god made me do it

Jesus loves the little children of the world.
Jesus loves the little children of the world.
Red and yellow, black and white,
All are precious in his sight.
Jesus loves the little children of the world.

When I was a child, we sang this in Sunday school. There I sat on the floor with my friends as the teacher attached bright little cartoons of Jesus onto the felt board. There he was, smiling down at me, surrounded by multicoloured children in all their various national costumes. In my child’s heart, I really believed it.

Jesus loves the little children of the world.

But he doesn’t, does he?

John Lennon once wrote: “God is a concept by which we measure our pain.” But any reading of history would suggest that God has, more often than not, been a concept by which we inflict pain. Because, once you abdicate responsibility for your actions to an imaginary higher power, you can do pretty much whatever you like. And, throughout the ages, the popular choices seem to have been torture and murder.

James A. Haught, editor of 'The Charleston Gazette' and author of a number of books on the insanity of religion, has estimated that, at least in the last 2000 years, more than 100 million people have been murdered because of religion.

That's 100 million men women and children – people like you and me – hacked up, beheaded, burned at the stake, disembowelled, dragged through the streets, boiled, bludgeoned, flayed, roasted on spits, hanged, speared, impaled on spikes, garotted, thrown from towers, shot down or blown to pieces…

…all for God.

Leaves Satan lagging behind somewhat doesn’t it? When it comes to slaughter, the Great Evil One is pretty small potatos compared to God.

No, our imaginary friend is a very real enemy.