Quote:
Originally Posted by elphenor
I think the abolition and civil rights movements are great examples of Christianity and faith as a powerful good
much of it was born out of churches, this can't be denied
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Yes, both good and evil originally derived from religious belief. Some people have used religion as a way to gain power while others, like Martin Luther King, used religion to do good.
A more interesting person is William Jennings Bryan, the ill fated lawyer of the infamous Scopes trial. He, of course, railed against Darwinism in favor of creationism, but his reasoning wasn't out of ignorance. He hated Darwinism because of the theory of the survival of the fittest. He believed if others went with Darwinism (somewhat proven by science), it would give the more fortunate an excuse to oppress the not so fortunate in the name of natural selection. In other words, the ones with money would have a reason to exploit those that didn't have many options (i.e. the poor).
So, while teaching creationism in public schools isn't such a hot idea, you can certainly say it makes some of us feel less guilty about the natural reality of the cruelties we have imposed on others such as slavery, genocide, etc.