We now continue with our look at why Loftus believes what he does.
The second starts with saying that if anyone thinks a non-Christian society can’t be good, they need to look at the Roman empire, the Greek empire, the Chinese, etc. (Interestingly, the Islamic empire is mentioned in here. This from the guy who in the paragraph before said that we need to be on guard against Islamic terrorists that are seeking our demise.)
Pray tell what made these societies such beacons of morality? We’re never told how they were good. Just that they are. Now I’ll grant there was much that was good in these societies, but there is much that is better in a Christian society.
For instance, for all his talk about slavery, is Loftus just going to waive his hand at the passages in Aristotle talking about how some people are meant to be slaves? Is he going to overlook all the wars that were constantly going on in this time period? Is he going to say the Roman persecution of the Christians was a sign of a moral empire?
Instead, I suppose Loftus just wants to take it on faith.
Of course, he tells us Medieval Christianity would have had us all burned at the stake. Source on this? None whatsoever. Of course, when listing ideas in the Bible that show we don’t have true Christianity supposedly represented there, what is mentioned.
The dispute involving Ananias and Sapphira. (Lasted just barely part of a chapter and ended immediately.)
The dispute involving widows and food in Acts 6.
And how the Galatian heresy threatened to split the church.
Uh huh.
Yeah. That’s signs of a hideous moral depravity right there….
Loftus says he could go on and talk about the Crusades, the Inquisition, black slavery, witch trials, treatment of minorities, etc.
But he doesn’t.
Which simply means, please take this on faith even though I am not backing it and assume popular opinion which has no bias against Christianity at all is totally correct. (Kind of like how most people today believe the medievals thought the Earth was flat.)
We now hear a citation from Charles Kimball arguing on when religion becomes evil. He says it becomes evil when five aspects are there.
#1-When it has absolute truth claims. (Yeah. That absolute claim of humans bearing the image of God is hideous. Let’s totally forget that all claims are absolute truth claims.)
#2-Demands blind obedience. (No problem there.)
#3-Tries to establish the ideal society. (I suppose we should try the less than ideal.)
#4-Utilizes the end justifies the means when defending their group identity. (An example of this would have been nice.)
#5-When they see themselves in a holy war. (Not entirely. A Jihad is quite different from Ephesians 6.)
He ends this with a quote from Kimball. “A strong case can be made that the history of Christianity contains considerably more violence and destruction than that of most other major religions.”
How I wish this case could have been made at least in some part….
Of course, we have the argument from Richard Dawkins that God is the most unpleasant fictional character of all and attacks religion as the cause for much of the pain and suffering in the world.
As Dinesh D’Souza says “This is what happens when you let a biologist out of the lab.”
Dawkins knows biology well, but this just isn’t his area and I want to laugh when atheists say they want Christians to read the God Delusion. I wish more would. It’d give them a good example of pathetic argumentation.
Loftus says he just doesn’t see why Christian society is better and if we want to say it’s because they started charities, hospitals, universities, etc. we are told that these would have been started anyway.
Well why weren’t they?
Does Loftus want to tell us about the Hospitalers in the 11th century? (You know, that hideous time called the Crusades going on.) Does he want to tell us about how hospitals really began then and how exquisite care was given to patients? Does he want to tell us about the universities that got started during this same time period? Does he want to tell about the charity work going on in India?
But these would have happened anyway…..
It must be nice to make claims like that with no evidence. Just wishful thinking.
And oh yeah, these probably weren’t started out of altruism but to convert people.
Because, you know, you just have to make any good on the other side look really bad…..
More claims without evidence. Must be nice to live in that world. Part three tomorrow.
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