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Theologically, they're as different as night and day.
But, in their actions? Yes, there are great similarities, or has been in the past. More importantly, even Christianity has the potential to revert to it's previous barbaric behavior if left to its own devices. The hatred, prejudice and bigotry of modern day Christian's would certainly be fuel for a return to the days of the Inquisition if they ever get their way and achieve full political power. Anything is possible in the name of God, especially a Christian Taliban.
However, it should be noted that the past violent actions of the Church are not because of Jesus Christ, but because of evil hearted men using Him as an excuse for pillaging, raping, murdering and plundering.
And, before anyone comes along and accuses me of being an evil, librul, secularist, you should know I'm a Believer myself, one who lives the two greatest Commandments to the best of my ability all the time. Heck, I'm a hard-shelled, Southern Baptist Sunday School teacher!
1. Any society needs a set of common values and beliefs to function well - a social consensus. There may exist legitimate diversity within certain limits, and a degree of tolerance outside those limits, but ....... there must be limits.
2. It is important that those values and beliefs be rooted in truth. A society based on false beliefs about God and man leads to tyranny.
3. Politics is, at minimum, about carefully ensuring that the state does not impose a false worldview on its citizens, and about creating an environment for the truth to flourish.
4. The United States has lost the social consensus it once had - a consensus that was unique in the world for its breadth and tolerance while at the same time committed to principles rooted in the Western Christian tradition. Large segments of the population now see our former consensus as narrow, bigoted, repressive, and even "theocratic".
5. The present situation is not sustainable. If our society continues to fracture in this way, then our politics will descend into greater tyranny and possibly even civil war.
Conclusion:
The only workable solution is a return to an explicit Christian state. The experiment whereby the government pretends "neutrality" is too easily exploited by secularists and the enemies of the Christian faith. The doctrine of religious pluralism is, paradoxically, a cleverly wielded tool of secularization.
I don't know whether this is possible for the entire country, or only for certain regions of the country, but t is essential in some form to the survival of anything resembling what once was America and the English-speaking Christian West.
Naturally some will ask "Which version of Christianity"? Catholicism? Presbyterianism? Methodism? Et al? In the first place, the federal government doesn't need to require belief from anybody but its civil servants, and this belief need only be expressed as a promise to respect and not to subvert the Christian faith and morality of the people.
Insofar as the federal government assists private institutions, schools and charities - and these, rather than the government, should provide the bulk of social services in the country - preference should be given to those which profess the Nicene Creed in the context of historically mainstream Christianity (Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant) and traditional expressions of morality.
Where has this ever worked? It worked relatively well all over the world until the mid-20th century. Canada, and especially the province of Quebec, was once a shining example of this kind of system, though it is now in the process of rejecting its past and enforcing a tyrannical secularism. There are still a few nations left today that have retained the concept - the Philippines, Malta, Lichtenstein - hardly repressive "theocracies" despite the squeals of secularists.
I'm a very fundy Christian believer and I'm telling you that you are dead wrong, both in your assurtions and your history.
Christianity is a relationship between an individual and God. It's between a believer and the fellowship of his Church and nowhere in the bible does Jesus teach in any way, manner or form that Christianity has one single thing to do with or responsibility in secular political affairs. The only really harsh words Jesus had for any group of people in the Gospels was towards the Religous leaders of the day. Very typically religous political leaders will create a system where the people will feel righteous by following the rules, in other words a religion of works. This will avail them nothing at all and in fact may very well leave them in a worse spiritual condition than if they lived in a completely secular society.
For example, did you know that the estimated number of Christians in China is fifty million and growing at a rapid rate? This is in spite of extreme persecution and a completely anti Christian and officially athiest state. It's God who detirmines the growth of His church and and not some fool proclaiming, "You shall live by these rules because we are Christians in this country. In that case the law can only become a curse and not any kind of blessing at all.
If you have a concern for people and your country then do what Jesus commands you to do. Preach the gospel, feed the hungry, cloth and shelter the homeless and the poor, visit the sick and those in prison and be an example to the usaved by your life, your love for those who are unlovely.
Do not be a clanging gong who orders people how to live, what to think or believe. That is just what the Pharasees did and they were damned for it.
One last thing. You do not know SQUAT about Quebec. The main function of the RC church in the province was to keep the people in a state of poverty and ignorance. That church as it has been in so many places in the world was an instrument of repression and the means by which the the church kept the people down in superstitution and spiritual bondage. Why do you think that in 2 generations Quebec has become the secular society it has now become? The shepards of the flock were nothing but wolves in sheep's clothing and they have been rejected.
I'm a very fundy Christian believer and I'm telling you that you are dead wrong, both in your assurtions and your history.
Christianity is a relationship between an individual and God. It's between a believer and the fellowship of his Church and nowhere in the bible does Jesus teach in any way, manner or form that Christianity has one single thing to do with or responsibility in secular political affairs. The only really harsh words Jesus had for any group of people in the Gospels was towards the Religous leaders of the day. Very typically religous political leaders will create a system where the people will feel righteous by following the rules, in other words a religion of works. This will avail them nothing at all and in fact may very well leave them in a worse spiritual condition than if they lived in a completely secular society.
For example, did you know that the estimated number of Christians in China is fifty million and growing at a rapid rate? This is in spite of extreme persecution and a completely anti Christian and officially athiest state. It's God who detirmines the growth of His church and and not some fool proclaiming, "You shall live by these rules because we are Christians in this country. In that case the law can only become a curse and not any kind of blessing at all.
