The next few will be a string of posts in one discussion...
By their fruits - K. Crady
this was a long discussion where he obliterates zacchaeus post after post.
Rather than writing an epic reply to yours, let me try to cut the Gordian knot instead.
Among the words attributed to Jesus is the statement, "By their fruits ye shall know them." You can know what a person (or a movement) is by what they do, just as you can know what species of fruit tree you're looking at by the fruit it produces.
Now, we could debate for ages on whether or not an ideology can "cause" people to do good or bad things, or whether free will means a person can be good in spite of holding an evil ideology, or vice versa. Likewise, we could come up with all sorts of creative ways to explain how the Catholic Church can order and carry out tortures, exectutions, and brutal wars for centuries, following in the footsteps of tortures, executions, and brutal wars carried out in the pages of the Bible at express divine command, without any of that actually being "official" Christian doctrine or practice.
However, Jesus offers us a much simpler and quicker way to the root of the problem.1
By their fruits ye shall know them.
Christianity, Catholic and otherwise, claims to represent the foremost moral authority on Earth. Christianity (Catholic and otherwise) is supposed to be superior to all other religions and belief systems when it comes to morality or having a the right sort of relationship with God, Who is supposed to be the epitome of moral perfection.
Christianity claims to have at least some degree of supernatural assistance from God in the preservation of its authentic teachings and in empowering believers to live more moral lives.
By their fruits ye shall know them.
Jesus himself is portrayed making this point, claiming that it would in fact be possible to recognize his true followers by their behavior.
By their fruits ye shall know them.
Christianity (Catholic and otherwise) has a long and horrifying record of atrocities, wars, suppression of science, thought, and dissent.
By their fruits ye shall know them.
Christianity (Catholic and otherwise) has a record of brutality with few peers in pre-modern times (e.g. Genghis Khan and the Aztecs).
By their fruits ye shall know them.
The historical record as well as present-day statistics make it absolutely crystal clear that Christianity does not, in general, uplift and enlighten humankind in any way that suggests the presence of supernatural power. We see no evidence that it is inherently superior to other religions and philosophies, and it is arguably worse than some (e.g. Buddhism).
By their fruits ye shall know them.
Since tortures, executions, and brutal wars are portrayed in the Bible taking place at the command of the biblical God, it is no surprise that those who profess to follow this god should act in similar ways.
By their fruits ye shall know them.
Until these evil passages in the Bible are de-canonized and denounced by Christians (Catholic and otherwise) they are still part of Christianity, waiting to motivate the next generation of Inquisitors and Crusaders. With access to modern weapons and the power of the modern State, there is no reason that Christianity could not match or exceed the atrocities of modern totalitarianisms.
By their fruits ye shall know them.
It's really very simple. Because...
By their fruits ye shall know them.
NOTES:
1. Am I presuming too much to say that pronouncements attributed to Jesus in officially-canonized Gospels qualify as Christian doctrine?
unmerge these shyts
