Originally posted by googlefudge
Your religion has a history of over 1000 years of persecuting and killing anyone who stepped out of line.
For 3,000 years music has been used in the accompaniment of wars, battles, immoral gatherings, vice, drunken gatherings, etc. History shows clearly the evil influence of music on mankind.
Have you taken all your CDs and music videos to the dumpster in utter disgust yet googlefudge?
History is nuanced. What also can be said about the Christiandom by a legitimate historian -
The Church and Civilization
In the midst of this collapse there was one institution that did not collapse: the church. The church had an organization; therefore, there could be communication between places distant from each other. The church had a history; therefore, its past provided lessons for the present and directions for the future. It preached a message that was the same everywhere; therefore, men could have a common religion, a common hope, and a common moral law by which to live. In the midst of confusion the church provided stability and order; amid all the hatreds it worked for reconciliation; in all sorrow it offered comfort.
In rendering these services the church did far more than perform purely spiritual duties. It fed the hungry, released prisoners, resisted corruption, preserved books and made new ones; it taught farming, carpentry, and animal husbandry, and it conducted schools. In a time when many had lost all things, the church became all things to all men. It was a strong center around which a world that had losts its direction could gather and find a new purpose for living. The church prepared men for the life that is to come and preserved civilization for the life that now is.
The chief means in the hands of the church for performing these great services were the monasteries. We shall conclude this chapter by considering the early history of monasticism in the western church.
[ The Short History of the Early Church , Harry R. Boer, Eardmans, 1976, pg 128 ]
Overview of the book quoted -
Overview
For readers who want a brief yet reliable introduction to the history of the early church as well as for those who are looking for a quick review of the period, this volume furnishes a concise overview of the key events, figures, controversies, and councils essential for a proper understanding of the first seven centuries of the Christian church.Harry R. Boer provides background on the world into which the church was born, surveys the life of the church from the ministry of Jesus until 600 A.D
The book that I just quoted from is neither naive, nor one sided, nor offering false propagandizing. It is professional collegiate writing analyzing history objectively.
Your pseudo intellectual and lopsided diatribes against the Christian faith in its place in history are juvenile. So Richard Dawkins can put aside his lab coat, play philosopher and spout out pop lopsided, belligerent and ignorant stuff like this and sell lots of books so you figure you can do the same.