I know. It kinda wasn’t fair that I went there. An easy victory;)
That’s right-not much growth to speak of until someone with power did something with it.
Sure, chrches are like any human institution. Sometimes good , sometimes not. No revelation there.
That’s not the issue here. You were talking about how atheists should soften their stance and spread their message by “planting seeds” and letting them grow slowly but surely the way Christians do. It turns out that that was definitely not the primary method of growth when it comes to Christianity.
I’m afraid I don’t see the relevance.
Im talking about effective communication of ideas in the modern era. I only mentioned the ironic nature of how it relates to something some Christians preach in passing.
How did it get proiminant enough for Constantine to decide to exploit it. Couldn’t we say the entire protestant movement started from something like that.
Christianity spread primarily through the sword, through mass murder, terror, and cultural destruction. By slaughtering everyone in reach who failed to convert to Christianity, destroying all their writings & cultural artifacts, and then spending generations more of torturing or killing anyone who appeared to be backsliding into the original beliefs of the locale. Or by kidnapping and enslaving them, then spending generations destroying what they had left of their culture and forcing Christianity on them in its place. Or by simply killing everyone who didn’t run away fast enough and moving into the vacated lands.
I really don’t think that’s a good role model for atheism to follow.
I think he’s saying that we should just ignore all that past history(and some of the present history) and pretend that we are playing on a level field, using methods some Christians use to maintain the power and prestige gathered through the centuries.
edited to add: It’s pretty easy to take the high road when you own the freeway system.
Well we could focus on everything bad that any Christian ever did and ignore anything good. That’s one approach.
I’m saying it’s pointless to blame the downside of humanity specifically on religion.
I’m also saying that if the goal is to try and actually change hearts and minds in some realisitic manner and move society forward through effective communication then IMO, persistant fact and reason based communication, grounded in a basic respect for our fellow man is more effective and productive than simply mocking them.
If we’re trying to turn the tide of the negatives that we see coming from others, maybe we ought ot be willing to acknowledge our own and address them.
No; you are claiming that Christianity spread itself by peaceful means when on the main, it didn’t. You’re trying to whitewash history.
And Christianity is guilty of so much evil that there’s no way it could ever do enough good to make up for it anyway.
When the Vikings are kicking your ass on the knattleikr field neither Robert’s Rules Of Order or The Official Rules According To Hoyle are of much use. You can talk about modern day Christians playing nicey-nicey 'till the cows come home, but the nasty Christians that would gladly send us to Hell if given half a chance still vastly outnumber us. The House Of Religion has a shitload of cleanup to do before it can even begin to point fingers at the small number of atheists they may think are too pushy for their tastes.
Honest DT. I have no interest or time to spend on this nonsense from you.
ftr;
I’m certainly not making any claim the athiests are worse or even as bad as some Christians are. However, there are lots and lots of Christians and I think we have to respond to the individuals rather than respond as if they are all the same.
Yet you do have time to talk about how nice Christianity is and how atheism should follow your imaginary version of how Christianity spread. Nor is it “nonsense”.
Unbelievers are not required to just nod and go along with whatever you say, you know.
That just amounts to “shut up and don’t criticize them”, given that it’s humanly impossible for someone to tailor their arguments for over a billion people at once.
People make arguments for and against entire belief systems and organizations all the time without having to treat every single person in them separately. Why should Christianity be such a special case?
Hi StreetDreamer14. Ae you saying (as I strongly suspect) that you try and emulate a mental image of Jesus and try to act as he would.
You try to give your money to the poor, love everybody (including gays who wish to marry), forgive everybody (not press charges after assault) and fight against usurers, scammers (like religious merchandise sellers) and other people who would harm the poor/weak/orphans/etc.
I think that is laudable and that your actions , if inspired by this, will certainly be good.
While I don’t appreciate you mischaracterizing my posts and putting words in my mouth I learned a long time ago that trying to talk to you about it is like hitting my thumb with a hanmmer and hoping that helps.
No thanks pal. Rant away all you like. I’m not playing.
And vice versa. Pardon me, DT, I’m not going to just nod and go along with whatever you say, you know, either.
Hey, it’s not our fault that Christians are all different and to treat us as if we are all alike produces fallacious claims that are not facts at all.
As the rabbi said in a prayer for the Czar: “May the good Lord bless and keep you…far away from me”. – The Fiddler on the Roof
I will be happy to exchange ideas with you when your comments are more rational and civil.
NM