Most Christians Are Good People
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When discussing the many adverse effects of religion with a believer, one statement almost inevitably enters the conversation: “Most Christians are good people.” The believer will surely acknowledge that many people have committed awful acts in the name of religion. Perhaps they weren’t “real Christians.” Perhaps they were simply misguided in their actions. Regardless of the reason, they are the exception and certainly not the norm. You might expect that I, as an atheist, must disagree with this statement. However, I do not. Most Christians are good people.
[..]
Unfortunately, the Christian cannot agree that most atheists are good people without adding an important qualifier, at least implicitly. The qualifier is comparative in nature, placing Christians on a pedestal above non-believers and believers from other religious traditions. The atheist may be good, but he/she cannot possibly be as good as the Christian. The atheist or the person from a different religion may be good in some sense, but he/she is still going to hell to be punished for all eternity. The Christian bible is quite clear that persons who do not believe in the Christian god are not equivalent to those who do in many ways. Their fate in the afterlife will be very different.
This is what I mean when I say that religion is inherently divisive.