The title of this article comes from a formal debate on June 6, 2019 between Christian apologist Michael Jones and atheist Aron Ra. What was most notable about the debate was that Jones ignored the question. Rather, he focused on the positive aspects of Christianity. He drew upon several scholarly studies and meta-analyses purporting to show that “intrinsic” Christians are not dangerous at all, but that “extrinsic” Christians could be dangerous. Intrinsic Christians are defined as those Christians that take their faith seriously (attending church services regularly, praying regularly, tithing, regularly reading the Bible, and so on.) Conversely, extrinsic Christians are essentially nominal Christians (Christians in name only.) These extrinsic Christians, it is claimed, are not motivated by Christian teachings, at least not when they are engaged in dangerous behavior.

As a couple of atheists in the audience noted during Q&A, this all sounds suspiciously like the “No True Scotsman” fallacy, where it is claimed that no true Scotsman could engage in a particular kind of behavior, and so forth. In Jones’ case, we could speak of the No True Christian fallacy, in which it is implied that no true Christian could engage in negative or dangerous behavior.

At one time the vast majority of Christians were homophobic and anti-Semitic. Most Christian men were patriarchal, and most White Christians were racist. In these cases, talk of intrinsic and extrinsic Christianity seems meaningless. The entire culture was bigoted. These forms of oppression are obviously dangerous. Therefore, Christianity is dangerous.

However, modern racism among White Christians is somewhat different. After all, homophobia, patriarchy and anti-Semitism are condoned in the Bible. Modern racism, on the other hand, is not.

Still, as atheist Patrick Inniss has pointed out, sometimes bigotry from one area bleeds into another. The Christian sanctioned bigotry against homosexuals and Jews, for example, could have easily given rise to bigotry against non-White peoples.

Martin Luther King observed that the most segregated hour in the U.S. was Sunday at 11:00 am. These White segregationists were obviously intrinsic Christians, or they would not have been regularly attending church, and so forth. Racial segregation is dangerous, and intrinsic Christians have often enforced it. Many of them supported Jim Crow and apartheid in South Africa, and opposed the civil rights movement.

Hitler had the support of most of the Catholic and Protestant churches in Germany. Moreover, he was never ex-communicated from the Catholic Church. These were intrinsic Christians. It is hard to imagine anything much more dangerous than Nazism.

Popes have issued papal bulls in support of the conquest of non-White peoples and slavery. Pope Pius XI blessed Italian warplanes as they bombed civilians in Ethiopia. This all sounds pretty dangerous. (And who can honestly say that popes are not intrinsic Christians?)

Catholic leaders in southern Africa in particular banned the use of condoms to combat AIDS. One can only wonder how many Africans were harmed by this dangerous message.

Intrinsic Christians all over the world are openly opposing LGBT people and their rights. In the U.S., many LGBT teens commit suicide due to the homophobia of intrinsic Christians. In Africa, anti-homosexual laws were introduced by White colonial Christians. Today, according to major studies, the vast majority of sub-Saharan Africans denounce homosexuality. Gay men have found it difficult to get AIDS treatment due to homophobia. Many leading Christians in African nations such as Uganda are arguing for laws that would put homosexuals to death. That’s certainly dangerous.

White evangelical Christians in the U.S. are perfect examples of intrinsic Christians. They are President Donald Trump’s most loyal supporters. Trump might not be an intrinsic Christian, but that hardly matters. He is the man for most White evangelical Christians.

However, what does Trump represent? For starters, he: locks children in cages, promotes racism and misogyny, has an anti-intellectual and anti-scientific worldview, promotes xenophobia, denies the role that humans play in climate change, favors cutting food stamps, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and disaster relief, engages in reckless warmongering, and so forth. He is close to homophobic White evangelical pastors such as Robert Jeffress, Franklin Graham and Paula White. Ralph Reed, former director of the Christian Coalition, has just written a pro-Trump book titled For God and Country: The Christian Case for Trump.

Trump and his intrinsic Christian supporters have been disastrous during the corona virus pandemic. Trump, ever the paranoid conspiracy theorist, did not even take the threat seriously at first. He and many of his White evangelical supporters have expressed skepticism about the use of masks during the pandemic. In late July, Trump shared a video in which conspiracy theorist Stella Immanuel, M.D. said face masks are unnecessary and that hydroxychloroquine works to treat COVID-19. (There is no evidence that it does.) Moreover, intrinsic Christians are attending churches and megachurches without masks and social distancing, thereby furthering the pandemic. They sincerely believe that prayer will save them.

There are many more ways in which Christianity is dangerous. Faith healing, snake handling, quietism, the persecution and killing of alleged witches and other problems have come about as a result of Christianity. To sincerely believe that (intrinsic or extrinsic) Christianity is not dangerous, one would have to be religiously illiterate or downright insane.