Kangaroo Feathers
Yea, it is written in the Book of Cyril...
I'm so sorry you had that experience. I realise it's almost certainly too little, too late, but I love you and accept you.
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How come atheists/SJWs always persist with the lie that Christianity was spread through violence?
- Thread starter Hec.
- Start date
Totally agree. I fully believe that through all time man have manipulated religions and turned them in to baseless ideologies to suppress the population and control it by the masses. All the abrahamic religions ( and prob some that are not) have basic beliefs at their core all of which call for justice and righteousness yet men have added to the religion changed the words or understanding of the text and used it to oppress others. No religion has called for such things ( to propagate it through violence) yet we have seen abs do see it every day. May God guide us all
Audie
Veteran Member
This sounds fair.
What do you think of those who misuse the concepts
put forth by Charles Darwin?
Augustus
…
Think they did one, but different historian. This book is quite recent.
Read and compare them, as long as you enjoy reading them it's the main thing
A lot of scholarly stuff is crap. Reviews don't always help as lot of scholars are really petty and *****y when reviewing others' works, especially when it disagrees with them because they are protective of their 'reputation'.
More general reviews in newspapers and the like tend to relate more to readability than scholarly rigour, as they are often not done by people who know much of the subject matter. The Nixey book was quite well received as it matches the myths that exist in popular consciousness about that era
One of the best ways is just to find historians you like and try to see what they recommend. Twitter can be good for that.
Most useful thing I learned was to remain aware that the primary sources weren't written to be objective, and these are often the only things we have. A story of a holy figure smashing temples and the like might well come from a hagiography written a couple of centuries later, or a story like Caesar killing a million Gauls might be grossly exaggerated for propaganda purposes. Numbers are almost always far too high.
Well they were famous for being statesmen, but that's probably the best known piece of writing either of them wrote.
GoodbyeDave
Well-Known Member
Pliny the Younger asked the emperor about dealing with Christians. Trajan told him that, although being a Christian was illegal, one shouldn't go around looking for them and one certainly shouldn't accept anonymous denunciations. Making a public accusation was not like a Pakistani denouncing some-one for blasphemy. If you accused some-one of being a Christian and they refuted it by burning their pinch of incense to the gods, the court came down on you like a ton of bricks!
QuestioningMind
Well-Known Member
Wars have been fought over what equates to biblical Christianity according to Jesus, each side 'claiming' to be the true Christians. And the OP indicates surprise that some people would claim that Christianity spread via force and violence; yet you admit that many people claiming to be Christians used such methods. Isn't it then natural for some people to equate Christianity with force and violence?
InChrist
Free4ever
I don't think so and I don't think the Christians who were persecuted or killed by the RCC would have thought so.
InChrist
Free4ever
I don't know.
InChrist
Free4ever
It should read fanatical Catholic monks.
InChrist
Free4ever
You gave one example, yet Jesus didn't kill anyone and those He was whipping and they were supposedly religious Jews who were using their religion and the temple for profit. Jesus never treated non-believers with aggression or attempted to force faith with violence, did He?
InChrist
Free4ever
Well, I'd agree that what you see portrayed as the religion of Christianity is what it is today. But real Christianity, the truth and reality of relationship with Jesus and the impact of His love on others, is and always has existed beyond the organizational or religious misrepresentations.
InChrist
Free4ever
I can understand how it may be natural for people to associate Christianity with violence because it has been used by those who use or promote force and violence, but I'm just saying that using Jesus, the Bible or Christianity this way is a misuse and actually is in opposition to God's will.
Catholic is a subset of Christian.
InChrist
Free4ever
That depends. I would have to see each case to determine whether it was a misuse or difference of perspective concerning the evidence. Of course any actual misuse or deception is wrong.
InChrist
Free4ever
I realize that is the standard thought. I don't necessarily agree, but even if it were true... the behavior is not Christian or in accordance with the scriptures.
Subduction Zone
Veteran Member
That is only because you are very confused about what a Christian is in the first place.
Right: he believed his use of violence was justified.
He told his followers to arm themselves - even telling his followers to sell their cloaks to get weapons if they didn’t have them - though the Bible isn’t clear on what he expected his followers to do with those weapons.
And he certainly used threats of violence to force compliance: for instance, promising “wailing and gnashing of teeth” for people who didn’t follow him and that anyone who converted away a child who followed him would suffer a fate worse than having a millstone chained around their neck and being thrown into the sea.
Jesus was all about violence. Most of it was threats of violence in the afterlife or violence outsourced to God, but still violence.
InChrist
Free4ever
Since Christianity is ALL about Jesus, then Jesus is relevant and It is Jesus who determines what is and is not Christianity. So those who spread the message about Jesus with violence or force are demonstrating their actions blatant opposition to Jesus Christ and authentic Christianity, while exalting themselves over Christ, at the expense and harm of others. God will hold them accountable.
InChrist
Free4ever
InChrist
Free4ever
Now you are getting off on another tangent. Jesus is not about violence and if you want to talk about God as Judge, the afterlife, or whatever that's a different subject.