A holy war cometh and civilization as we know it will be destroyed by religious zealots.

The threat is
not from heaven, nor hell. It is not a threat from Islam or Judaism. The threat is from a particular
faction of Christianity that believes that they are the chosen ones and that they must convert all other
peoples of all other nations and cultures in order to “save” them. This faction is growing in political
power and works tirelessly to undermine the fundamental principals that our country was founded
upon. This group calls themselves the Evangelicals.

According to religioustolerance.org the definition of an evangelical is:

Barna Research Ltd.: This is the main evangelical polling organization in the U.S. They define an
"evangelical" very precisely, as a person who can affirm all of the following:
• They have been "born again;" i.e. they have been saved by having trusted Jesus as Lord
and Savior.
• "...their faith is very important in their life today."
• They feel that they have a personal responsibility to share their religious beliefs with
non-Christians.
• They believe that Satan exists as a living entity.
• The Bible is accurate in all it teaches.
• They believe that salvation is possible only through grace, not by personal effort or
works.
• They believe that Jesus Christ lived a sinless life on earth.
• They believe that God:
• Exists,
• Created the Universe
• Is omniscient, omnipotent and perfect, and
• Rules the universe today.

What makes this definition particularly troubling is three statements:

1. They feel that they have a personal responsibility to share their religious beliefs with non-Christians.

2. They believe that Satan exists as a living entity.

3. That the Bible is accurate (literally) in all it teaches.

First off, “personal responsibility to share their religious beliefs with non-Christians” is often
interpreted as trying to convert others regardless of if they wish to be converted. This creates animosity
toward Evangelicals (and other westerners) amongst people of faiths that are not Christian. Many a
genocide has been committed in the name of religious conversion, be it the Crusades, the Spanish
Inquisition, or the Witch Trials of Salem. This point would not be an issue if said Evangelical was as
open minded as the person with whom they were sharing their views was expected to be. If it was
possible to share religious beliefs while appreciating other people's views in a civil manner this would
not be an issue. I fully support religious tolerance, however I do not support religious conversion of
others in any manner.

Secondly they believe that Satan exists as a living entity. This is a particularly troubling issue. When a
person allows themselves to view the world in moral absolutes – pure good and pure evil – they can
allow themselves to justify acts that would otherwise be unthinkable. The concept of “Satan” is in
logical conflict with their very own definition of God. The existence of Satan requires that God either
be incapable of defeating him, unwilling to defeat him, or unknowing of Satan's very existence. If God
is incapable of defeating Satan, then He cannot be omnipotent. If God is unwilling to defeat him, He is
not omni-benevolent. If God does not know that Satan exists, then He is not omniscient. In my
opinion, the Evangelicals seem to believe that the answer to this quandary is that God is not a
benevolent being. The existence of Satan is because God created him, and that he allows him to exist.

Lastly the belief that the Bible (a book written by primitive humans and endlessly translated) is literally
accurate – despite convincing evidence to the contrary – is a rejection of critical thought in favor of
blind ideology. This is often used as justification to deny other people their rights. Racism, sexism,
slavery, intolerance, and discrimination are all spoken of (and explicitly endorsed) in the Bible. It is
wholly irrational that anyone would knowingly ignore the lessons that the Bible has to teach in the
mistaken belief that the words themselves are absolute truth. This closes the door on reason and
knowledge, it discourages seeking knowledge elsewhere and prevents people from learning the full
meaning of the message contained within the Bible. At minimum the Bible is one of the greatest
historical documents in the world. It is unfortunate that the Evangelicals refuse the knowledge that it
can teach in favor of a radical fundamentalist doctrine that limits the knowledge contained to the simple
literal meaning of the written word.

Needless to say I do not count myself as an Evangelical. The main reason is that I do not believe in
Satan. If I choose to believe in God, it would be an omnipotent, omni-benevolent, omniscient God – a
God of love. A creator, not a destroyer. By definition my God would be more powerful than the
Evangelical God, because mine would not allow Evil to exist. I am, if anything, a mono-theist. I do
not believe that an omnipotent God would be willing to share power with anyone – not even a demigod
such as Satan. I also believe that what a person believes is not critical to their success in this Universe.
A God who can create the universe and all that is contained within would not be so petty as to punish
any being for not believing in Him. Such emotional insecurity is a flaw in humans that needn't be
present in any other being (much less a perfect one.)

In any case my beliefs are not those of the Evangelicals, so it is likely that I will be continuously
targeted for conversion and indoctrination by the Evangelical masses. My resistance to their ceaseless
attempts to “save” me will likely be seen as evil and they will eventually convince themselves to
destroy me and all the other people who are not like them. After all, if you're not with them, you're
against them. And they honestly believe that Satan is the one who is against them, and they honestly
believe that he exists. And that scares the hell out of me.