Religion and child abuse, fundamentalism and politics, Justice Sunday III

[Ian David]

Religion and child abuse, fundamentalism and politics, Justice Sunday III and Pastor Latham


Religion Last Updated: Jan 17th, 2006 - 00:44:34

Religion and child abuse, fundamentalism and politics, Justice Sunday III and Pastor Latham
By Mel Seesholtz, Ph.D.
Online Journal Contributing Writer


Jan 17, 2006, 00:41

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Richard Dawkins is Charles Simonyi Professor of the Public Understanding of Science at Oxford University and an internationally renowned biologist. His recent BBC series -- "The God Delusion," "The Root of All Evil," "The Virus of Faith" -- made the point about organized religion and child abuse.

Dr. Dawkins has repeatedly warned that U.S. evangelicals represent "Christian fascism" and "an American Taliban" that seeks to emulate and enforce "The God of the Old Testament has got to be the most unpleasant character in all fiction: jealous, and proud of it, petty, vindictive, unjust, unforgiving, racist." Fear of this curmudgeonly "God" is embedded into children's psyche: beware the bogeyman who watches everything you do and just looks for ways to punish you in the most horrific ways.

In the New Testament, Dawkins accurately noted that "St Paul's nasty, sado-masochistic doctrine of atonement for original sin" is, essentially, psychological and emotional child abuse: "Innocent children are being saddled with demonstrable falsehoods. . . . It's time to question the abuse of childhood innocence with superstitious ideas of hellfire and damnation." Fear is again instilled into children. Many also pay a physical price as the Right Reverend John Shelby Spong noted in relation to circumcision:

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Why, one must ask, if heterosexuality is "natural," is all this effort being expended to promote it? Is it because what is being promoted is not natural sexuality but a form of social organization that excludes those to whom its promotions are not addressed?

More:
http://onlinejournal.com/artman/publish/article_423.shtml

[Ladyhawk]

1. I lived it. Dawkins is right.

Fundamentalism is abusive by nature. I'll live with the scars for the rest of my life.

[Douglas Carpenter]

2. well as someone in recovery (for the past 30 years) have to agree

but I don't think any political person is going to make themselves popular by saying this