Criticism of Christianity: Encyclopedia II - Criticism of Christianity - Criticisms Regarding Christianity and Tolerance

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].

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