Common Myths Concerning Christianity
Myth: The USA's founding fathers were all Christians.
Fact: Many of the founding fathers were Deists. Several patriots, such as Thomas Jefferson
and Thomas Paine, held Christianity in contempt.
Myth: The fact that US money is stamped with the phrase "In God we trust" and the US pledge of allegiance contains the phrase "under God" is evidence that the founding fathers
believed that religion should be endorsed by the state.
Fact: Neither phrase was used until about a century or more after the US was founded. The phrase "In God we trust" first appeared on US coins shortly after the Civil War. It did not appear on paper money until the McCarthy era when pious politicians wanted to distinguish the US from the "Godless Communists". The pledge of allegiance was also adulterated during the McCarthy era; the original pledge did not contain the phrase "under God".
Myth: Christianity spread rapidly during its early years because the evidence for it was
convincing.
Fact: Genocide and forced conversion were the primary factors that caused the spread of Christianity. In the early part of the fourth century, the Roman emperor Constantine
carried out "holy" wars against pagans; and in 356 CE, a law was passed officially declaring
the practice of non-Christian religions to be a crime punishable by death. Before Constantine, Christianity was an insignificant little cult.
Myth: Without Christianity, or a similar religion, morality would be perversely
relativistic.
Fact: Christianity, if taken seriously, would lead to the most perverse kind of moral
relativism. The Bible is self-contradictory. People who attempt to base their morals solely on the Bible
will have morals that depend on what parts of the Bible they choose to believe and what parts they
choose to ignore. Fortunately, most Christians ignore the many Bible passages that glorify genocide.
Myth: Christianity inspires its believers to place a higher value on human life than they
would otherwise.
Fact: By placing emphasis on a mythical afterlife at the expense of real life,
Christianity devalues human life. Many Christians claim that life would have no meaning without God and the hope
for an eternal afterlife. This is equivalent to saying that they think that our life here on
Earth is worthless.
How very sad.