefs, then stop believing them. If you want to be a "real Christian," then shut up and take it. Your imaginary friend is just testing you to see how much pain you can take. As he said in Matt.10:22, you must stand firm to the end or you won't be saved. (Oops, was that a condition he just put on your salvation? Oh my!)
My last point. When we get a "Christia" troll here whining about the persecution of themselves, or of other "Christians," or if they start calling us names, we will know that they are not "Real Christians," Because a "real" Christian would just suck it up and turn the other cheek.
To test my theory, let's try it out: Yo, Christians! You are a bunch of ignorant morons.
But really, I'm not that mean and I don't think that. What I really think is that they have a serious case of mass delusion.
Come on now Christians, wake up. Your imaginary friend is not there. Be strong enough to accept reality at face value. But if you still refuse to face reality, then at least do what Jesus tells you - Shut up and take it.
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I'm in a bit of a pissy mood right now, so I thought I'd have a little rant.
Many Christians that visit this site complain how poorly Christians have been treated by atheists; now and throughout history. Most of the responses from rational people have noted that if Christians were indeed persecuted, it was for political reasons and not solely because the persecutor did or did not believe in a god. I agree.
The Christians tend to bring up Hitler and Stalin a lot, but we can find plenty of evidence that Hitler thought he was doing god's work, and the Catholic Church had a big hand the Nazi regime. Similar evidence shows that Stalin killed all sorts of people for political and power reasons; not because he did or did not believe in a god.
Note to Christians: Stop your whining. We could argue forever about who was persecuted and why, but that is not my topic for today.
My point has to do with Jesus' teachings on this kind of persecution. I don't believe the bible, but since Christians do, they should abide by these teachings, and they should think about what these teachings mean.
In the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5:11 and 12, Jesus said, "Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you."
A little later on in Matt. 5:39 he says "But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other."
In Matthew 10:22 and 23, he says "All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. When you are persecuted in one place flee to another. I tell you the truth, you will not finish going through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes." Notice that he says "flee to another" and not "stand and fight back." Also notice that he was going to come back right away, but that is another story.
In Matthew 24:9 he says "Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me."
I could go on, but reading the bible makes me nauseous after awhile.
So here is my first point to Christians. Don't blame us non-believers for all your suffering. In your world view it is all part of your imaginary friend's wonderful plan. Don't blame Hitler. Don't blame Stalin or Pol Pot. Blame your god. He is the one doing it to you. I think he likes to watch you suffer. Or at least he thinks it is good for you.
Here is my second point. All this killing of other people is simply awful. I think anyone, religious or not, getting killed for their beliefs is just plain evil. But the Christian god apparently disagrees. In the Old Testament He told His people to kill the unbelievers (Deut. 13 and 14). In the New Testament, He turns the tables and uses the non-believers to persecute and kill His own followers. Blood, blood, blood. What a dick. We atheists, deists, agnostics, etc., are nowhere near as vicious and evil as this god. Even the worst of us don't hold a candle to this maniac.
Here is my third point. Note to Christians: Stop your whining. If you don't like being persecuted for your stupid beliefs, then stop believing them. If you want to be a "real Christian," then shut up and take it. Your imaginary friend is just testing you to see how much pain you can take. As he said in Matt.10:22, you must stand firm to the end or you won't be saved. (Oops, was that a condition he just put on your salvation? Oh my!)
My last point. When we get a "Christia" troll here whining about the persecution of themselves, or of other "Christians," or if they start calling us names, we will know that they are not "Real Christians," Because a "real" Christian would just suck it up and turn the other cheek.
To test my theory, let's try it out: Yo, Christians! You are a bunch of ignorant morons.
But really, I'm not that mean and I don't think that. What I really think is that they have a serious case of mass delusion.
Come on now Christians, wake up. Your imaginary friend is not there. Be strong enough to accept reality at face value. But if you still refuse to face reality, then at least do what Jesus tells you - Shut up and take it.
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