Pinker — “Once again, the point of this discussion is…”

Source: The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined — Steven Pinker

Book page: pinker-selected-works-part-1

From: Steven Pinker — Quotes

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Once again, the point of this discussion is not to accuse Christians of endorsing torture and persecution. Of course most devout Christians today are thoroughly tolerant and humane people. The question is why they don’t, given that their beliefs imply that it would serve the greater good. The answer is that people in the West today compartmentalize their religious ideology. When they affirm their faith in houses of worship, they profess beliefs that have barely changed in two thousand years. But when it comes to their actions, they respect modern norms of nonviolence and toleration, a benevolent hypocrisy for which we should all be grateful.