MpQA0.jpg (JPEG Image, 659 × 29999 pixels) - Scaled (2. Catholic Church 2000 years of Sex Scandals Murder in the Name of Religion. Order books by James A. Haught now [This article was originally published in Free Inquiry, summer 1990.] When you think of saints, you envision stained-glass pictures of piety. But the truth can be horribly different. Consider Pope Pius V: When he was Grand Inquisitor, he sent Catholic troops to kill 2,000 Waldensian Protestants in Calabria in southern Italy.
After becoming pope, he sent Catholic troops to kill Huguenot Protestants in France. Pius also launched the final crusade against the Muslims, sending a Christian naval armada to slaughter thousands in the Battle of Lepanto in 1571. And he intensified the Roman Inquisition, torturing and burning Catholics whose beliefs varied from official dogma. After his death, he was canonized a saint. Or consider Saint Dominic, the king of torture. The priests also tortured thousands of women into confessing they were witches who had sex with Satan, changed themselves into animals, flew through the sky, caused storms, and the like.
'God is the Product of Human Weakness' a letter by Albert Einstein. In January of 1954, just a year before his death, Albert Einstein wrote the following letter to philosopher Erik Gutkind after reading his book, "Choose Life: The Biblical Call to Revolt," and made known his views on religion. Apparently Einstein had only read the book due to repeated recommendation by their mutual friend Luitzen Egbertus Jan Brouwer. The letter was bought at auction in May 2008, for £170,000; unsurprisingly, one of the unsuccessful bidders was Richard Dawkins. Translated transcript follows. (Source: David Victor; Image: Albert Einstein, via.) Translated Transcript Princeton, 3. 1. 1954Dear Mr Gutkind,Inspired by Brouwer's repeated suggestion, I read a great deal in your book, and thank you very much for lending it to me.
On Faith Panelists Blog: The Empty Wager - Sam Harris.