Evangelical Christians are more inclined to support torture than any other group the Pew Institute surveyed.
I am aghast.
I knew conservative evangelicalism had serious issues, but I guess I needed to see the stats on something as extreme as this for the significance of how bad it is to sink in a bit more.
In this podcast, I’ll reflect on James’ words (2.18b, 26) and their significance for this. Before listening to the podcast, I ask that you look at the following articles:
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- The Atlantic, “Pew: Church-Goers Like Torture More.”
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- The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, “The Religious Dimensions of Torture Debate”
Another relevant passage from the Christian Testament that comes to mind:
“Then [The Son of Man] will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, a stranger and you gave me no welcome, naked and you gave me no clothing, ill and in prison, and you did not care for me.’ Then they will answer and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison, and not minister to your needs?’ He will answer them, ‘Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me.’ And these will go off to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.” (Matthew 25.41-46)
Once done listening to the podcast, I encourage readers/listeners to see what Philip Zimbardo had to say about “How People Become Monsters…or Heroes” at TED (below).
Listen to the Podcast: Evangelical Christianity and Torture
CAUTION: The TED talk contains images of a graphic nature.
Special thanks go to SSG who created the new music for the podcast.