Michael J. Chapman #fundie crossroad.to

[the whole article is full of fail, but this stood out to me the most]

A powerful method of indoctrination is to link Christian principles with negative events in order to divert thinking from the truth. Examples of association propaganda in the classroom follow, with the associated words highlighted:

*

“Understanding Imperialism: [Defined as] economic and political control of other nations. —Many imperialists believed that they had a God-given mission to spread Christianity.”[9]
*

“A total of 160,000 Spanish inhabitants, mostly men, had subjugated some 5 million Indians – all in the name of the gentle Jesus.”[10]
*

“Among [the conquistadors] were missionaries—. At times the goal to convert Indians was achieved by force. Many were forced to work on haciendas owned by Spaniards of the Catholic Church. Life for Indians in Spanish America was shaped by missionaries.— Millions died from disease and overwork.”[11]

The textbook’s goal is to associate Christianity with negative connotations of force and control. In the last example above, Christian missions and the church are made interchangeable with the Spanish and Conquest. Absent is the truth that missions protected Indians against both Spanish and slave-trading Indian tribes, and often were welcomed by the Indians – facts that do not conform to the preconception that Christianity is equated to destructiveness.

7 comments

Confused?

So were we! You can find all of this, and more, on Fundies Say the Darndest Things!

To post a comment, you'll need to Sign in or Register. Making an account also allows you to claim credit for submitting quotes, and to vote on quotes and comments. You don't even need to give us your email address.