"Hawke" wrote in message
...
I was hoping he would be assassinated before signing the Planned
Parenthood health care abortion bill.
Ah, there's those good ol' Christian values again, in full song.
What do you expect? The truth is that virtually every heinous crime
committed in the U.S. is done by a Christian. Atheists are actually very
law abiding folks and god never tells them to do bad things like he does
Christians.
Hawke
Sometimes when in discussion with atheists or people resisting Christianity,
or religion in general you will hear the claim that religion has been the
cause of the most human suffering and death in the world. Typically, events
like the Crusades, the so-called "witch hunts" and the Inquisition will be
trotted out as proof. And many Christians will shrink back or will say
something like, "Even so, Christianity as it was espoused by Christ is
non-violent." Although it is true that Christianity as espoused by Christ
was to be spread not by the sword (as Islam is designed), but by the Word,
by mere preaching. But why should we allow the atheist to even use the
Crusades and such as evidence in their claim that most human suffering and
death has been caused by religion. It plainly is not true.
What I want to do is offer a detailed listing of human death from the 18th
century through the 20th century and see if the claim is true. Yes, we'll
also look at the Crusades, the witch hunts and the Inquisition.
DEATH TOLLS
18th Century Slave Trade
a.. Atlantic slave trade: ca. 5,000,000 transported and 8,100,000 died.
b.. Islamic slave trade: ca. 1,300,000 transported and 2,000,000 died.
I mean, what else do you expect when according to many evolutionary
theories, Africans are considered less than human, as if they are merely one
rung up from the apes themselves. It must have been easy for fellow hairless
apes to do this to other hairless apes.
Seven Years War (1755-63)
a.. 1 million, 300,000
French Revolution and Napoleonic Wars (1792-1802)
a.. Estimated 3-4 million
And these wars were supposed to be about bringing "freedom" to civilized
men.
War of the Spanish Succession (1701-13)
a.. 1 million, 324,300
Yet another non-religious war
As we leave the 1700s don't forget all of the many, many other events -- all
non-religious where hairless apes killed other hairless apes.
On to the 19th century...
19th Century Slave Trade
a.. Atlantic slave trade: ca. 1.6M transported and 2.5M deaths.
b.. Islamic slave trade: ca. 2M transported and 3M died.
Venezuela, power struggles (1830-1903)
a.. 1 million
Taiping Rebellion (1850-64)
a.. 20-30 million dead.
Aren't Asians supposed to be some of the most advanced hairless apes
according to evolution???
Colonial El Niņo Famines (1876-1900)
a.. 31-61 million
American Civil War (1861-65)
a.. Over 600,000
Just how "civil" was that war?
Paraguay, War of the Triple Alliance (1864-70)
a.. Over 1 million or more than 80% of its population
Maybe it gets better when we get to the 20th century??? I mean, mankind
becomes so much more advanced....well at least advanced at killing each
other.
a.. WWI (1914-18)= 15 million (half of that is non-military death) and
this is a low estimate
b.. Russian Civil War (1917-22) = 9 million
c.. Soviet Union, Stalin's regime (1924-53) = 20-51 million (the Soviets
were decidedly "atheistic", right?)
d.. WWII (1937-45) = 55 million (yet another non-religious war)
e.. Post-War Expulsion of Germans from East Europe (1945-47) = 2 million,
100,000
f.. Chinese Civil War (1945-49) = 2 million, 500,000 (another not so
"civil" war)
g.. People's Republic of China, Mao Zedong's regime (1949-1975) = 40
million (again an "atheist" thing)
h.. Tibet (1950 et seq.) = 600,000 (China imposing "atheism" on others)
i.. Korean War (1950-53) = 2 million, 800,000
j.. North Korea (1948 et seq.) = 1 million, 663,000 (not even warring,
just imposing "atheism" on its own people)
k.. Rwanda and Burundi (1959-95) = 1 million 350,000
l.. Second Indochina War [including Vietnam] (1960-75) = 3 million,
500,000
m.. Ethiopia (1962-92) = 1 million, 400,000
n.. Afghanistan (1979-2001) = 1 million, 800,000 (Soviets trying to impose
"atheism" again)
o.. Sudan (1983 et seq.) = 1 million, 900,000 (no more slave trade deaths,
so they start killing each other??)
p.. Kinshasa Congo (1998 et seq.) = 3 million 800,000
Shall I go on?
Just to be fair, how about those "Crusades"??? (which in reality was less
about Christianity and more about securing wealth) Certainly that had to be
the biggest death toll, since according to atheists, most people have died
due to "religions". Or how about the "Witch hunts" or the Inquisition? That
should really push up the numbers eh?
a.. Crusades (1095-1291) = 1-5 million
b.. Witch Hunts (1400-1800) = est 20-100 thousand
c.. Spanish Inquisition (1478-1834) = est 32 thousand
Wow, I guess the hairless apes have Christians beat when it comes to
killing. So you see, the claim that most human suffering has been caused by
religion, is just plain false. Don't let anyone use this argument ever
again.
sources:
http://users.erols.com/mwhite28/wars18c.htm
http://users.erols.com/mwhite28/wars19c.htm
http://users.erols.com/mwhite28/warstat1.htm
http://users.erols.com/mwhite28/warstat2.htm
http://users.erols.com/mwhite28/warstat0.htm