Posted on 08/28/2007 6:50:36 PM PDT by Terriergal
When atheist Sam Harris wrote his 2004 bestseller The End of Faith, a radical attack on religious belief in any form, he was prepared for strong rebuttals from Christians.
What may have surprised him was the vitriol in which many of the emails and letters were couched. The most hostile messages came from Christians (not Muslims or Hindus). "The truth is," he explained in the forward to his latest bestseller, Letter to a Christian Nation, "that many who claim to be transformed by God's love are deeply, even murderously, intolerant of criticism."
"How do I know this?" he asked rhetorically. "The most disturbed of my correspondents always cite chapter and verse." Indeed, Letter to a Christian Nation is his response to those vituperative critics and yet another weapon in the armory of people hostile to Christianity.
I am not surprised that Harris attracted negative feedback. What disturbs me, however, is the extent to which some Christians have turned themselves into the self-appointed attack dogs of Christendom. They seem determined to savage not only opponents of Christianity, but also fellow believers of whose doctrinal positions they disapprove.
A troll through the Internet reveals websites so drenched in sarcasm and animosity that an agnostic, or a follower of another faith tradition interested in what it means to become a Christian, might be permanently disillusioned.
None of the major figures of American Protestantism in the past quarter-century have been spared from attack, from Billy Graham to Rick Warren, from Tim LaHaye to Robert Schuller. The attacks, moreover, are not reasoned or modestly couched criticism, but blasts of ire determined to discredit beyond redemption the targets of the criticism.
(Excerpt) Read more at christianitytoday.com ...
Murderously intolerant huh? Kind of like Rick Warren stating that Islamic and Christian Fundamentalism are one of the big enemies of the 21st century? Seems kind of like Aikman is reading the same playbook here.
“from ... Rick Warren, ... to Robert Schuller.”
No wonder!!!
I will not disparage Sam Harris, but with all the money he is making, I wonder if he will start some sort of atheist charity.
yes, very interesting that he chooses to name those two as examples of “Christendom.”
That would be an interesting development to follow...!
Tim LaHaye is a major figure in American Protestantism???
If you were around the Religion Forum in the Spring of '06, there was a rash of articles by or about Way of Life.org and it's founder, David Cloud. IMO "attack dog" is an accurate moniker for Cloud.
Yeah. I guess if you sell enough books...
He went to Tibet once, right? :-)
Selective memory loss...
I’m thinking what about ‘brood of vipers’ ‘blind guides’ ‘whitewashed tombs full of dead mens bones’ and ‘I wish they’d go the whole way and emasculate themselves.’
I also kind of like Elijah’s “where’s your god now? Is he sleeping? Is he... indisposed?”
Let slip the dogs of war, I say.
Who, Cloud? I dunno... (is there a joke there I missed...?)
Did you mean to comment on something?
LOL!!! Evidence of a hardened heart.
LOL!!! Evidence of a hardened heart.
Not just the hardened heart of the atheist, but of the author of this "Christian" article. Good grief. The comments from the atheist author are to be expected. I guess since the author of the article doesn't like chapter and vers, then he probably hasn't read 1 Corinthians lately either.
1Co 1:18-23
" For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the cleverness of the clever I will thwart." Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles,
1 Cor 2:14
But a natural man oes not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.
Actually, angry fundamentalists are outraged that so many “megachurch” pastors have sold out, and no longer even teach from the Bible. They now download their sermons from a website so that “one size fits all” sermons are the fad of the week. They have scattered the flock, to gain “numbers” and are completely overlooking the intended purpose of the Church.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.