What has it been with the crazy comments I've been receiving on my blog entries recently? It's as if several far right-wing organizations passed memos around, saying, "So, like, do you know that crazy progressive Craig dude? I guess he's been in and out of the hospital lately, so now's the time to fill his blog with right-wing propaganda! Let's do this!" The most recent such comment was in response to my December 7th post, entitled, "Another false equivalence Facebook meme," which can be read in its entirety here - http://thekind-heartedsmartaleck.blogspot.com/2015/12/another-false-equivalence-facebook-meme.html.
The blog revolved around this Facebook meme, which began circulating the Internet shortly after the San Bernardino mass shooting:
"if the shooting by a window licking retard with a bowl haircut in south carolina is cause for banning the confederate battle flag, removing statues of confederate soldiers and erasing southern history then the shooting by the muslim in san bernardino is cause for banning the hijab, the quran, muslim symbols and all mosques on american soil"
Yes, because the Confederate flag, next to Christianity, is the second most practiced religion in this country... Proper capitalization and punctuation appear to be optional as well.
Here now is the before-mentioned lovely comment to the post:
"The Constitution that you site protects free speech, not just freedom of religion. Both are in the same First Amendment fruit basket.
The actual false equivalency here is comparing the Bible with the Quran. They are equivalent only in being spiritual books. Beyond that they are polar opposites.
If you cannot see the problem with your false narrative here then there is no point in exposing the myopic tripe in the rest or your screed. But consider this: you have lost all credibility and exposed your own anti-Christian bias by trying to assign mass shootings to any other religion than Islam. Which ‘other’ religions? Fact check; mass shootings ascribed to Christianity = None. Nada. Zip. Zero. Go ahead and try to name one but let me give you a head start. The Oklahoma bomber was a self-described, self-centered, agnostic.
Here is why this is true and Islam and Christianity are polar opposites; Allah tells his followers to go out and kill innocent people for them to earn ‘Paradise’. The God of the Bible says He came and sacrificed Himself for our guilt so He may come live with us then afterward, make Heaven our home.
Quit believing all the junk you have been told and believe that Almighty God actually loves you and cares for you. Let everything else go. Read John 3:16 (and verses 15 and 17!) for yourself and start believing He is saying this to you."
Okay then... Allow me to dissect this "piece" point by point. Let's begin...
"The Constitution that you site protects free speech, not just freedom of religion. Both are in the same First Amendment fruit basket."
Congratulations! Wait, what's the point of this again? In response, I'd like to ask this commenter the following question: "Which of the following are religions? A) Christianity, B) Islam, C) the Confederate flag, D) Both A and B, E) None of the above, F) All of the above." If he answered D), he'd be correct. Yes, while the First Amendment is said to protect both free speech and freedom of religion (and freedom of the press too!), there are limitations, especially with regard to speech. Just look at the workplace. A person can't legally be fired due to their religious affiliation. However, they can definitely be fired for saying a few choice words. They can claim all they'd like that they're simply utilizing their "free speech" rights, but at the end of the day, they'll still be without a job. So while both "freedoms" may be mentioned and protected under the First Amendment, comparing the two is still apples and oranges in many scenarios. If the commentator doesn't believe me, let's look at the Facebook meme from another extreme angle. What if a Nazi-sympathizer committed a mass shooting, and as a result, the already controversial swastika symbol was banned from this country, and not long later, a self-described Christian commits a mass shooting and Nazi-sympathizers release a similar meme as the one mentioned above, which goes on to suggest that since the swastika was banned due to a mass shooter, Bibles and churches should be banned due to another mass shooter? Oh, but that's different, right? Christianity is a religion protected under the First Amendment and the swastika is a symbol of hate, correct? Well, guess what, Islam is also a religion protected under the First Amendment and the Confederate flag is seen by many as a symbol of hate as well. Also, while I fully understood what this responder meant with his words, if I really felt like being a smartass, I could have gone after his lack of a comma between the words "Amendment" and "fruit," for as he's attempting to simultaneously be clever and insult me, he's making himself sound foolish in the process by talking about some First Amendment fruit basket. I think I've seen them sold at Kroger's stores around the 4th of July, but am not 100% certain of that...
