It's hard to get in the door: Christians endorse torture?

"It's hard to get in the door" is a series of posts illustrating why those searching for Christ often have a hard time accepting the church. If you have been raised in the church, try imagining what this piece would look like if you had grown up in a world without it. If you are unfamiliar with the culture of church, this will probably seem pretty absurd. All comments are welcome!

Last week there was a report from a recent survey that indicated church goers are more committed to and approving of torture than those who don't go to church. The correlation was remarkable: the more likely one is to attend church, the more likely one is to say that torture of of terrorists is justifiable.

From the Pew Research Center:

The poll found that fifty-four percent of those who attend weekly services say the use of torture on terror suspects in order to gain important information can "often" or "sometimes" be justified. That's twelve percent higher than the 42 percent of those who seldom or never attend such services who say the same.

And guess which demographic group is most likely to support the use of torture? White evangelical Protestants - sixty-two percent of them find it justifiable.

Non-Christians certainly see a contradiction here. Founded on the legacy of a man who was convicted of terrorism against the Roman government and Jewish establishment and then tortured to death by way of beatings and crucifixion, a majority of regular church-going Christians still support torture in greater numbers than those who do not have any religious affiliation. Does this mean that atheists end up looking more Christian than the Christians? That's the way some will interpret it.

On a related note, have you seen the recently released cover pages Donald Rumsfeld used on daily Pentagon Iraq briefings to the president? Carefully chosen verses proof-text select war photos giving the impression that America's war in the Mideast is a holy crusade. Click here for the full slide show of images.

Here are a few selected documents.

 

 

 

Need yet one more reason why non-Christians might like Christ but not want the church? Check out this video of soldiers in Afghanistan carrying a gun in one hand and a Bible in the other.

It's hard to get in the door....

Comments

[James Bergen]

There is no way those are actually part of Rumsfeld's briefings. For real?!?!

[Tim]

Yes way. For real....

[Kurt]

You are making a valid overall point, but do you really want to equate the torture (crucifixion, beatings) and death of a completely innocent man with the simulated drowning under a doctor's care (waterboarding) of enemy combatants? Enemy combatants captured on the battlefield not wearing a uniform and hiding behind women and children? I see the difference and think that this is likely the backstory to the answers.

Could the Bible verses on the Intelligence Briefings just be two Christain men encouraging each other with God's word? Does it really constitute propoganda in a holy crusade? If yes, then did it lead to a holy crusade? Is there any evidence that the US Governement engaged in a holy crusade?

God Bless,
Kurt