UberKuh

Uberkuh,

You only have to look to the founder of Christianity to see what an authentic Christian is. Christ defined very clearly what authentic Christianity consists of.

Any person claiming to be a Christian and not following Christ's teaching is in error - Christ said of his followers "...by their works shall they be known." He anticipated the misuse and abuse of Christianity.

So there is certainly an authentic Christian, and it is someone who's actions are in accord with Christ's teachings.

Also you 'worry about the future only because religion still exists'. This seems to ignore the fact that we have managed to get to where we are today with the huge part that religion has played right throughout history. I think it is sloppy thinking to blame religion for all humanity's ills and give it no credit for any of the good that it has done. It is certainly a very selective and biased view of history and modernity.

And if you wish (as many do) to go down the road of accusing religion of being at the root of most wars I will quote Vox Day -

"Who has not heard the Catholic Spanish Inquisition, (2,000 death sentences passed on to the Spanish Crown over 349 years) conflated with the pagan Holocaust (12 million murders in five years), and the atheist slaughters of the Great Terror, the Great Leap Forward and the Killing Fields. (4 million murders in 20 years, 30 million murders in 3 years and 2 million murders in four years, respectively.) And it is commonly asserted that religion is a major cause of war, although, as I have previously demonstrated, religion has only played a role in about 10 percent of all the wars in recorded history.

And as for my argument, we can substitute for atheism, 'secular humanism', 'existentialism', 'materialism' or a whole host of ideologies - 'marxism' to 'capitalism'.

Nothing here offers a comprehensive view of how we should treat one another, from corporate and social rsponsibility down to individual ethics. Christianity does. In fact most of the above create a moral vacuum where the worst of humanity can exhibit itself.

Regarding the silly claim of knowing absolute truth. I believe in God and Christ and believe that his teaching is humanity's best hope. This does not make me arrogant - I do not wish to force my views on anyone. I do not agree with many of the things the church has done in its past and present. I believe the church should not hold power, because it is corrupted as a result. Christ urges Christians to lay down power and take up love and the service of others.

I do not even say I am very good at keeping his teachings, I am often woefully inadequate - so I am not in a position to judge anyone else.

And regarding our other conversation, I believe in evolution, but differ with you when I believe that God kick-started it, and it was set up in such a way to produce us.

Regards,

Blacknad.