American Churchgoers Strongest Supporters of Torture.

[elleng]

A recent survey by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life shows that the most frequent American churchgoers—those who attend services once a week or more—are the most likely to support torture of prisoners. About 54 percent of the frequent churchgoers, compared with 42 percent of infrequent churchgoers, said that torture was often or sometimes justified. The strongest support for torture—60 percent—came from white Protestant evangelicals. Those who profess no religion at all are least likely to support torture. How would you explain this? How would evangelical Christians, who supposedly believe in the principles expressed in the Sermon on the Mount (“blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy”), justify torture? Why do you think that secularists exhibit less support for torture than religious Americans?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/community/groups/index.html?plckForumPage=ForumDiscussion&plckDiscussionId=Cat%3aa70e3396-6663-4a8d-ba19-e44939d3c44fForum%3a7cceb09e-a8ae-44b4-b7af-92605cbce240Discussion%3a3a0af30a-fc94-4d9a-a7bc-a14bf7110d01&hpid=talkbox1

Note first comment, by zzim. I told him 'Backwards you talk.'

[napoleon_in_rags]

1. I think you have to go back to ancient times to shed some light on that one.

I saw a really good show on the religions in ancient Egypt: They were basically political entities, different temples controlled groups of people and fought with each other for political control. I think many churches have degraded to being modern versions of the same thing: little cliques of people more focused on people and politics than on Christ. And that's really really sad. :(

[clarence swinney]

11. CHRIST

voided the Old Testament

PEACE ON EARTH
LOVE THY NEIGHBOR AS THY SELF
SWORDS INTO PLOW SHARES
CARE MOSTLY FOR LEAST AMONGST THEE

JESUS CHRIST IS OUR LEADER BUT WE DO NOT FOLLOW HIS TEACHINGS

BECAUSE HE LIVES WE CAN FACE TOMORROW

[rwheeler31]

2. Why are they so afraid?

[The Hope Mobile]

16. Because Rush tells them to be nt

[jaysunb]

3. I'm not at all surprised.

The same bunch has always supported the klan and the slaughter of native Americans. :evilfrown:

[tomreedtoon]

4. They submit to torture every Sunday. They think it's good for you.

And they don't see why putting prisoners on their knees on concrete is a bad thing. It brings them closer to the One True God. And who cares if they do it naked with a baton up their ass? That's not uncommon in American churches either.

[Tutankhamun]

6. No wonder I stay away from churches.

[tomreedtoon]

8. I stopped going completely in my college years.

The big cause was the way the Catholic Church treated my sister, refusing to let her have a divorce from her abusive first husband. But the last straw was the "Sign of Peace."

At one point in the Mass, people are told to give "some sign of peace" to one another. I was told that this pointless gesture of shaking hands or whatever, muttering words wishing each other peace, was supposed to help us ignore the iniquities and nastiness that the parishioners, and the Church, instituted the rest of the week. I just couldn't tolerate it.

[Bluenorthwest]

5. Just read that Rummy gave Bush war pics

with Bible verses on them each day. The torture and the invasion are fully religionist in nature.

[Tutankhamun]

7. God allegedly told Bush to invade Iraq.

God evidently loves S&M porn. In that way, the Bush admnistration is is Godlike.

[clarence swinney]

10. hitler + bush

God told me to invade to get the terrorists before they attacked us.
Poland + Iraq

Each Major EMPIRE felt they were guided by a God.

Rome-Spain-Holland-Britain-America
here comes China!

[clarence swinney]

9. SOUTHERN BAPTISTS

only major religion to have leadership support Iraq Slaughterama.

anti abortion
pro excecution

[bemildred]

12. Everybody knows religion is all about control.

You don't want to get in a fight with God do you?

[mwb970]

14. Hyper-religious people tend to be authoritarian.

Most crave a loud, angry, self-confident spokesman to follow, sheep-style. (Limbaugh is perfect for this crowd.) Wrong is OK, just so the shepherds are strident, outraged, and self-righteous. A few want to be the pompous blowhard that the sheep follow, most are content just to mindlessly follow.

They're in a sick, psycho world of their own. The key word in the above is "mindlessly".

[HooptieWagon]

13. They want to return to the glory years of the Inquisition...n/t

[Soylent Brice]

15. too late to rec.

damn.

[The Hope Mobile]

17. Hypocrisy

So sad that most have no idea what religion is supposed to be. I see this every time I spend time with my hyper-conservative, religious family members. All republicans. Its nauseating.

[stubtoe]

18. Because it's not that long-haired, peace + love hippie Jesus they like.

He was too wishy-washy for them. Love the sinners? Bah!

They like Jehovah, the angry, smiting god of the old testament.

Nice, easy-to-understand, right is right and wrong is wrong, black and white kind of thinking.