Would you care to provide Scripture references to support your contention that Christianity has a dark, coercive, dangerous side?
I've seen plenty for islam. I'm coming up short for the teachings of Jesus or His followers.
Ever read the Book of Leviticus?
Better yet, I'll provide you with the name of a couple of Christian churches you may enjoy attending. First, you might try the Westboro Baptist Church where you can learn that "God hates fags" etc. Maybe you could join them in picketing dead American Soldier's funerals.
If that's not your cup of tea, there's always the Rev. Jeremiah Wright's United Church of Christ in Chicago. Obama says it's really a great loving Christian environment.
“Would you care to provide Scripture references to support your contention that Christianity has a dark, coercive, dangerous side?”
How about the entire story of David as he and his Hebrew army sweep through Canaan attacking, burning and sacking every city, killing every man, woman, child and beast therein, and does so because God told him to.
Aren’t all people the children of God? Why would he command David to savagely murder tens of thousands of his own children and ten burn their cities? Because they claimed it was “the land promised to the Jews” so it needed to be “cleansed” first?
I’ve never understood how Christians can believe their God is the same God of Israel. The Christain God is a God and father to all men and women, the Hebrew God is a God for the hebrews only.
If I quoted scriptural references, then the typical reply would be as I’ve always said, that they were “misinterpreted”. Often though, they are, which is beside the point.
I also note that Christians do not limit their doctrines to the New Testament, but include laws, statutes and judgments of the Old Testament, the God of the Hebrews, as well. And these were and are used far more often as justifications for the misbehavior of Christians.
And to their credit, the vast majority of Christians today do not excuse such bad behavior in their minority. This is the critical difference between them and Muslims. The Christians have reformed their doctrines, and in line with their theology, not the one borrowed from the Jews. They generally *act* as Christians.
An excellent example is in how almost all Christians reject such infamous characters as Fred Phelps, and bizarre schismatics like David Koresh. The Anglican church is suffering a schism between those that embrace Christian doctrines and the Episcopalians who seem to have forgotten them entirely.
This willingness of Christians to *not* apologize for the bad behavior of other Christians is what needs to be emphasized, not that some Christians misbehave, and use the religion to justify their misbehavior.