Nazi slaughter by centuries of Christian intolerance.
davidf,
I can't help thinking that the Nazi business actually had nothing to do with religion. When you think about it, just about all conflict is due to religion so, were there no religion there's a possibility less conflict would result !
If the Israelis saw themselves more as Israelis rather than Jews & the Palestinians saw themselves as Palestinians rather than Arabs & leave Christianity & Islam out of it, would that result in a better situation ?
I still think stupidity is the main factor & stupidity created religion & is now a monster that feeds on itself !

Dear Bazz,

I agree with you. Islamic Spain was not a paradise, and non-Muslims were second-class citizens. What are called Golden Ages are never paradises if you look closely. During the Golden Age of Greece captives of the Athenian army were forced to work in the mines and rarely lived more than a year. Athens also had slaves, and women did not have a voice. It is called a Golden Age because it produced great art, literature and philosophy and contrasted favourably with what came after. A Greek friend of mine who was cultural attaché to the Greek embassy in London charged the downfall of Greek culture to the adoption of Christianity. Even during the Golden Age of Islamic Spain there were periods of persecution such as those under the Almohads when Maimonides fled to other more tolerant Muslim areas.

Islamic Spain contrasted favourably with what came after – the Inquisition, forced conversions, torture and murder in Christian Spain. In my reading of history Christianity is not only the most successful but also the most intolerant religion.

Truth used to be the first casualty of war! Now it's the first casualty of electioneering/re-electioneering and endemic corruption in the highest offices?
Alan B.

Dear Individual,

You wrote: “I can't help thinking that the Nazi business actually had nothing to do with religion. When you think about it, just about all conflict is due to religion so, were there no religion there's a possibility less conflict would result !”

I disagree. All conflicts are not due to religion. In the ancient polytheistic world there were no religious wars, but there were wars. Believers in polytheistic religions accepted believers in other polytheistic religions. In fact, polytheistic religions were not exclusive. One might believe in more than one religion.

Religious wars were largely a consequence of militant Christianity which regarded it as a duty to spread their religion. Originally Christianity was peaceful, but it was transformed into violence by Constantine who had his soldiers wear the chi-rho symbol standing for Christ on their shields at the battle of the Milvian bridge.

The connection of Christian Jew hatred and the Nazis is documented in “Constantine’s Sword”.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constantine%27s_Sword

“Carroll disclaims the notion that Christian anti-Judaism leads inevitably to the Holocaust committed by Nazi Germany, but he argues that Church's long history of "Jew-hatred" laid the foundation for Hitler's crimes. Carroll also points out the many "turning points," as he labels them, where the Church's attitudes and actions toward Jews could have been shifted. Just one example cited in the book is that of Pierre Abelard (1079–1142), the French theologian and philosopher, whose teachings, had they been accepted, would have radically changed the direction and cast of Christian dogma.”

The Nazis didn’t invent Jew hatred. They merely exploited the attitudes promoted by Christianity.

If we left Christianity out of it there would be no Israel. Israel was established partly as a place where Jews could be free from Christian persecution.

Although I don’t believe in any religion I don’t think stupidity created religion. Religion is an attempt to make sense of the world. It is a flawed attempt, and in my opinion science makes better sense.

The tragedy of Israel is that Palestinians and Jews are genetically the same people divided by religion.

https://www.haaretz.com/science-and-health/palestinians-and-jews-share-genetic-roots-1.5411201