Christians continually insist that theirs is a message of love and hope, but the basis for this message always reduces to a threat: believe and join us, or suffer for all eternity. Without that threat, they have little to offer that is appealing or that would compete well with other religions and philosophies, but the presence of this threat creates an aspect of violence and inhumanity which taints Christianity from beginning to end. George writes:

There is one component to the Christian message that is inescapable and is entirely antagonistic to the nonbeliever. “God” will punish you after death (and possibly during this life), in the most inhumane and meanest ways possible for eternity. It is the ultimate in passive aggressive statements and passive aggressive, by its very nature, conceals itself.

That hiding may not be readily apparent day to day but it is always there and any utterance or symbol still conveys it in the passive aggressive style.

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It’s been observed by many scholars that the god of traditional Judaism and Christianity is much like the Oriental despots that ruled the region in which these religions developed. Such despots demanded absolute obedience and respect, otherwise they would visit terrible retribution upon whomever dared defy them. They were “jealous” rulers who would not hesitate to use their power against the people, just as the traditional god of western monotheism is portrayed and more than willing to use its power against people who fail to obey orders.