Okay, moving on...
"The actual false equivalency here is comparing the Bible with the Quran. They are equivalent only in being spiritual books. Beyond that they are polar opposites."
So, they're equivalent in one way and yet opposite in others? So, they're like the twins Danny DeVito and Arnold Schwarzenegger? Interesting... Much to this individual's chagrin, there's far more in common between the three monotheistic religions of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam than he'd ever care to admit. Sure, there are differences, but let's just look at a common complaint far right-wing Christians have of the Islamic faith. As the uber-conservative group the American Family Association put it:
"The Quran has explicit admonitions or instructions for followers of Allah to do violence and harm against the infidel. There's nothing like that in the Bible, that tells the Christian to go out and decapitate the infidel."
Actually, that's false. In Deuteronomy 17, this is written (http://www.patheos.com/blogs/dispatches/2015/01/22/yes-the-bible-does-say-to-kill-infidels/):
"If there be found among you, within any of thy gates which the LORD thy God giveth thee, man or woman, that hath wrought wickedness in the sight of the LORD thy God, in transgressing his covenant; And hath gone and served other gods, and worshipped them, either the sun, or moon, or any of the host of heaven, which I have not commanded; And it be told thee, and thou hast heard of it, and enquired diligently, and, behold, it be true, and the thing certain, that such abomination is wrought in Israel; Then shalt thou bring forth that man or that woman, which have committed that wicked thing, unto thy gates, even that man or that woman, and shalt stone them with stones, till they die."
Well, that was pleasant, was it not? There are similar such messages in Deuteronomy 13 and Numbers 31. So, there goes that argument. As a matter of fact, some Dutch pranksters recently ran an experiment where they read violent/disturbing verses from the Bible, but wrapped a cover of the Quran around it in order to give the impression they were reading from Islam's sacred book. Most of the people who were asked about these verses seemed unsurprised by them, not to mention disturbed. When they were informed the scriptures were from the Bible, many were surprised, laughed from embarrassment, and went on to say, "That just goes to show you how little we know about other faiths" (http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2015/12/04/these-pranksters-read-bible-passages-to-people-telling-them-it-was-the-quran-they-were-shocked/).
Speaking of ignorance, in addition to this experiment, theologian Philip Jenkins conducted a study where he compared scriptures from the Bible to the Quran, and this is what he had to say regarding the results (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=124494788):
- "Much to my surprise, the Islamic scriptures in the Quran were actually far less bloody and less violent than those in the Bible."
- "By the standards of the time, which is the 7th century A.D., the laws of war that are laid down by the Quran are actually reasonably humane. Then we turn to the Bible, and we actually find something that is for many people a real surprise. There is a specific kind of warfare laid down in the Bible which we can only call genocide."
- "What happens in all religions as they grow and mature and expand, they go through a process of forgetting of the original violence, and I call this a process of holy amnesia."
Okay, what's next, smart guy?
"If you cannot see the problem with your false narrative here then there is no point in exposing the myopic tripe in the rest or your screed. But consider this: you have lost all credibility and exposed your own anti-Christian bias by trying to assign mass shootings to any other religion than Islam. Which ‘other’ religions? Fact check; mass shootings ascribed to Christianity = None. Nada. Zip. Zero. Go ahead and try to name one but let me give you a head start. The Oklahoma bomber was a self-described, self-centered, agnostic."
It was at this point I wondered if my commenter was starting to speak in tongues, as he was making less sense than a newborn attempting to talk about quantum physics. I've already debunked the notion of a false narrative, so what's he babbling about again? I've honestly lost track of all the informal fallacies used in this response. I may need to call on Rick Perry to come and count them for me, if, for nothing else, entertainment value. The responder is sorely mistaken with his claim I'm anti-Christian. I'm not a follower of any faith. I'm a humanist. However, regardless of that fact, I will always fight for others' right to believe in what they so choose. I may not believe as they do, but I'll fight for their right to believe. This has nothing to do with any bias for or against any particular religion. It's simply a fight for equality. If I had fought to end slavery, would this have meant I was anti-white? If I fight for women to receive equal pay for equal work, does this make me anti-man? If I fight for gay and lesbian couples to have the legal right to marry, does this make me anti-traditional marriage? No. It makes me pro-equality. Why? Because I believe every person, regardless of age, gender, race, creed, or orientation, should be afforded equal rights under the law. If it makes me "anti-Christian" to believe in the acceptance of others regardless of our differences and in providing them equal rights and an equal chance, then so be it, but I have a hunch the all-loving Jesus would shake his head at this man's comment and provide me with a fist-bump.
As for the other bit, this responder may want to do a little research on how to fact-check. Just by saying the words "fact check," that doesn't necessarily make it a fact-check, because anyone can do that:
- "Fact-check; 4 + 4 = 122."
- "Fact-check; the capital of Canada is Nicaragua."
- "Fact-check; it was 200 degrees Celsius in Fairbanks, Alaska today."
- "Fact-check; the 33rd President of the United States was Morgan Freeman."
- "Fact-check; saying the words 'fact-check' before making a claim doesn't necessarily make that claim true."
Okay, so that final one is correct. Now allow me to debunk the rest of this responder's gobbledygook. As of June of last year, a study was released which showed, since 9/11, more had been killed in this country by non-Muslim extremists (48) than self-proclaimed jihadists (26) (http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/25/us/tally-of-attacks-in-us-challenges-perceptions-of-top-terror-threat.html?_r=0).
Not only that, but allow me to list a few self-described (radical) Christians who committed mass shootings/terrorism in this country:
1) August 5th, 2012: At a Wisconsin Sikh temple, "radical Christian" Frank Silva Roque murdered Balbir Singh Sodhi, as he simply mistook that man for being Muslim.
2) May 31st, 2009: Dr. George Tiller was shot and killed by "Christian" anti-abortion activist Scott Roeder.
3) July 27th, 2008: At the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church in Knoxville, Tennessee, "Christian extremist" Jim David Atkisson opened fire, killed two people and injuring seven others in the process. Why'd he do this? Because of his hatred for "liberals, Democrats, and gays."
4) July 29th, 1994: Paul Jennings Hill, "radical Christian, killed Dr. John Britton and his bodyguard, James Barrett due to his anti-abortion beliefs, claiming that he was simply doing God's work.
5) July 27th, 1996: "Christian extremist" Eric Rudolph insisted he was doing God's work by bombing the Olympic Park in Atlanta, Georgia, during the Summer Olympics - a blast which killed one and injured 111 others. He also bombed an abortion clinic in Birmingham, Alabama in 1998, which resulted in the death of police officer Robert Sanderson.
6) October 23rd, 1998: Self-proclaimed "Christian" James Charles Kopp shot and killed Dr. Barnett Slepian at his home in Amherst, New York, due to the doctor's history of performing abortions. He was sentenced to 25 years to life for the murder.
7) November 27th, 2015: "Radical Christian" Robert Lewis Dear killed three and injured nine others at a Planned Parenthood facility in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
8) June 17th, 2015: "Christian" Dylann Roof opened fire at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, killing nine people, and injuring another, in hopes of starting a race war.
I have several more examples, but feel like these instances are getting repetitive, so I'll move on to something else. Oh, allow me to provide another lovely list. Here are six modern-day Christian terrorist organizations (http://www.salon.com/2015/04/07/6_modern_day_christian_terrorist_groups_our_media_conveniently_ignores_partner/):
1) The Army of God
2) Eastern Lightning (the Church of the Almighty God)
3) The Lord's Resistance Army (LRA)
4) The National Liberation Front of Tripura
5) The Phineas Priesthood
6) The Concerned Christians
Have anything else for me, omniscient one?
"Here is why this is true and Islam and Christianity are polar opposites; Allah tells his followers to go out and kill innocent people for them to earn ‘Paradise’. The God of the Bible says He came and sacrificed Himself for our guilt so He may come live with us then afterward, make Heaven our home."
Ah, I must have read this commenter's mind, for I've already debunked this talking point. Okay, so that was fast. Next?!?
"Quit believing all the junk you have been told and believe that Almighty God actually loves you and cares for you. Let everything else go. Read John 3:16 (and verses 15 and 17!) for yourself and start believing He is saying this to you."
Let me get this straight... This responder provided me the words "fact-check," but no actual fact-checks. He provided me points I've since debunked through reading and research, not to mention so many fallacies, Critical Thinking professors across the country simultaneously gave themselves the biggest facepalms in recorded history. Yet at the end of his spiel, he actually has the gall to say, "Quit believing all the junk you have been told..."? Well, isn't that special? Having earned three degrees in psychology, that sounds like a classic case of projection to me, for I've actually taken the time to read about many different religions, taken the time to discuss the beliefs of people with differing faiths, and through this, and a great deal of research, have done anything but "believed all the junk I've been told." Of the two of us, it seems the only one who has believed all the junk they've been told is this guy. Perhaps he should stop resorting to debunked talking points, faulty logic, and look to a place outside his own comfort zone in order to garner a better understanding of those different than himself, for while they may differ in some ways, they're likely much more similar than he had first thought.
Lastly, I know how the before-mentioned commenter would likely respond to this post: "Yeah, but those weren't real Christians! Real Christians wouldn't act like that! They're not representing the religion and we shouldn't all be cast as evil or crazy because of a few bad eggs!" Exactly. Neither should people of any other faith.
http://www.alternet.org/tea-party-and-right/10-worst-terror-attacks-extreme-christians-and-far-right-white-men
http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/charleston-church-shooting/charleston-church-survivors-shooter-caught-us-our-eyes-closed-n424331
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/robert-lewis-dear-planned-parenthood-first-court-appearance/
The blog revolved around this Facebook meme, which began circulating the Internet shortly after the San Bernardino mass shooting:
"if the shooting by a window licking retard with a bowl haircut in south carolina is cause for banning the confederate battle flag, removing statues of confederate soldiers and erasing southern history then the shooting by the muslim in san bernardino is cause for banning the hijab, the quran, muslim symbols and all mosques on american soil"
Yes, because the Confederate flag, next to Christianity, is the second most practiced religion in this country... Proper capitalization and punctuation appear to be optional as well.
Here now is the before-mentioned lovely comment to the post:
"The Constitution that you site protects free speech, not just freedom of religion. Both are in the same First Amendment fruit basket.
The actual false equivalency here is comparing the Bible with the Quran. They are equivalent only in being spiritual books. Beyond that they are polar opposites.
If you cannot see the problem with your false narrative here then there is no point in exposing the myopic tripe in the rest or your screed. But consider this: you have lost all credibility and exposed your own anti-Christian bias by trying to assign mass shootings to any other religion than Islam. Which ‘other’ religions? Fact check; mass shootings ascribed to Christianity = None. Nada. Zip. Zero. Go ahead and try to name one but let me give you a head start. The Oklahoma bomber was a self-described, self-centered, agnostic.
Here is why this is true and Islam and Christianity are polar opposites; Allah tells his followers to go out and kill innocent people for them to earn ‘Paradise’. The God of the Bible says He came and sacrificed Himself for our guilt so He may come live with us then afterward, make Heaven our home.
Quit believing all the junk you have been told and believe that Almighty God actually loves you and cares for you. Let everything else go. Read John 3:16 (and verses 15 and 17!) for yourself and start believing He is saying this to you."
Okay then... Allow me to dissect this "piece" point by point. Let's begin...
"The Constitution that you site protects free speech, not just freedom of religion. Both are in the same First Amendment fruit basket."
Congratulations! Wait, what's the point of this again? In response, I'd like to ask this commenter the following question: "Which of the following are religions? A) Christianity, B) Islam, C) the Confederate flag, D) Both A and B, E) None of the above, F) All of the above." If he answered D), he'd be correct. Yes, while the First Amendment is said to protect both free speech and freedom of religion (and freedom of the press too!), there are limitations, especially with regard to speech. Just look at the workplace. A person can't legally be fired due to their religious affiliation. However, they can definitely be fired for saying a few choice words. They can claim all they'd like that they're simply utilizing their "free speech" rights, but at the end of the day, they'll still be without a job. So while both "freedoms" may be mentioned and protected under the First Amendment, comparing the two is still apples and oranges in many scenarios. If the commentator doesn't believe me, let's look at the Facebook meme from another extreme angle. What if a Nazi-sympathizer committed a mass shooting, and as a result, the already controversial swastika symbol was banned from this country, and not long later, a self-described Christian commits a mass shooting and Nazi-sympathizers release a similar meme as the one mentioned above, which goes on to suggest that since the swastika was banned due to a mass shooter, Bibles and churches should be banned due to another mass shooter? Oh, but that's different, right? Christianity is a religion protected under the First Amendment and the swastika is a symbol of hate, correct? Well, guess what, Islam is also a religion protected under the First Amendment and the Confederate flag is seen by many as a symbol of hate as well. Also, while I fully understood what this responder meant with his words, if I really felt like being a smartass, I could have gone after his lack of a comma between the words "Amendment" and "fruit," for as he's attempting to simultaneously be clever and insult me, he's making himself sound foolish in the process by talking about some First Amendment fruit basket. I think I've seen them sold at Kroger's stores around the 4th of July, but am not 100% certain of that...
Okay, moving on...
"The actual false equivalency here is comparing the Bible with the Quran. They are equivalent only in being spiritual books. Beyond that they are polar opposites."
So, they're equivalent in one way and yet opposite in others? So, they're like the twins Danny DeVito and Arnold Schwarzenegger? Interesting... Much to this individual's chagrin, there's far more in common between the three monotheistic religions of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam than he'd ever care to admit. Sure, there are differences, but let's just look at a common complaint far right-wing Christians have of the Islamic faith. As the uber-conservative group the American Family Association put it:
"The Quran has explicit admonitions or instructions for followers of Allah to do violence and harm against the infidel. There's nothing like that in the Bible, that tells the Christian to go out and decapitate the infidel."
Actually, that's false. In Deuteronomy 17, this is written (http://www.patheos.com/blogs/dispatches/2015/01/22/yes-the-bible-does-say-to-kill-infidels/):
"If there be found among you, within any of thy gates which the LORD thy God giveth thee, man or woman, that hath wrought wickedness in the sight of the LORD thy God, in transgressing his covenant; And hath gone and served other gods, and worshipped them, either the sun, or moon, or any of the host of heaven, which I have not commanded; And it be told thee, and thou hast heard of it, and enquired diligently, and, behold, it be true, and the thing certain, that such abomination is wrought in Israel; Then shalt thou bring forth that man or that woman, which have committed that wicked thing, unto thy gates, even that man or that woman, and shalt stone them with stones, till they die."
Well, that was pleasant, was it not? There are similar such messages in Deuteronomy 13 and Numbers 31. So, there goes that argument. As a matter of fact, some Dutch pranksters recently ran an experiment where they read violent/disturbing verses from the Bible, but wrapped a cover of the Quran around it in order to give the impression they were reading from Islam's sacred book. Most of the people who were asked about these verses seemed unsurprised by them, not to mention disturbed. When they were informed the scriptures were from the Bible, many were surprised, laughed from embarrassment, and went on to say, "That just goes to show you how little we know about other faiths" (http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2015/12/04/these-pranksters-read-bible-passages-to-people-telling-them-it-was-the-quran-they-were-shocked/).
