Sticks and stones may break my bones,

But Jesus never hurt me.

So save your accusations.

There are no ‘harmful consequences’ of the Christian faith.

None.

You can stop crusading against the evils of Christianity.

There aren’t any.

Go slay some windmills instead.

Your gay friends have never been “wounded by the church”.

Baptists don’t toss homosexuals off the roof of their building.

Catholics don’t drag gay people around the parking lot.

Some Christian sects ordain gay ministers.

But not ALL Christians ordain gay ministers.

That’s called ‘disagreement’.

It’s not ‘harmful’ or ‘hateful’.

The belief that homosexuality is a sin doesn’t actually hurt homosexuals.

The belief that gender is determined by biology doesn’t actually hurt transexuals.

The belief that the President is despicable doesn’t actually hurt Donald Trump.

The belief that abortion is murder doesn’t actually hurt women.

(Abortion DOES hurt babies though…FYI.)

To summarize:

The Gospel of Jesus Christ does no harm.

In fact, Christian theology REDUCES harm and suffering.

Always.

Because Jesus is good, anyone following his commandments will do good by default.

“Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the tree is known by its fruit. You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil.” – Matthew 12:33

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39 Responses

  1. Doing something in the name of a religion or a set of beliefs is different from that religion or set of beliefs being harmful, I think. There are Christian terrorists but they’re not called terrorists. People have been killed by people who call themselves Christians then state they are superior to others and therefore are justified in killing them. People hurt. People kill. You can use your belief system as justification for what you do, it doesn’t mean you’re right. It doesn’t mean that the belief at is core is wrong. It’s just how a person has chosen to interpret it. We are given free will. The truth of the matter is people decide how they want to behave. Some then just justify it with their religion or beliefs both in positive and negative contexts. Maybe I’m naive but I’ve read these messages saying “if your religion promotes violence you need a new religion.” Problem being, I don’t know a religion that does promote violence though there are those that people use, as I said, to justify their behaviour. People always have a choice. So even if a religion did (and again, I don’t know any that do) they can choose not to hurt. Just my thoughts.

    1. The point is, Jesus never said anything like, “Go forth and slaughter the infidels for my glory!”.
      He never said, “My followers are better than you and can do as they please.”

      I agree with you that we have free will. Any harm we do is on us, not Jesus.

  2. I’m one who would differ with you on the harmful effects of christianity. Both to myself and my family and society in general. Historically speaking,nt here has been quite enough Harm to the world and people by christianity to go around. You are just simply wrong. Jb

      1. Salem Witch Trials. But personally? Christianity taught me that without a saving relationship with Jesus, most of my family were headed, and some were already in hell being tortured in everlasting fire for eternity. The anguish and horror of this does weigh heavy on a mind that takes it seriously… especially if the people and family is close to you. And for those people and family I’m not close with? It does tend to color and affect how you feel and act toward them, “knowing” that they’ve rejected your Saviour so they just be somehow “less than” you are. Especially if they’re ‘guilty’ of some grievous sins that the god of the Bible finds ‘abominable’, like homosexuality. I have members of my family who for decades I saw as lost and worthy of hell fire for the simple fact of who they chose to love. One’s partner who died of aids, nicest guy you’d ever meet out in the neighborhood, his christian family disowned him in life for being gay, was merciless to him as he lay taking his final breaths, and refused to attend his funeral. Consigned to the flames.
        And you say christianity is not harmful? You have blinded yourself.

        1. None of what you describe is Christian doctrine.

          At the same time, you have no basis for accusing anyone of wrongdoing because you refuse to outline the basis for your current moral worldview.

          It is you who is blind.

          1. “thou shalt not suffer a witch to live”, christian doctrine cannot escape the old testament god’s commands. jesus and yahweh are the same god

          2. *facepalm*

            A man who was in ministry for 30+ years should not be saying things like, “Christianity can’t escape Old Testament doctrine…” He ought to know–if Jesus and Yahweh were the same God–that Jesus had every right to explain to his children that there was going to be a different set of rules in the house when they were teenagers than when they were babies… (And that’s what he did.)

          3. I know. But he’s never demonstrated the most basic understanding of Christian doctrine. I figure he understands his own doctrine better.

          4. I just want him to say, “Have a nice day.”
            He does that when we probe his philosophy.

          5. Well, history show us that he needs at least three decades to develop his philosophy, and even THEN, he doesn’t necessarily end up with a cohesive one. So, you’re probing too early. Ask him about his beliefs in 2045. 🙂

            And have a nice day.

          6. You’re disobeying the God of the Bible as well, Pastor. We’re two peas in a pod!

            Difference being that I’m going to let Jesus take the blame for my disobedience. You’re going to take the fall yourself.
            Awesome!

          7. I don’t think that’s the response KIA was looking for… I think he expected you to explain that most of the Old Testament Law was phased out, as the Gospel message spread from the Jews to the rest of the world.

            Children are given different rules from teenagers, who are given different rules from adults, who eventually get the freedom to make their own rules (more or less). KIA expected you to say something like that because he knows that’s true, and probably already has a well-rehearsed response. Shame on your for not allowing him to use the rebuttal that he has spent over a year polishing! 🙂

          8. Disagree.
            KIA doesn’t rehearse his responses. He raises one butt cheek off his chair, farts, and translates the noise into words.

        2. i agree also why is the fact that christianity adventist on 3abn often say stuff like without god your nothing or you can’t have happiness. christianity can cause some people like me emotional trauma

        1. When a deconvert smashes down the door of his ex-wife’s apartment and slaughters her and the kids, I know it is ridiculous to say, “See? That’s why ex-Christians are dangerous!”

