Atheist Forum

20th Century Church Atrocities

Catholic extermination camps
Surprisingly few know that Nazi extermination camps in World War II were by no means the only ones in Europe at the time. In the years 1942-1943 also in Croatia existed numerous extermination camps, run by Catholic Ustasha under their dictator Ante Paveliç, a practicing Catholic and regular visitor to the then pope. There were even concentration camps exclusively for children!
In these camps - the most notorious was Jasenovac, headed by a Franciscan friar - orthodox-Christian Serbians (and a substantial number of Jews) were murdered. Like the Nazis the Catholic Ustasha burned their victims in kilns, alive (the Nazis were decent enough to have their victims gassed first). But most of the victims were simply stabbed, slain or shot to death, the number of them being estimated between 300,000 and 600,000, in a rather tiny country. Many of the killers were Franciscan friars. The atrocities were appalling enough to induce bystanders of the Nazi "Sicherheitsdienst der SS", watching, to complain about them to Hitler (who did not listen). The pope knew about these events and did nothing to prevent them. [MV]

Are any of you supprised by this? I'm not.

I wouldn't use that example as a characteristic of religion. As we know, there are many people from all different parts of the world who believe in the same religion yet we do not see the same behavior. Some cultures are just more aggressive than others despite whatever religion they are. While others will be much more passive.

That religious event is nothing compared to what I know. Trust me, these people would seem like angels compared to the disgusting behavour of what others have done.

The nazis were disgusted at what they did but it's nothing compared to what they have done. Trust me, The past tells who you are just as much as your present.

To give you an example - Even though this man murdered women and children and even burnt down homes and stabbed many inoccent people, Its all in the past so it's ok to let him have a weapon. This is pritty much what I'm hearing when they say religion brings morals even though it was religion that drowned women and even burnt children at stakes, that we should just forget about it because its in the past. Even today religion is still doing evil, like priests sexually assulting young boys! Sorry but after all that has been done by religion, Religion deserves to be slandered and hated. I see religion as thee most immoral thing to come about on this planet. Religions hands are still soked with blood!

Religion IS evil!

There we go again saying EVIL. What is evil and what defines it? Do you have a moral law you live by and do you live by it without fault?

Your religion seems to fail on morality!

I am a very moral person but your religion is the complete opposite to moral.

I shall list the things your religion did in history. As soon as Christianity became legal in the Roman Empire by imperial edict (315), more and more pagan temples were destroyed by Christian mob. Pagan priests were killed.

* Between 315 and 6th century thousands of pagan believers were slain.

* Examples of destroyed Temples: the Sanctuary of Aesculap in Aegaea, the Temple of Aphrodite in Golgatha, Aphaka in Lebanon, the Heliopolis.

* Christian priests such as Mark of Arethusa or Cyrill of Heliopolis were famous as "temple destroyer." [DA468]
* Pagan services became punishable by death in 356. [DA468]

* Christian Emperor Theodosius (408-450) even had children executed, because they had been playing with remains of pagan statues. [DA469]

According to Christian chroniclers he "followed meticulously all Christian teachings..."
* In 6th century pagans were declared void of all rights.
* In the early fourth century the philosopher Sopatros was executed on demand of Christian authorities. [DA466]
* The world famous female philosopher Hypatia of Alexandria was torn to pieces with glass fragments by a hysterical Christian mob led by a Christian minister named Peter, in a church, in 415.
[DO19-25]

Mission

* Emperor Karl (Charlemagne) in 782 had 4500 Saxons, unwilling to convert to Christianity, beheaded. [DO30]
* Peasants of Steding (Germany) unwilling to pay suffocating church taxes: between 5,000 and 11,000 men, women and children slain 5/27/1234 near Altenesch/Germany. [WW223]
* Battle of Belgrad 1456: 80,000 Turks slaughtered. [DO235]
* 15th century Poland: 1019 churches and 17987 villages plundered by Knights of the Order. Number of victims unknown. [DO30]
* 16th and 17th century Ireland. English troops "pacified and civilized" Ireland, where only Gaelic "wild Irish", "unreasonable beasts lived without any knowledge of God or good manners, in common of their goods, cattle, women, children and every other thing." One of the more successful soldiers, a certain Humphrey Gilbert, half-brother of Sir Walter Raleigh, ordered that "the heddes of all those (of what sort soever thei were) which were killed in the daie, should be cutte off from their bodies... and should bee laied on the ground by eche side of the waie", which effort to civilize the Irish indeed caused "greate terrour to the people when thei sawe the heddes of their dedde fathers, brothers, children, kinsfolke, and freinds on the grounde".
Tens of thousands of Gaelic Irish fell victim to the carnage. [SH99, 225]

