Christianity has been more beneficial than detrimental to mankind.

1. Sure, some scientists were persecuted for their works. But what Christianity did for the scientific revolution was much greater than any of the small things that it did against scientists. Galileo was prosecuted because he upset the Church hierarchy. But Christianity did not impede science because it was against the science. They were against him because he upset the Church hierarchy. So Christianity still was not against fostering science then. "Look, I completely get your argument for scientists trying to understand the workings of God. Mankind had been theistic for ages, and thinking that men were trying to find the workings exclusively of the Christian God is absurd. It was more of a pantheistic/deistic ideal, not one necessarily pertaining to the Christian God, even if these men were Christians. Einstein said he was trying to find the laws of god, and he meant it more figurative, I think you should consider this view. " - Greeks and Romans did not try to figure out the world in order to glorify God, though, for example. They were the main scientific influences before the scientific revolution. If you could give some examples of those seeking to glorify a god/gods before those who tried to glorify the Christian idea of God? Many of those scientists who were trying to glorify some deity through scientific inquiry during/around the time of the Scientific Revolution were Christian; therefore, they were indeed trying to glorify a Christian God. Please, provide some examples of scientists who contributed a lot to science that were trying to glorify some other kind of god (and not just people who were religious and scientific - that is not the same). The amount of good that came from Christianity's contributions to the scientific revolution cannot be denied. Why did science not arise in China? Why not in Asia? Or Africa? None of these places had Christianity. Christianity's value of experimentation and mechanistic worldview directly led to the Scientific Revolution (I have cited this before). Without it, the Scientific Revolution would not have occurred. 2. I concede that this is an example where Christianity has been detrimental. How many lives have been lost? Do you know? I was wondering. .. 3. Your list of "evil" Christians is long, yes, but how much of an impact in history has each of those men had? Gandhi and MLK were undoubtedly influenced by Christianity, and their civil rights and social justice movements have made them two of the most important figures of the 20th century. Also, Gandhi and MLK are both considered very influential in the entire realm of history. How often is Samuel Parris brought up? In the book "The 100" which gives a list of the most influential people in history, no one on your list even makes it to runner-up status. Gandhi makes it to runner-up status and both he and MLK are on various other lists of most important and influential people. Now, I am not saying that name recognition means they did more. However, Gandhi has certainly been more influential than many of the people on your list, insofar as we can see (Bush, Faldwell and Robertson probably will not be extraordinarily well known in 60 years, but we can't really judge yet). The influences of MLK and Gandhi combined are arguably much greater than the influences of all those popes combined and everyone else on that list. Fame is not necessarily an indicator of greatness, but most people can't name a single thing any one of those popes did. How significant was their impact? Also, how negative was it? You name names, but what did they do? Gandhi put forth the idea of passive resistance, freed his country from colonialism and influenced philosophy greatly. MLK led millions to the idea that blacks and whites are equal. He led a revolution that otherwise might have failed without him (since Malcolm X was the other, more violent option). African Americans have many of their rights in the US because of Martin Luther King Jr. And I could go on with Pope John Paul II's great accomplishments and how Christianity was indeed beneficial there. (. http://www.time.com...) 4. Well, your disagreement with Zimmerman has a lot less of a basis than what Zimmerman says, no offense. Please explain and cite your information that individual rights were alive in the Greek and Roman times please. Oh, I know Jefferson was a Deist and did not like organized religion all that much. Still, is there not the Jefferson Bible? He picked and chose what he wanted, but he was indeed influenced by Christianity. (. http://en.wikipedia.org...) The Greeks felt there were "natural slaves. " Is that equality? That some were born strong, so they were then natural slaves and others were born smart so they were born naturally slave-owners? This is not a metaphor either - there were slaves. Greek times were hardly the start of actual equality. Aristotle and Socrates, two of the most important Greek thinkers of their time, were in fact AGAINST equality. Sure, Greek democracy existed - in one place, Athens, for about 50 years. It then died. Women, slaves, and "foreigners" (immigrants) were not allowed to vote as they were not citizens. The Christian ideal of "equality under God's law" DID have an impact on individual rights. You can say it is "dead wrong" all you want - that does not falsify this claim. 5. I concede your point about the teachings of Jesus not always being followed. There are those do follow and there are those who don't, so this may be a wash. CONCLUSION: Christianity has been more beneficial than detrimental to mankind, overall. Though people have killed other people in the name of Christianity and its ideas were misused in ways that had a negative impact on some people, it is overall a positive. Here is why: - MOST IMPORTANT REASON - The Scientific Revolution would not have happened without Christianity. There is a great deal of scholarly research showing this that I have cited. Christianity is why it occurred. Its value for experimentation and its mechanistic cosmology were integral. Also, it preserved much important Greek literature through the Dark Ages. Here are some benefits from the Scientific Revolution: The discovery of bacteria. This led to the realization of what diseases were Medicines of all sorts, which have helped to cure diseases all over the world Development of scientific institutions which lead to discoveries in chemistry, genetics, physics, astronomy, biology, etc. More accurate understanding of the human body - how to both draw it and heal it. (art and science) Laid the foundation for all modern science New worldview of how the universe functions Millions of lives have been saved, bettered, and improved by the Scientific Revolution. This benefit alone, of Christianity, is enough to outweigh any of the detriments. There are still other benefits. - Great civil rights leaders such as MLK and Gandhi have been influenced by Christianity. Christianity's teachings have had an impact on those two, as well as Pope John Paul II, all the scientists in the Revolution who wished to glorify God through scientific inquiry, and even Deists like Jefferson. - Christians set up the first universities in the West - a MAJOR benefit to mankind. - Christian outreach programs help the poor in other countries in many ways. - Individual rights partially derived from the Christian ideal of "equality under God" All of these benefits of Christianity far outweigh the detriments. The lives saved through the Sci. Revolution, the knowledge from those universities and the freedom from those civil rights fighters is much more than any negative impact it has had. I have cited my sources very well and shown Christianity to be more of a benefit than a detriment to mankind.