See, Here's the Thing with Religious Litmus Tests

[Content Note: Refugee crisis; Christian Supremacy; Islamophobia; descriptions of violence.]

Last Sunday, John Oliver had a segment on resistance across the US to accepting Syrian refugees, and it included this bit about the Republican nominees who have argued that we should only accept Christian refugees (video should begin playing at, and transcribed section begins at, 0:49):

John Oliver: Presidential candidates also got involved with this anti-refugee rhetoric. Donald Trump, Ben Carson, and Marco Rubio called for a halt to all Syrian refugees entering the country, and others, like Ted Cruz and Jeb Bush, argued we could take some, if they were Christian. And if you're wondering how that would work, let Jeb Bush explain.

[cut to clip of Jeb Bush standing and talking to reporters]

Female reporter: What does the focus on Christian families actually look like? Is that gonna—

Bush: Well, you're a Christian. You can prove you're a Christian.

Female reporter: How?

Bush: [shrugs] I think you can prove it.

So, this is definitely a thoughtfully considered position that is super solid and totally doesn't have any holes in it.

And it obviously rests on the firm and unassailable foundation that Christians would never hurt anyone, unlike Muslims.

Except, here's another story in the news today [video may autoplay at link]: "Pastor Among 8 Indicted in Fatal New York Church Beating." It's a story about eight adults, seven of whom have been charged with murder, for fatally beating a teenage boy and seriously injuring his younger brother, because the older boy had expressed a desire to leave the church. The adults, including the boys' father, tortured them for what the surviving boy "estimated was six or more hours," during which they were "pummeled with fists and whipped with a 4-foot, folded electrical cord on the back and elsewhere."

I'm guessing that Jeb Bush would be among the first people to tell me that these assholes aren't representative of all Christians.

And I agree. They're not.

Just like Islamic terrorists aren't representative of all Muslims.

There are a whole lot of problems with the narrative that "Christian axiomatically = good," even without its being juxtaposed against the narrative that "Muslim axiomatically = bad." There are a whole lot of people in the US who are harmed by Christians in the name of Christianity every goddamn day.

Enough with this shit. Enough.