Playing The Christian Persecution Card

I was accused of having a demon inside me today. Why? Because I had the audacity to ask a question of a Christian on Facebook and expect an answer. How very dare I be so inconsiderate!?

When I asked another question regarding dinosaurs and how they fitted into the biblical time-line according to the theists on that page I was given links to “Answers in Genesis”, the website of that arch-gobshite for god Ken Ham, and “clarifyingchristianity”.

Needless to say I was not impressed. I explained that Ken Ham is a charlatan and any competent palaeontologist would laugh themselves silly at his claims. The response?

“So you would rather look to a fallible scientist site and not to the truth found in an unfaultable book as the bible is. Sounds like you put more faith in a mere man than in the creator, what kind of creation are you? “

I went to the trouble of explaining some of the evidence relating to the KT Event that marks the demise of the dinosaurs some 65million years ago. Notably this would be the lack of dino fossils above the KT layer, the lack of sizeable mammalian fossils found below it, the worldwide iridium deposits (iridium being relatively rare naturally on Earth) and the shocked quartz content that increases as you near the impact crater in the Yukutan Peninsula.

Strangely she chose not to counter any of this, which is a shame as there's more for her to explain away. Instead she started a new thread, saying:

“I do not want to argue with those who are clearly and hatefully from the darkness. We are warned not to do that. They do not WANT the truth. Fine. God can deal with them. Jesus rebuked them and turned away to spend time with those who wanted to listen about God. He was silent when he was berated and accused too, it seems so wrong that a group called "Christian" is now turned to a un-Christian group because these unbelievers have over-run it.”

I'll name her at this point as I feel, given she said I had a demon inside me, says I'm 'from the darkness' and has on previous occasions said I'm a follower of Satan and other utter codswallop, it's her own fault. Her name is Amber My and she is an ignorant, intolerant moron of the highest order.

Amber, you behave as though we atheists are persecuting Christians by asking you to answer perfectly reasonable questions. We're not. If somebody holds a belief it is entirely reasonable to expect them to justify those beliefs if they are beliefs that are harmful to society, as religion all too often is.

When you consider the history of Christianity and how often over the centuries scripture has been used to justify the torture and murder of countless thousands and how it has been forced upon entire populations by threat of death it is rather ridiculous to consider being asked a simple question to be persecution or unreasonable! Were I to tie you to a rack and stretch your limbs until the bones dislocated and snapped, demanding you tell me where dinosaurs fitted in, fine, you'd have a point. I'm not, so you don't.

There was a time when religion was beyond question, a subject that was sacrosanct and above reproach. There was also a time when we drilled holes in people's heads to release evil spirits. Times move on. The enlightenment ushered in a time of exploration, of experimentation and discovery, a time of questioning what is around us – that includes the claims made of god and religion.

If you cannot give a rational, sensible answer to questions about your religion then you need to seriously consider what you believe and why when there is so much contrary evidence. To fail to do so is to be intellectually dishonest. To hide behind claims of persecution is an insult to those your pernicious little book has seen tortured and murdered, the families devastated.

If you believe god gave you your brain, then for god's sake use it!

As to the demon Amber said was inside me, I'm pretty sure it was just indigestion :)