Originally posted by truthseeker1984
reply to post by The time lord
Quite honestly, the track record of the Christian faith is not all that good. Look at what they did to the Pagans during the Roman times.
Considering that it was pagan Romans who usurped what was pretty much a world-renouncing pacifistic cult and turned it into an organized, efficient
machine (gotta love the Romans), I would say that it was
pagan culture that owes the early Christians an apology.
I mean sheesh, if I lived back then, I would either have to convert or die.
During the Roman empire you would not have had to "convert or die". Romans cared about stabilizing regions, absorbing natural resources and wealth,
and spreading efficiency so that trade could prosper. Tax paying pagans existed throughout the Roman empire--even under the Christian emperors.
Religion had nothing to do with whether you lived or died under Rome.
What about the ones that are blowing up abortion clinics in "The Name of God?"
I could pull the stats and its less than the amount
of shark attacks each summer in Florida. Would you have us go shark hunting?
Yeah, you can make the claim that there are extremists in every religion (and there indeed are), but it still doesn't make up for the fact
that the Christian faith has had a very dirty history with many skeletons in its closet.
Holocaust scholars went back and pulled the numbers and in the three hundred year period of both the Medieval and the Spanish Inquisition less than
5,000 people were killed. Thousands were "burnt in effigy" (meaning wooden statues). Most were under canonical penance, excommunicated, or--if you
were a Templar, tortured. Even one innocent death is wrong, but I feel it is important to not exaggerate numbers.
Most wild numbers include death totals from the crusades which were wars fought for land. Muslims conquered the region. Christians tried to take it
back. That's kind of what you call a "fair fight".
That said, considering that Jesus was a pacifist, it was also very
un-Christlike.
I have nothing against Christians, but what I do have a problem with is their blatant intolerance of other religions and people in general.
If you don't know know
all Christians than you can't speak for "
their blatant intolerance" without partaking of the Eucharist of
intolerance yourself.
Jesus preached tolerance of your fellow man, acceptance, and love. What he did NOT say was to kill others in his name, to blow up abortion
clinics in his name, to START WARS in his name, or any number of other atrocities.
Amen.
The Christians out there that would rather be intolerant than accepting should take a deep hard look into themselves and wonder if they are
truly being "Christ-Like."
You are generalizing. I am a pacifist, don't believe in bombing anyone, or gassing anyone, or any life-neutralizing efforts. I don't hate
homosexuals. Love them, in fact. I love Muslims, Buddhists, atheists, Moocowmanists... I'm a love bug, and you're slapping a label on me.
And honestly, it's their turn anyhow.
That's rather ugly. It should never be anyone's
turn.
The rest of us have already been tortured, killed, etc.
You, Sir, are a medical miracle. To be dead and posting on a forum. Amazing.
so the Christian faith is just reaping the benefits of bad karmic balance.
No, they are reaping the benefits of a world looking to place the blame for all of societal ills that are bred from the Maslowian principles of needs
on religion rather than look to their own inequities and predilection for violence. Communist China has the responsibility for the deaths of millions
of girl children and political prisoners. Did religion have anything to do with that? No.
People have always killed, harmed, and hurt others so that they might have more. It is quite easy to pass the blame off on religion when really
religion, politics, philosophy etc is just a cover for the desires that are embedded in our own dark hearts.