Criticism of Christianity: Encyclopedia - Criticism of Christianity

Criticism of Christianity

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Over the centuries, many people have offered criticisms of religion. Critics of Christianity have included philosophers, journalists, members of other religions, scientists, and other people from all walks of life. This article outlines some of the major criticisms of Christianity and the actions of its followers, that have been offered through the years. It is not trying to be critical of Christianity itself, but rather to list some of the criticisms leveled against the religion over the years.

Criticism of Christianity - Criticisms Regarding the Bible

The Bible itself is often the focus of criticism concerning its morality, internal consistency, consistency with regard to the historic record, and with regard to science. Difficulties also arise when considering which translation to use, as many modern translations take into account newly discovered ancient manuscripts of the bible, such as the Dead Sea Scrolls and Codex Sinaiticus, which suggest that passages such as the Pericope Adulteræ, and Mark 16 originally took other forms than are present in earlier translations such as the King James Version, and sometimes didn't even exist. There is also the question of whether the masoretic text, which forms the basis of most modern English translations of the Old Testament is the more accurate, or whether one of the translations which pre-dates the masoretic text, such as the Septuagint, Syriac Peshitta, and Samaritan Pentateuch are more accurate.

Criticism of Christianity - Criticisms Regarding Selective Interpretation of the Bible

Some maintain that Christians hypocritically choose to follow only those portions of the Bible they like.

Sometimes particular attention is directed to rules contained in the Old Testament which are not observed by Christians [1]. Many of the rules in question are specifically abrogated by the New Testament such as circumcision in Galatians 2:1, and the entire Law is described by Galatians 3:24-25 as a tutor which is no longer necessary.

Criticism of Christianity - Criticisms Regarding Christianity and Tolerance

Claims that Christianity is the only true religion have, according to some critics, led misguided people to fight wars to enforce their belief. The most notable example of Christian warfare would be the Crusades. Critics have also noted the prevalence of warfare in the Bible, particularly the Old Testament. Linguist and political radical Noam Chomsky, has argued that the Bible is one of the most genocidal books in history.

Historical persecution by Christians has not only involved crusades against Muslims, but also against fellow Christians such as the Cathars, in the Albigensian crusade. Inquisitions were also against their own populations, to weed out individuals who had divergent opinions. But it has not only been the state that has committed such atrocity, Christianity and anti-Semitism have historically gone hand-in-hand amongst the general population, leading to horrific massacres, similarly the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre was carried out by a Catholic mob against Protestants.

White supremacy groups identify themselves as Christian (although most Christians disassociate themselves from such groups), and are notoriously racist, and often propose alternative histories such as Holocaust denial. Racism is, however, not confined to Caucasian Christians, as the Rwandan Genocide readily testifies. Over 90% of the population of Rwanda at the time was Christian, but nevertheless, the Archbishop and other Bishops have been implicated in inciting the genocide, while others refused to send help to stop it. Other Rwandan Christian priests have been indicted, and some of these were found guilty, of actively massacring individuals.

Christian fundamentalists often use passages in the Bible to criticize homosexuality, and because of the influence of such biblical teachings during the Middle Ages, in Europe homosexual acts were punishable by death, for centuries. Even today, Christian groups, particularly in America, are accused of being at the forefront of homophobia, with extremists such as the Westboro Baptist Church picketing the funerals of murdered homosexuals and of service members killed in Iraq.

British columnist George Monbiot has also argued that Christian fundamentalists are driving the United States's current foreign policy, to the detriment of all concerned[2].

Criticism of Christianity - Criticisms Regarding Christianity and Science

Christianity has sometimes had an antagonistic relationship with science. Perhaps the best known example of this is when Galileo Galilei (who has been referred to as the "father of science"), was opposed by the Roman Catholic Church. Galileo was himself a devout Catholic, which demonstrates that the issue is far from simple.

Galileo Galilei was popularising Copernicus's Heliocentrism, which is now regarded as fact, but Galileo was put under house arrest for the rest of his days following his trial in 1633. According to Andrew Dickson White, in A History of the Warfare of Science with Theology in Christendom (III.iii), 1896, Galileo's experiences demonstrate a classic case of a scholar forced to recant a scientific insight because it offended powerful, conservative forces in society: for the church at the time, it was not the scientific method that should be used to find truth — especially in certain areas — but the doctrine as interpreted and defined by church scholars. White documented how this doctrine was enforced by the Church with torture, murder, deprivation of freedom, and censorship. In a less polemical frame, this has remained the mainstream view among the historians of science.

Criticism of Christianity - Criticisms Regarding Christianity and Reason

Some critics, such as Richard Dawkins, argue that Christianity has sought to suppress rational enquiry and hence the quest for truth. He cites the story of Thomas from the Bible and argues that the Bible actively discourages believers from making rational enquiries about their faith. Dawkins has said that he is against religion "because it teaches us to be satisfied with not understanding the world."

Many Christian theologians, however, have made appeals to reason as an important aspect of the Christian faith. These thinkers have included that same Thomas who reportedly believed in Jesus after touching his wounds; John Wesley, who included "reason" in the theological model known as the "Wesleyan Quadrilateral"; and Tony Campolo, author of the book A Reasonable Faith. Anglican theologian Alister McGrath critiqued Dawkins' position in the 2004 book Dawkins' God: Genes, Memes, And The Meaning Of Life (ISBN 1405125381), in which he claimed that Dawkins had to overlook reason in order to make his case.

Though Dawkins is the most significant living critic on the issue of reason, he is by no means the first. Before him have been a series of extremely significant philosophers, such as Bertrand Russell in Why I Am Not a Christian, as well as bleaker views proposed by those such as Nietzche. On the other hand, the French philosopher Descartes claimed that he could only trust the evidence of his senses if he believed in a deity who would not deceive him.

Criticism of Christianity - Christian Responses to Criticisms of Christianity

See also

• Criticism of Religion
• Anti-clericalism
• Anti-Catholicism
• Anti-Protestantism
• Criticism of Mormonism
• Criticism of Islam
• Anti-Judaism
• Christian apologetics

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Criticism of Christianity", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki