Current atheist rock star Richard Dawkins is quoted as arguing against the morality of Christianity, specifically saying that God is immoral. Dawkins says “The God of the Old Testament is arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction: jealous and proud of it, a petty, unjust, unforgiving control freak; a vindictive, bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser; a misogynistic, homophobic, racist, infanticidal, genocidal . . .” He goes on, but you get the point.
A century earlier, atheist Friedrich Nietzsche was equally nauseated with Christianity, but for a different reason. Nietzsche was equally vitriolic against Christianity, but gave an opposite explanation. He held that the survival of the fittest was the way of the world, and that Christianity brought a detestable morality to that end. According to Nietzsche, “The poison of the doctrine of “equal rights for all” — it was Christianity that spread it most fundamentally.” He goes on to accuse Christianity of the horrible crime of doing away with master’s rights and saying that everyone is equal.
Whatever Christianity has done, it has not spread contradictions, both equal rights and racism, both overly fair to all classes and bloodthirsty genocide. Perhaps one could accuse separate Christians of such extremes, but the teachings of the Bible are not both “A and non-A” as logic describes.
In reality, if one looks for reasons to hate religion, a reason will be found, whether it is founded in truth or not. Both Dawkins and Nietzsche are guilty of this fallacy.
“Whatever Christianity has done, it has not spread contradictions”
Tell that to the Southern Baptist Convention and their split with northern Baptists over slavery.
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That individual Christians and individual atheists have taught contradictory things is not news. The point is about the teachings of the system itself. Whatever Christianity or atheism teaches, no system can teach racism and non-racism, or genocide and non-genocide, in the same sense, for to do so is to not teach at all.
I just find it interesting that the current wave of popular atheism is just that, a current wave. The views held by the atheist heroes today will be as forgotten, unread, and changed as those of past eras, such as our friend Fred Nietzsche. Meanwhile, the Bible will teach the same things it has since it has been revealed.