Questions from an agnostic online:
"...why [do] some people grow more aggressive, muscular, demanding, authoritarian or judgmental after converting to the "religion of self-sacrificial love," i.e., Christianity;"
Excellent questions, especially the last one.
For years it troubled me why it was that the most Jesus-like individuals were outside of orthodox Christianity.
And that, in contrast, many of the leaders of Christianity held strong unethical views and behaviors that were the exact opposite of Jesus' own words, and against Jesus' own social ethics as seen in the Sermon on the Mount and in the Good Samaritan parable.
Contrary to what I expected, the individuals who I admired as being deeply ethical in thought and practice included an agnostic, a Baha'i, a Jehovah's Witness, a Mormon, and a member of Eddy's church, Christ Scientist.
Their religions all seemed bonkers, but somehow, they had become committed to basic ethical truths, ones every human ought to hold and be dedicated to living.
Strangely, when a few of us dedicated social activists sought to get Christians to work for peace, the Christians would say,
"No one can know peace until they first accept Jesus as their only savior."
YET all these Christians, and their leaders (indeed almost every Christian I knew) were strongly pro-war:-(
avidly supported, paid for, and fought in the wars the U.S. started in Vietnam,
Central America, Iraq, Syria, etc. over the years.
Where was the peace that Jesus was supposed to bring?
These millions of born-again Christians continued clamoring in favor of the newest U.S. wars,
and defended all of their country's past wars,
even the intentional slaughter of innocent civilians!
Yet they were devout Christians who said they were born again,
that only they were the people who had real peace.
Huh?
I still remember when one Christian leader stated
that the atom bomb was "God's gift to the U.S."!!!
And our Christian youth leader personally told me
that God was calling me and others to go and kill Vietnamese for Christ:-(
And many Muslims and orthodox Jews make similar claims--
if only our enemies adopt our religion, then all will be well...
But, of course, it never is,
because those Muslims, Jews, Christians, etc. use unjust and harmful means
to accomplish their alleged good goal.
Even worse, all 3 religions claim that God/Allah/G-d
is the One who actually causes/wills/ordains ALL evil,
causes all the wars, and so forth.
None of it made any sense, still doesn't.
Troubled in the Light,
Daniel Wilcox
