Anton LaVey‘s Church of Satan portrays Christianity as not just hypocritical but hopelessly naive. His vision of Christians as intolerant and unworldly, consumed by irrelevant moral stances and in denial of human nature were fodder for a thousand pretentious Black Metal albums, his defiance of popular morality a template for rebellion, but ultimately his vision of religion was a self-serving con game, and his vision of Christians simply an attempt to shock society. LaVey himself knew, on some level, that Christians were in fact not the self-martyring villains he portrayed them as.

Except for Bishop Rt Rev. Tom Burns, that is, who had this to say about Iran’s release of the British hostages:

“Faith in a forgiving God has been exemplified in action by their good deeds. They are offering to release the sailors and marines, not just as the result of diplomacy, but also as an act of mercy in accordance with their religion.”

Emphasis mine, of course. At best the above quote shows that the Rev. Burns is not at all familiar with what Islam considers mercy, and one would question that if releasing hostages you yourself kidnapped is considered by him a good deed, just what does the Rev. consider a bad deed?

Mercy and forgiveness can be taken too far, and in the world today Christ-like behavior may get you into heaven, but it won’t keep you here on earth. The speed with which Christians like the Rev. ascribed honorable intentions to the Iranians is beyond unseemly. It is beyond naive. It is suicidal.

It’s a Christian bishop’s right to be a martyr. But it’s no one’s right to try to make everyone else martyrs with them. What the English need now is less forgiveness, less understanding, and more of that most horrid of sins: pride.

Otherwise, they’ll be everything Anton LaVey said, and more. They’ll be dead.

h/t Hot Air