Crusades (1095-1291)

* First Crusade: 1095 on command of pope Urban II. [WW11-41]
* Semlin/Hungary 6/24/96 thousands slain. Wieselburg/Hungary 6/12/96 thousands. [WW23]
* 9/9/96-9/26/96 Nikaia, Xerigordon (then Turkish), thousands respectively. [WW25-27]
* Until January 1098 a total of 40 capital cities and 200 castles conquered (number of slain unknown) [WW30]
* After 6/3/98 Antiochia (then Turkish) conquered, between 10,000 and 60,000 slain. 6/28/98 100,000 Turks (incl. women and children) killed. [WW32-35]
Here the Christians "did no other harm to the women found in [the enemy's] tents - save that they ran their lances through their bellies," according to Christian chronicler Fulcher of Chartres. [EC60]
* Marra (Maraat an-numan) 12/11/98 thousands killed. Because of the subsequent famine "the already stinking corpses of the enemies were eaten by the Christians" said chronicler Albert Aquensis. [WW36]
* Jerusalem conquered 7/15/1099 more than 60,000 victims (Jewish, Muslim, men, women, children). [WW37-40]
In the words of one witness: "there [in front of Solomon's temple] was such a carnage that our people were wading ankle-deep in the blood of our foes", and after that "happily and crying for joy our people marched to our Saviour's tomb, to honour it and to pay off our debt of gratitude."
* The Archbishop of Tyre, eye-witness, wrote: "It was impossible to look upon the vast numbers of the slain without horror; everywhere lay fragments of human bodies, and the very ground was covered with the blood of the slain. It was not alone the spectacle of headless bodies and mutilated limbs strewn in all directions that roused the horror of all who looked upon them. Still more dreadful was it to gaze upon the victors themselves, dripping with blood from head to foot, an ominous sight which brought terror to all who met them. It is reported that within the Temple enclosure alone about ten thousand infidels perished." [TG79]
* Christian chronicler Eckehard of Aura noted that "even the following summer in all of Palestine the air was polluted by the stench of decomposition". One million victims of the first crusade alone. [WW41]
* Battle of Askalon, 8/12/1099. 200,000 heathens slaughtered "in the name of Our Lord Jesus Christ". [WW45]
* Fourth crusade: 4/12/1204 Constantinople sacked, number of victims unknown, numerous thousands, many of them Christian. [WW141-148]
* Rest of Crusades in less detail: until the fall of Akkon 1291 probably 20 million victims (in the Holy land and Arab/Turkish areas alone). [WW224]


Have I made my point yet?

Hmmmmmmmm.... Lets just larify something. No body has ever killed someone for Christianity. Some might have killed through emotion as to what they thought the Bible says but NO WHERE does it say to kill in the name of Christ. If one does I would conjur they do not know the truth.

Did you read the part where is says CHRISTAINS!

Here's one for ya! Battle of Askalon, 8/12/1099. 200,000 heathens slaughtered "in the name of - Our Lord Jesus Christ -

What does that say?

Emperor Karl (Charlemagne) in 782 had 4500 Saxons, unwilling to convert to Christianity, beheaded. [DO30

How about that one above?

Your comment shows your arrogance. Athiest and religous alike have both killed for their beliefs, just do some research on Stalan and Mussilini. Like I said and i wil say it again and again and again. Read the Bible and tell me ONE verse that says to kill in the name of Christ. I will wait into eternity because there is none. This is my authority and it is at YOUR disposal, so go find the verse!
So stop believing in Atheism because your common believers have killed. Lets be original, ok.

You can only name 2. I can name thousands! Atheism is a group of peace not war. Stalin is hated by atheists alike, when did I say atheists like stalin?

Your hands are covered with blood.

Theists have done things that go beyond immorality!
* Marra (Maraat an-numan) 12/11/98 thousands killed. Because of the subsequent famine "the already stinking corpses of the enemies were eaten by the Christians" said chronicler Albert Aquensis. [WW36]

p.s atheists are not believers!

Ace,

All I know is that in this very day and age, there are still thousands of people being killed and NOT for religious reasons. It just irks me that you are so bent on this - sorry. When I hear people focus too much on religion being the cause of many killings, it GETS ON MY NERVES because it's like they're ignoring every freakin' other mass killings in the world.

If you TRULY care about saving lives - since you bring it up so much - please, get in touch with your government in assisting refugees find permanent residence in countries that actually care about humanitarian rights. The War in Iraq is NOT the only war going on in the world. Just because the media chooses to be blind about other humanitarian efforts does NOT mean certain minority groups are not being killed off secretly by their government.