Twenty Ways to Answer A Fool [5]

Does Christianity Breed Arrogance, A “Chosen People” Mentality?

I return once again to examining atheist anarchist, Chaz Bufe, and his 20 Reasons to Abandon Christianity.

We come to his 5th complaint, that Christianity breeds arrogance, a chosen people mentality. I will let Chaz explain himself:

5. Christianity breeds arrogance, a chosen-people mentality. It’s only natural that those who believe (or play act at believing) that they have a direct line to the Almighty would feel superior to others. This is so obvious that it needs little elaboration. A brief look at religious terminology confirms it. Christians have often called themselves “God’s people,” “the chosen people,” “the elect,” “the righteous,” etc., while nonbelievers have been labeled “heathens,” “infidels,” and “atheistic Communists” (as if atheism and Communism are intimately connected). This sets up a two-tiered division of humanity, in which “God’s people” feel superior to those who are not “God’s people.”

That many competing religions with contradictory beliefs make the same claim seems not to matter at all to the members of the various sects that claim to be the only carriers of “the true faith.” The carnage that results when two competing sects of “God’s people” collide—as in Ireland and Palestine—would be quite amusing but for the suffering it causes.

Honestly, this point seems to be a tad redundant. It could have been combined with his previous point, Christianity is egocentric, so I will be brief.  Arrogance and egocentricism are pretty much one and same, or at least you could say they emerge from the same attitude of self-centeredness. Again, I do find it a bit humorous that a Christ-hating anarchist is calling for the abandonment (really an overthrow) of my Christian worldview and its replacement with his communistic worldview. No arrogance in that belief.

However, I think what Chaz goes after with this point is not so much the concept of arrogance as it is the idea of “a chosen people” mentality, because we all know how anarchist atheists have never had a “chosen people” mentality.

I mean if you think about it, as history has shown, anyone who genuinely believes communism is a viable worldview and whose thinking about life is driven by anarchist philosophy, will be utterly offended by an outside people group claiming to have superior values. Even more odious to the anarchist communist is the direct challenge those values may have to an anarchist philosophy, especially if the purveyors of those values claim they are superior to anarchism and are bold enough to say so, as well as call the anarchist to abandon his anarchy and embrace that competing set of values.

That reason alone is usually why communists, when they get organized on a state and national level, feel the need to eradicate all religious thinking by first executing all the spiritual leaders and then persecuting their followers when they take over a country with a violent show of anarchist force. Of course, Chaz conveniently ignores that particular display of a chosen people mentality.

Additionally, Chaz dabbles in a tad more dishonesty with a comment that can easily be passed over if one is not paying attention. After complaining about being label a “heathen” and an “infidel” by those terrible Christians who dare to think they have a unique place before the true and living God, Chaz lists one final alleged slur uttered by Christians against the non-chosen: atheistic communism. He then writes in parenthesis, “(as if atheism and Communism are intimately connected).”

Now, does Chaz really believe atheism and Communism are not intimately connected? Let me ask him this, can he name me one devoutly religious Communist who didn’t kill off dissenters?

The reality is that all of Chaz’s communistic forefathers he so reveres developed their communistic philosophy in a matrix of hatred toward religion. They were raised in religion, be it Lutheranism, Catholicism, or Russian Orthodox, got angry at God, and set out to philosophically and politically overthrow religion. This is true of Fredrich Nietzsche, Karl Marx, Fredrick Engels, V.I. Lenin, Mao Tse-tung, and Bertrand Russell.  All of the minds who wrote extensively about Communism wrote just as extensively against God and religion. Those individuals who applied Communism to their society had to exterminate religious thinking because it is so diametrically opposed to Communistic ideology. For Chaz to even suggest Communism can be implemented apart from atheism exposes the true ignorance of what Chaz is attempting to promote. His view is the worst sort of “chosen people mentality.”