Speaking of ignorance, in addition to this experiment, theologian Philip Jenkins conducted a study where he compared scriptures from the Bible to the Quran, and this is what he had to say regarding the results (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=124494788):
- "Much to my surprise, the Islamic scriptures in the Quran were actually far less bloody and less violent than those in the Bible."
- "By the standards of the time, which is the 7th century A.D., the laws of war that are laid down by the Quran are actually reasonably humane. Then we turn to the Bible, and we actually find something that is for many people a real surprise. There is a specific kind of warfare laid down in the Bible which we can only call genocide."
- "What happens in all religions as they grow and mature and expand, they go through a process of forgetting of the original violence, and I call this a process of holy amnesia."
Okay, what's next, smart guy?
"If you cannot see the problem with your false narrative here then there is no point in exposing the myopic tripe in the rest or your screed. But consider this: you have lost all credibility and exposed your own anti-Christian bias by trying to assign mass shootings to any other religion than Islam. Which ‘other’ religions? Fact check; mass shootings ascribed to Christianity = None. Nada. Zip. Zero. Go ahead and try to name one but let me give you a head start. The Oklahoma bomber was a self-described, self-centered, agnostic."
It was at this point I wondered if my commenter was starting to speak in tongues, as he was making less sense than a newborn attempting to talk about quantum physics. I've already debunked the notion of a false narrative, so what's he babbling about again? I've honestly lost track of all the informal fallacies used in this response. I may need to call on Rick Perry to come and count them for me, if, for nothing else, entertainment value. The responder is sorely mistaken with his claim I'm anti-Christian. I'm not a follower of any faith. I'm a humanist. However, regardless of that fact, I will always fight for others' right to believe in what they so choose. I may not believe as they do, but I'll fight for their right to believe. This has nothing to do with any bias for or against any particular religion. It's simply a fight for equality. If I had fought to end slavery, would this have meant I was anti-white? If I fight for women to receive equal pay for equal work, does this make me anti-man? If I fight for gay and lesbian couples to have the legal right to marry, does this make me anti-traditional marriage? No. It makes me pro-equality. Why? Because I believe every person, regardless of age, gender, race, creed, or orientation, should be afforded equal rights under the law. If it makes me "anti-Christian" to believe in the acceptance of others regardless of our differences and in providing them equal rights and an equal chance, then so be it, but I have a hunch the all-loving Jesus would shake his head at this man's comment and provide me with a fist-bump.
As for the other bit, this responder may want to do a little research on how to fact-check. Just by saying the words "fact check," that doesn't necessarily make it a fact-check, because anyone can do that:
- "Fact-check; 4 + 4 = 122."
- "Fact-check; the capital of Canada is Nicaragua."
- "Fact-check; it was 200 degrees Celsius in Fairbanks, Alaska today."
- "Fact-check; the 33rd President of the United States was Morgan Freeman."
- "Fact-check; saying the words 'fact-check' before making a claim doesn't necessarily make that claim true."
Okay, so that final one is correct. Now allow me to debunk the rest of this responder's gobbledygook. As of June of last year, a study was released which showed, since 9/11, more had been killed in this country by non-Muslim extremists (48) than self-proclaimed jihadists (26) (http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/25/us/tally-of-attacks-in-us-challenges-perceptions-of-top-terror-threat.html?_r=0).
Not only that, but allow me to list a few self-described (radical) Christians who committed mass shootings/terrorism in this country:
1) August 5th, 2012: At a Wisconsin Sikh temple, "radical Christian" Frank Silva Roque murdered Balbir Singh Sodhi, as he simply mistook that man for being Muslim.
2) May 31st, 2009: Dr. George Tiller was shot and killed by "Christian" anti-abortion activist Scott Roeder.