If you have a concern for people and your country then do what Jesus commands you to do. Preach the gospel, feed the hungry, cloth and shelter the homeless and the poor, visit the sick and those in prison and be an example to the usaved by your life, your love for those who are unlovely.
Do not be a clanging gong who orders people how to live, what to think or believe. That is just what the Pharasees did and they were damned for it.
One last thing. You do not know SQUAT about Quebec. The main function of the RC church in the province was to keep the people in a state of poverty and ignorance. That church as it has been in so many places in the world was an instrument of repression and the means by which the the church kept the people down in superstitution and spiritual bondage. Why do you think that in 2 generations Quebec has become the secular society it has now become? The shepards of the flock were nothing but wolves in sheep's clothing and they have been rejected.
I'm a very fundy Christian believer and I'm telling you that you are dead wrong, both in your assurtions and your history.
Christianity is a relationship between an individual and God. It's between a believer and the fellowship of his Church and nowhere in the bible does Jesus teach in any way, manner or form that Christianity has one single thing to do with or responsibility in secular political affairs. The only really harsh words Jesus had for any group of people in the Gospels was towards the Religous leaders of the day. Very typically religous political leaders will create a system where the people will feel righteous by following the rules, in other words a religion of works. This will avail them nothing at all and in fact may very well leave them in a worse spiritual condition than if they lived in a completely secular society.
For example, did you know that the estimated number of Christians in China is fifty million and growing at a rapid rate? This is in spite of extreme persecution and a completely anti Christian and officially athiest state. It's God who detirmines the growth of His church and and not some fool proclaiming, "You shall live by these rules because we are Christians in this country. In that case the law can only become a curse and not any kind of blessing at all.
If you have a concern for people and your country then do what Jesus commands you to do. Preach the gospel, feed the hungry, cloth and shelter the homeless and the poor, visit the sick and those in prison and be an example to the usaved by your life, your love for those who are unlovely.
Do not be a clanging gong who orders people how to live, what to think or believe. That is just what the Pharasees did and they were damned for it.
One last thing. You do not know SQUAT about Quebec. The main function of the RC church in the province was to keep the people in a state of poverty and ignorance. That church as it has been in so many places in the world was an instrument of repression and the means by which the the church kept the people down in superstitution and spiritual bondage. Why do you think that in 2 generations Quebec has become the secular society it has now become? The shepards of the flock were nothing but wolves in sheep's clothing and they have been rejected.
The pharisees were not interested in saving the sinners but they were more interested in themselves as staying pure and following tradition .
Jesus healed on the Sabbath which upset the pharisees because it was the Sabbath... as Jesus put it the Sabbath was made for man and man was not made for the Sabbath.
The letter of the law kills , but the spirit brings life and more abundantly.
I don't mind ignorance, but ignorance combined with malice is inexcusable. And that has to be the most maliciously ignorant statement I have read in years. Go pound sand.
Care to argue the point? I'll give you a head start, add up the death toll and get back to me.
Thirty Years War - 3,000,000 to 11,500,000
French Wars of Religion - 2,000,000 to 4,000,000
Crusades - 1,000,000 to 3,000,000
Spanish conquest of the "new world" - up to 20,000,000
Catholic Span and the Portugal were responsible for nearly 60% 10,000,000 Africans brought to the new world and considering the estimates on the millions that died in the middle passage... well the numbers just keep adding up.
Theologically, they're as different as night and day.
Perhaps, I haven't read enough of the Quran to make a statement on their theology. But a lot of what's in the Quran can also be found in the Bible. Christians just ignore that section unless they want to condemn gays.
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But, in their actions? Yes, there are great similarities, or has been in the past. More importantly, even Christianity has the potential to revert to it's previous barbaric behavior if left to its own devices. The hatred, prejudice and bigotry of modern day Christian's would certainly be fuel for a return to the days of the Inquisition if they ever get their way and achieve full political power. Anything is possible in the name of God, especially a Christian Taliban.
True. I don't think many people would deny Jesus taught some very virtuous things. Too bad most of his followers don't actually follow his commands. As Gandhi said, "I like your Christ. I do not like your Christians. They are nothing like your Christ."
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However, it should be noted that the past violent actions of the Church are not because of Jesus Christ, but because of evil hearted men using Him as an excuse for pillaging, raping, murdering and plundering.
I agree. Christians have corrupted Jesus' message.
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And, before anyone comes along and accuses me of being an evil, librul, secularist, you should know I'm a Believer myself, one who lives the two greatest Commandments to the best of my ability all the time. Heck, I'm a hard-shelled, Southern Baptist Sunday School teacher!
I'm a Messianic Jew. I just despise what Fundamentalists/Evangelicals like Rick Santorum have done to religion. They have destroyed Jesus' message for their own bigoted, ignorant agenda.
Care to argue the point? I'll give you a head start, add up the death toll and get back to me.
Thirty Years War - 3,000,000 to 11,500,000
French Wars of Religion - 2,000,000 to 4,000,000
Crusades - 1,000,000 to 3,000,000
Spanish conquest of the "new world" - up to 20,000,000
Catholic Span and the Portugal were responsible for nearly 60% 10,000,000 Africans brought to the new world and considering the estimates on the millions that died in the middle passage... well the numbers just keep adding up.
And it should be pointed out, the only reason those numbers aren't astronomically higher is because when they occurred, 1) populations were smaller and 2) They didn't have modern weaponry.
Had the Crusades occurred during the last century you'd probably be looking at hundreds of millions dead.
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