Dan wrote - "You live in the UK and you don't know the history of WW2? What has Tony Blair done to you blokes?"

- Dan, I said I was ignorant of the fact that 6,000,000 Jews were killed by self-professed Christians, not of the 2ndWW in general.

You wrote ? ?But Carter was wrong. 6,000,000 Jews did not die of sectarian violence. They were exterminated by Christians due to their religion.?

That was what I was responding to.

The pitiful record the church has with Jews cannot be denied, and it is truly sickening?

?The same was true of Protestant churches. The pamphlet ?On the Jews and their Lies,? written by German religious reformer Martin Luther in 1542, used extremely violent language. It called on Christians to set synagogues on fire, to destroy Jewish houses, and to put Jews in stables, and it advised rulers to banish Jews from their countries. Luther?s writings had a significant influence on German Protestant theologians and also contributed to a climate of opinion that condoned or approved persecution of Jews.?

- http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761559508/Holocaust.html


However, the reason the Jews were killed by the Germans had less to do with religion than you might think.

?Many Germans blamed the Jews for Germany?s defeat in World War I, some even claiming that German Jews had betrayed the nation during the war. In addition, at the end of the war a Communist group attempted to carry out a Bolshevik-type revolution in the German state of Bavaria. Most of the leaders of that failed attempt were Jews. As a result, some Germans associated Jews with Bolsheviks and regarded both groups as dangerous enemies of Germany. After the war, a republic known as the Weimar Republic was set up in Germany. Jewish politicians and intellectuals played an important role in German life during the Weimar Republic, and many non-Jews resented their influence.?

- http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761559508/Holocaust.html

The Jews were victims of their own success as entrepreneurs during and after the Industrial Revolution. Their success and power was resented.


Although Christians were not responsible for the holocaust, as you think, the writings of Luther clearly echo down the centuries and have influence.

Regarding Christianity?s treatment of the Jews, the established Church and organized religion once again demonstrates that it is a naturally corrupting phenomenon and is capable of perverting its very own congregation.

When it is held up against the teachings of the very individual they profess to follow, it is found wanting and clearly paying only lip-service to the faith:

?Love even your enemies?.

It cannot possibly get any clearer than that and takes a wilful act of ignorance or sheer defiance to ignore it.


However, once again, real Christianity is left to the individuals (The Remnant) who really know and follow Christ:

?The book lists the names of 3000 of the more than 50000 Christian Poles killed by the Germans for assisting Jews during the Holocaust. ...?

- www.holocaustforgotten.com/Lucaire.htm

So 50 thousand Christians were executed in Poland for helping Jews, despite clearly knowing that the penalty for helping them was death.


Jesus is quoted as saying of his followers, ?By their fruits they shall be known?.

Dan, you believe that anyone who professes to be a Christian is actually a Christian ? Christ knew better and so do I ? they are defined by the actions they produce.

I want the death of organized religion - the separation of church and state in all instances, and the end of the church inflicting its views upon the rest of society.

I want people to retain the freedom to choose whether they wish to know and follow Christ or not, and if so, to freely do so without the corrupting influence of organized religion.

Regards,

Blacknad.