Tonytamer,
You did not debunk any of our arguments. The argument we gave Christianity is an intolerant religion you rebuted by saying your a good Christian, your mum is a good Christian and Father Peter is a good Christian. But we were not saying that Christianity did not have good people who were Christians - we were saying the religion is intolerant. I myself said I have have many good friends who are Christian and I also recognised some rare sects of Christian today which are tolerant. You are not going to get any argument from me that there are good people in Christianity. I agree with that myself. There is no doubt on the matter as far as I concerned.
But when we talk about the Christian religion itself we are not talking about people but doctrines. It is a fact that Christian doctrine preaches intolerance:
I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it." (Mark 10:15)
“Then Jesus told them, 'Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” (John 20:29)
“I [Jesus] am the way and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6)
“Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.” (Mark 16:15-16) {1}
"The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved - you and your household.” (Acts 16:29-31)
“The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities - his eternal power and divine nature - have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.” (Ro 1:18-23)
God will give to each person according to what he has done. To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor, and immortality, he will give eternal life. But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile; but glory, honor and peace for everyone who does good: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For God does not show favoritism." (Ro 2:6-10)
“For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God’s sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous.” (Ro 2:13)
“This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.” (Ro 3:22)
Classical Views
For most of its history, Christianity has been an “exclusive” religion. That is, it has taught that salvation is available only to Christians. Thus, from the very beginning, Christians attached great importance to spreading the news about Christianity through missionary and evangelistic efforts, believing that people were lost without it.In the earliest centuries of the church, the Christian requirements for salvation were very simple. The message was as simple as that given to the prison guards in Acts: Repent and believe in Christ. But as different beliefs about Christ began to emerge, the church began to attempt to determine what was necessary to believe about Christ - that he was raised from the dead on the third day? That he was the Son of God? That he was God incarnate? As correct beliefs were determined, and codified by ecumenical councils of bishops, some of those who considered themselves Christians were regarded by the mainstream church as effectively in the category of “other religions.” (Arius, Pelagius, etc.)
In the 14 centuries between the writing of the New Testament and the Protestant Reformation, Christian doctrine was based on a combination of the Scriptures, creeds, certain councils, the writings of respected church fathers, and the teachings of church leaders. The nearly unanimous consensus of these authorities was that salvation is found exclusively not just through belief in Christ, but through membership in the Church. Thus, it has taught that salvation is available only to members of the Christian community who adhere to the official doctrine of the Bible, the creeds and the councils, and participate in the sacraments. Thus those who considered themselves Christians but were excommunicated from the Church and her sacraments (such as Arius and Pelagius) were believed to be excluded from salvation as well.
The “no salvation outside the church” view was primarily based on the concept, developed by theologians over the centuries, that divine grace is conveyed through the sacraments.
With the Protestant Reformation, many Christians began to believe that salvation is possible - and perhaps even more probable - outside the fold of the Catholic Church. However, it was still generally held that one must be a Christian, and adhere to certain core beliefs, to have hope of heaven.
http://www.religionfacts.com/christianity/beliefs/other_religions.htm
The Christian intolerance is so extreme that even a website like religioustolerance.com has to expose it:
Of the many thousands of essays on this web site, we regard those in this section to be among the most important.
Almost everywhere else in our essays dealing with Christianity, we compare conservative and liberal Christian points of view. This essay is different. Here, we compare various events in the Bible with current secular and religious standards of morality. This section lists many events in the Bible that are immoral by today’s secular standards, including: genocide, murder of people for their religious beliefs, mass murder of innocent children, etc. They are sometimes called “hard passages” because they seem to portray God as behaving in a way that would be considered highly immoral by most people today.
The purpose and intent of this section is to show there are some profoundly violent, immoral and unethical passages in the Bible when it is compared to today’s secular and religious ethical systems. These passages are casting Christianity and Judaism a bad light. They are causing many potential Christians and Jews to reject the Bible, and may be contributing to the legitimization of violence throughout the culture.
Religious intolerance among conservative Christians:
A few conservative Christians have made statements that categorize other religious groups as evil, degenerate, sub-human and/or hated by God. Some examples are:
A former Southern Baptist president told two large meetings recently that God does not listen to the prayers of a Jew.
A Baptist minister in Texas has allegedly called for the mass murder of Wiccans by napalm.
An Evangelical minister explained that there are two groups in the world: the children of God (those who are saved), and the children of the devil (everyone else).
Another stated that New Age beliefs are another attempt by Satan to pollute Christianity, promote immorality and foster unethical attitudes.
Still another stated that non-Christians hate God, love sin, and don’t care whether anyone is struggling with sin or not.
A prominent televangelist called for the round up and extermination of all Wiccans by the U.S. Federal government.
Buddhism, Hinduism and other Eastern religions have frequently been described as variations of Satanism.
It is thus blatantly obvious that Christianity preaches intolerance. According to Christian doctrines I am a heathen satanic worshipper who is condemned to hell and eternal damnation. I am a despicable creature who is hated by god. This doctrine that Christianity teaches has manifestd in history as crusades, colonialism, witch-trials and slavery.
Why are you defending something so morally backwards and reprehensible?
