Pastor James McConnell, a prominent Belfast preacher, is in trouble for calling Islam "satanic". This has been condemned as hate speech by Amnesty, although it doesn't seem more hostile than many of the atheist attacks on Muslim beliefs from people who would despise McConnell as an ignorant hate-monger. But McConnell's language is much more inventive. What is it about Reformed Protestantism that gives it such a tradition of invective?
Part of this stems from its founding controversies. The classic statement of English-speaking Calvinism, such as McConnell represents, is the Westminster Confession, drawn up in 1647 in the aftermath of the English civil war. It is not distinguished by its tolerance.
Read Full Article »