          This is because I still have the capacity to reason.
          You walked away from rationality when you decided you were smarter than God.

  3. Amen! Jesus Christ never hurt me, either.

    Once my husband an I pulled up behind this heavily decorated Christian at the gas pump, fish stickers and crosses all over his car, who proceeded to have this ungodly tantrum and yell at the poor clerk. Hubby quipped, “good thing that man’s a Christian, I’d hate to see him without Christ.” Well there you go! It’s all a matter of perspective. What we tend to blame on Christians, is often simply human nature showing its ugly self. Now imagine what people would look like having absolutely no standard in which to fall short of.

    1. Great comment.

      Thank goodness God buried that standard deep in the human heart–so that even those who claim he doesn’t exist are still compelled to walk toward his Truth. (Most of the time.) 🙂

  4. Christianity has never harmed anyone… but people claiming to be Christians have. Even if we correctly leave the Crusades out (due to the fact that not only was that hundreds of years ago, but also that Europe didn’t get into it until it was unavoidable due to Islamic slaughter), pro-lifers have bombed abortion clinics as well as many other attrocious things.

    The difference is that every person who claims Christ is denying Him by doing these things. The man who taught turning the other cheek and whose followers have been slaughtered for their faith would not encourage the violent unloving acts some by those filled with hate… not Him. In contrast, Muhammad himself slaughtered a bunch of people, raped even more, owned and encouraged owning sex slaves, practices child marriage and polygamy, and taught jihad as the ultimate right. Anyone reading the Q’uaran will realize that, whereas the Christians acting out in violence are the radical ones and are denying their faith, Muslims who do NOT do these things are the radicals and denying the father of their beliefs.

    Christianity never hurt anyone… even though those claiming Christ have. Islam hurts people every single day…even though some claiming Muhammad denounce it.

  5. Good Post.

    It’s frustrating when people you identify with engage in deplorable behavior or horrible reasoning. I think that’s the real sin behind “Taking God’s name in vain.” Rather than saying some arbitrary name for God in whatever language you use, saying that you are of God and then grossly misrepresenting him seems to be more the tragedy.

    It’s what has opened up the foothold for naysayers to say God is deplorable. Granted, I think the OP’s line of thinking is correct – the original intent of the Gospel and the Bible as a whole do not lead to the crusades, racism, or even sexism. However, it can be hard to blame the angry dissenter when many Christians so-called present bad fruit.

    1. In my opinion, those Naysayers are GRATEFUL for any racism or wars or abortion-clinic-bombing that is caused by people claiming Christianity… They WANT Christians to display bad fruit, because it makes them feel justified in the hatred they would have for God either way.

      Again, just a suspicion of mine…

      1. I think you’re probably right – it’s relatively natural to demonize the other side and look for/exaggerate their flaws. Of course, given the imperfections of humanity, every team can do this to a large extent (whether the context is religions, politics, military, sports, or reality tv).

        I guess there isn’t really any avoiding it, but I tend to get more frustrated with my own “team” so to speak.

        1. Yeah, I was going to bring up “Christians who actually CELEBRATE when a terrorist is Muslim.” They’ll deny they are happy about it, of course; but they kind of are.

          (The only difference is, Christians don’t have to look as far for examples of violent Muslims, and Atheists are still fixated on Westboro Baptist as if the twelve members there aren’t denounced by literally everyone else, all the time.) The MESSAGE of Christianity is a good, peaceful one, which is why there are fewer cases of religiously-motivated violence from its adherents.

          1. It is difficult to construe the Bible (especially the New Testament) in such a way that promotes carrying out violent acts.

            I get that it’s a side point to what you (and several others) are saying, but I do question the value of comparing Christianity to Islam regarding violence, especially when talking to non-Muslims. In general, the conversation often sounds like “Well hey, we are not as bad as them,” which may be true – but that’s usually not all that relevent. I’ve seen it several times in different groups and I just wonder where that comes from if not just an odd psychological defense mechanism.

          2. True. When I’m talking to non-Muslims (and particularly Atheists), I prefer a generic, “Theistic” approach.

            I insisted to Violet a few weeks ago that I would be able to have a perfectly amicable conversation with a Muslim woman about head-coverings, and I would have the common ground of Monotheism to build on. And I meant that. Really, I think I have more in common with Muslims than not. 🙂

            But, I’ve also found that non-Muslims are often the first to bring up Islam to me, just as Atheists are often the first to quote the Bible in conversation. So…I don’t know, I just find that interesting. lol. And, in that case, if someone is determined to contrast Islam with Christianity, then, yes, there are a few big differences between the character (and commands) of Jesus and the character (and commands) of Mohammed.

  6. I regard New Atheism’s “religion poisons everything” or “religion does more harm than good” arguments as patently absurd, as should everyone. Not just because they are obviously untrue but because anyone who has entertained the idea and then bumped into an actual Christian community will quickly wonder what other fabrications Hitchens, Dawkins, and their devotees have spun.

    I don’t just mean that anyone who dips into Christian history will discover that the violence of Christendom is dwarfed by the bloodshed of non-religious and irreligious conflicts. I mean that those who find themselves, or their loved ones, in genuine need in almost any country in the Western world are very, very likely to become the beneficiaries of direct and indirect Christian compassion. The faithful account for an inordinate amount of volunteer hours, they give blood at higher-than-normal rates, and the largest charities are mostly Christian organizations. This doesn’t make Christians better than atheists, but it puts the lie to the claim that they’re worse or that religion does nothing but harm.

  7. Let me preempt the point-twisting:

    “But Jooooooooohn. If someone believes Trump is despicable, and so they assassinate him, then their belief has done harm!!!” –21st Century Reasoning

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