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Protestants are just as guilty of evil practices as are Catholics.
Since the mods have made it clear that it is not permissible to single out the evil practices of Catholics, let's level the playing field by focusing on Protestant practices.
Wikipedia
Witch Hunts
The witch trials in Early Modern Europe came in waves and then subsided. There were trials in the 15th and early 16th centuries, but then the witch scare went into decline, before becoming a major issue again and peaking in the 17th century. What had previously been a belief that some people possessed supernatural abilities (which were sometimes used to protect the people) now became a sign of a pact between the people with supernatural abilities and the devil. To justify the killings, Protestant Christianity and its proxy secular institutions deemed witchcraft as being associated to wild Satanic ritual parties in which there was much naked dancing and cannibalistic infanticide.
The classical period of witch-hunts in Early Modern Europe and Colonial North America took place in the Early Modern period or about 1450 to 1750, spanning the upheavals of the Reformation and the Thirty Years' War, resulting in an estimated 35,000 to 100,000 executions. Including illegal and summary executions it is estimated 200,000 or more "witches" were tortured, burnt or hanged in the Western world from 1500 until around 1800.
Evil is not a demonic individual, or a force in the world. Evil is to be found in the horrible things that ordinary people find justification in doing to each other.
I would suggest that a solid basis for attacking religion makes religion a legitimate target. Certainly a reasonable basis for entering into a discussion concerning the pros and cons of religious belief.
While evil is not confined to religion, religion can and has been a vehicle for evil, and that is worth discussing. Religious people have a vested interest in staying aware of and keeping evil out of their own midst.
"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." - Edmund Burke
A corporate prayer of confession in the Episcopal church includes the sentence, "We repent of the evil that enslaves us, the evil we have done, and the evil done on our behalf." (Bolding mine.)
Religious people need to not deny the evil that has been done on our behalf, but rather to shine a light on it, fix any damage we can, and be vigilant to make the changes necessary so that it doesn't happen again.
Fascinating perspective. Now I would have said, "Oh fine, another thread clarifying some of the abuses of religion. I see this one is to clarify the fact that historically such abuse is not limited to one faith tradition. How true.
Protestants are just as guilty of evil practices as are Catholics.
Since the mods have made it clear that it is not permissible to single out the evil practices of Catholics, let's level the playing field by focusing on Protestant practices.
Wikipedia
Witch Hunts
The witch trials in Early Modern Europe came in waves and then subsided. There were trials in the 15th and early 16th centuries, but then the witch scare went into decline, before becoming a major issue again and peaking in the 17th century. What had previously been a belief that some people possessed supernatural abilities (which were sometimes used to protect the people) now became a sign of a pact between the people with supernatural abilities and the devil. To justify the killings, Protestant Christianity and its proxy secular institutions deemed witchcraft as being associated to wild Satanic ritual parties in which there was much naked dancing and cannibalistic infanticide.
The classical period of witch-hunts in Early Modern Europe and Colonial North America took place in the Early Modern period or about 1450 to 1750, spanning the upheavals of the Reformation and the Thirty Years' War, resulting in an estimated 35,000 to 100,000 executions. Including illegal and summary executions it is estimated 200,000 or more "witches" were tortured, burnt or hanged in the Western world from 1500 until around 1800.
Evil is not a demonic individual, or a force in the world. Evil is to be found in the horrible things that ordinary people find justification in doing to each other.
Why do Protestants assume that they are not Catholic, that is the question. Protestants follow what is wholly Catholic, and this from the Pope who stands in the place of God able to change and alter any scripture he sees fit, and the church did just that. They created their own worship system apart from the worship system of the bible, and they instituted their own laws which contradicted the law and worship system of God.
Then while the Protestants follow what is wholly created and instituted by Catholic authority, they then speak against Catholics when they themselves are Catholics who follow what is wholly Catholic?
While evil is not confined to religion, religion can and has been a vehicle for evil, and that is worth discussing. Religious people have a vested interest in staying aware of and keeping evil out of their own midst.
"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." - Edmund Burke
A corporate prayer of confession in the Episcopal church includes the sentence, "We repent of the evil that enslaves us, the evil we have done, and the evil done on our behalf." (Bolding mine.)
Religious people need to not deny the evil that has been done on our behalf, but rather to shine a light on it, fix any damage we can, and be vigilant to make the changes necessary so that it doesn't happen again.
I would like to reiterate that evil is not a tangible force in the universe, like gravity. Evil is a concept. Evil is found in the horrible things that humans do to each other. Some individuals commit evil acts against fellow humans. But such individuals are diseased and represent a tiny minority of humankind. It is when evil becomes a justifiable goal of an identifiable group that society is placed in danger. Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party are often identified as "evil." And I do not disagree. But the same sorts of justifications for evil acts (massive violence against others) based on religious assertions are just as evil.
"Just as a man's denominational orientation is the result of upbringing, and only the religious need as such slumbers in his soul, the political opinion of the masses represents nothing but the final result of an incredibly tenacious and thorough manipulation of their mind and soul." -Adolf Hitler (Mein Kampf)
"Hence today I believe that I am acting in accordance with the will of the Almighty Creator: by defending myself against the Jew, I am fighting for the work of the Lord." Mein Kampf (p. 65) Adolf Hitler
"The Church's interests cannot fail to coincide with ours alike in our fight against the symptoms of degeneracy in the world of to-day, in our fight against the Bolshevist culture, against an atheistic movement, against criminality, and in our struggle for the consciousness of a community in our national life, for the conquest of hatred and disunion between the classes, for the conquest of civil war and unrest, of strife and discord. These are not anti-Christian, these are Christian principles."
Speech delivered at Koblenz 26 August 1934; from Norman H. Baynes, ed. (1969). The Speeches of Adolf Hitler: April 1922-August 1939. 1. New York: Howard Fertig. p. 386
Numbers 31
[15] And Moses said unto them, Have ye saved all the women alive?
[16] Behold, these caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to commit trespass against the LORD in the matter of Peor, and there was a plague among the congregation of the LORD.
[17] Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman that hath known man by lying with him.
[18] But all the women children, that have not known a man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves.
Joshua 6
[20] So the people shouted when the priests blew with the trumpets: and it came to pass, when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city.
[21] And they utterly destroyed all that was in the city, both man and woman, young and old, and ox, and sheep, and ass, with the edge of the sword.
Joshua 11:
19 Except for the Hivites living in Gibeon, not one city made a treaty of peace with the Israelites, who took them all in battle. 20 For it was the Lord himself who hardened their hearts to wage war against Israel, so that he might destroy them totally, exterminating them without mercy, as the Lord had commanded Moses.
Ezekiel 9
[4] And the LORD said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof.
[5] And to the others he said in mine hearing, Go ye after him through the city, and smite: let not your eye spare, neither have ye pity:
[6] Slay utterly old and young, both maids, and little children, and women: but come not near any man upon whom is the mark; and begin at my sanctuary. Then they began at the ancient men which were before the house.
[7] And he said unto them, Defile the house, and fill the courts with the slain: go ye forth. And they went forth, and slew in the city.
Samuel 1 15:
[2] Thus saith the LORD of hosts, I remember that which Amalek did to Israel, how he laid wait for him in the way, when he came up from Egypt.
[3] Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.
Justifying genocide is EVIL. Justifying doing harm to other humans as a righteous necessity because of their differing beliefs or national/racial origins is the root cause of evil.
Not standing against evil is nothing more than the tacit approval of doing evil things.
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