3) July 27th, 2008: At the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church in Knoxville, Tennessee, "Christian extremist" Jim David Atkisson opened fire, killed two people and injuring seven others in the process. Why'd he do this? Because of his hatred for "liberals, Democrats, and gays."
4) July 29th, 1994: Paul Jennings Hill, "radical Christian, killed Dr. John Britton and his bodyguard, James Barrett due to his anti-abortion beliefs, claiming that he was simply doing God's work.
5) July 27th, 1996: "Christian extremist" Eric Rudolph insisted he was doing God's work by bombing the Olympic Park in Atlanta, Georgia, during the Summer Olympics - a blast which killed one and injured 111 others. He also bombed an abortion clinic in Birmingham, Alabama in 1998, which resulted in the death of police officer Robert Sanderson.
6) October 23rd, 1998: Self-proclaimed "Christian" James Charles Kopp shot and killed Dr. Barnett Slepian at his home in Amherst, New York, due to the doctor's history of performing abortions. He was sentenced to 25 years to life for the murder.
7) November 27th, 2015: "Radical Christian" Robert Lewis Dear killed three and injured nine others at a Planned Parenthood facility in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
8) June 17th, 2015: "Christian" Dylann Roof opened fire at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, killing nine people, and injuring another, in hopes of starting a race war.
I have several more examples, but feel like these instances are getting repetitive, so I'll move on to something else. Oh, allow me to provide another lovely list. Here are six modern-day Christian terrorist organizations (http://www.salon.com/2015/04/07/6_modern_day_christian_terrorist_groups_our_media_conveniently_ignores_partner/):
1) The Army of God
2) Eastern Lightning (the Church of the Almighty God)
3) The Lord's Resistance Army (LRA)
4) The National Liberation Front of Tripura
5) The Phineas Priesthood
6) The Concerned Christians
Have anything else for me, omniscient one?
"Here is why this is true and Islam and Christianity are polar opposites; Allah tells his followers to go out and kill innocent people for them to earn ‘Paradise’. The God of the Bible says He came and sacrificed Himself for our guilt so He may come live with us then afterward, make Heaven our home."
Ah, I must have read this commenter's mind, for I've already debunked this talking point. Okay, so that was fast. Next?!?
"Quit believing all the junk you have been told and believe that Almighty God actually loves you and cares for you. Let everything else go. Read John 3:16 (and verses 15 and 17!) for yourself and start believing He is saying this to you."
Let me get this straight... This responder provided me the words "fact-check," but no actual fact-checks. He provided me points I've since debunked through reading and research, not to mention so many fallacies, Critical Thinking professors across the country simultaneously gave themselves the biggest facepalms in recorded history. Yet at the end of his spiel, he actually has the gall to say, "Quit believing all the junk you have been told..."? Well, isn't that special? Having earned three degrees in psychology, that sounds like a classic case of projection to me, for I've actually taken the time to read about many different religions, taken the time to discuss the beliefs of people with differing faiths, and through this, and a great deal of research, have done anything but "believed all the junk I've been told." Of the two of us, it seems the only one who has believed all the junk they've been told is this guy. Perhaps he should stop resorting to debunked talking points, faulty logic, and look to a place outside his own comfort zone in order to garner a better understanding of those different than himself, for while they may differ in some ways, they're likely much more similar than he had first thought.
Lastly, I know how the before-mentioned commenter would likely respond to this post: "Yeah, but those weren't real Christians! Real Christians wouldn't act like that! They're not representing the religion and we shouldn't all be cast as evil or crazy because of a few bad eggs!" Exactly. Neither should people of any other faith.
http://www.alternet.org/tea-party-and-right/10-worst-terror-attacks-extreme-christians-and-far-right-white-men
http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/charleston-church-shooting/charleston-church-survivors-shooter-caught-us-our-eyes-closed-n424331
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/robert-lewis-dear-planned-parenthood-first-court-appearance/
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