|
|
Post by Mercy for All on Jun 29, 2022 0:46:06 GMT
There is "a wide and growing gap between cultural narratives about Christianity and the reality of Christianity. Here are just five examples:" Read the list here |
|
|
|
Post by Running Deer on Jun 29, 2022 21:47:34 GMT
Orthodox Jews have higher IQs and incomes than evangelical Christianity. Should you convert?
|
|
|
|
Post by Mercy for All on Jun 30, 2022 2:01:54 GMT
Orthodox Jews have higher IQs and incomes than evangelical Christianity. Should you convert? I don't think the goal of the article is evangelistic. The point the author is making is to counter negative stereotypes in popular conception. |
|
|
|
Post by Running Deer on Jul 13, 2022 16:02:41 GMT
I see. Then it should probably also examine the support for war and oppression among American Christians. If someone doesn't rob a bank but enthusiastically supports destroying Iraq, is their religion good or bad, on balance?
|
|
|
|
Post by Mercy for All on Jul 14, 2022 12:50:07 GMT
I see. Then it should probably also examine the support for war and oppression among American Christians. If someone doesn't rob a bank but enthusiastically supports destroying Iraq, is their religion good or bad, on balance? Yeah, that's a big issue in Christian circles that is becoming increasingly divisive. More and more Christians in North America are recognizing and calling out nationalist Christianity—a version of Christianity that is inappropriately syncretistic at best, downright idolatrous at worst. I, and others, would argue for the latter. The voices are getting louder. You might be interested in a recent book that generated a lot of controversy in its criticism of North American right-wing Christianity: Jesus & John Wayne |
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 14, 2022 15:27:18 GMT
I see. Then it should probably also examine the support for war and oppression among American Christians. If someone doesn't rob a bank but enthusiastically supports destroying Iraq, is their religion good or bad, on balance? Yeah, that's a big issue in Christian circles that is becoming increasingly divisive. More and more Christians in North America are recognizing and calling out nationalist Christianity—a version of Christianity that is inappropriately syncretistic at best, downright idolatrous at worst. I, and others, would argue for the latter. The voices are getting louder. You might be interested in a recent book that generated a lot of controversy in its criticism of North American right-wing Christianity: Jesus & John WayneIt's funny because all religions are mostly syncretisms of the religions that came before them as has been demonstrated for example by Jean Bottero in his book about mesopotamia. Mesopotamia: Writing, Reasoning, and the Gods
but another thing that's true is that true believers will always believe that their particular variant of religion has something special that makes it escape the general rules that all other religions abide by. Jean Bottéro |
|
|
|
Post by Monster Man on Jul 14, 2022 20:26:26 GMT
I see. Then it should probably also examine the support for war and oppression among American Christians. If someone doesn't rob a bank but enthusiastically supports destroying Iraq, is their religion good or bad, on balance? What percentage of American Christians enthusiastically supported "destroying" Iraq? Me thinks you have a wee bit of exaggeration here and are conflating support for what is often called tje Just War doctrine, and the invasion of Iraq to remove Saddam from power and then continue to help transition the government to a Democracy (as naïve or wrong as it was) is not the same thing as support for "destroying" Iraq... |
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 14, 2022 20:42:30 GMT
I see. Then it should probably also examine the support for war and oppression among American Christians. If someone doesn't rob a bank but enthusiastically supports destroying Iraq, is their religion good or bad, on balance? What percentage of American Christians enthusiastically supported "destroying" Iraq? Me thinks you have a wee bit of exaggeration here and are conflating support for what is often called tje Just War doctrine, and the invasion of Iraq to remove Saddam from power and then continue to help transition the government to a Democracy (as naïve or wrong as it was) is not the same thing as support for "destroying" Iraq... It's funny because in the NT Jesus speaks of a lot of things yet he doesn't say a single word about a so called just war. You'd think he'd have something to say about something so devastating as war, especially if he thought there were cases when it was ok. |
|
|
|
Post by Monster Man on Jul 14, 2022 21:13:54 GMT
What percentage of American Christians enthusiastically supported "destroying" Iraq? Me thinks you have a wee bit of exaggeration here and are conflating support for what is often called tje Just War doctrine, and the invasion of Iraq to remove Saddam from power and then continue to help transition the government to a Democracy (as naïve or wrong as it was) is not the same thing as support for "destroying" Iraq... It's funny because in the NT Jesus speaks of a lot of things yet he doesn't say a single word about a so called just war. You'd think he'd have something to say about something so devastating as war, especially if he thought there were cases when it was ok. Ah yes, the classic Jesus did not talk about it fallacy. Jesus did not talk about my going to a movie or eating popcorn... or buying my kid a toy robot for Christmas... 1. Christians read THE BIBLE and Doctrinal positions are built on THE BIBLE, not only the red letters. 2. The absence of something is just that... an absence. The Bible, nor Jesus teachings, were an exhaustive list for how to do everything, or a list a million pages long of what is OK or not OK explicitly, but were certainly a framework to work from. With some clear guidelines on certain things, like say adultery. 3. This is where you get some Christian doctrine around "Just war" which is built like any other doctrinal position, based on all the scripture we do have. |
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 14, 2022 21:29:37 GMT
It's funny because in the NT Jesus speaks of a lot of things yet he doesn't say a single word about a so called just war. You'd think he'd have something to say about something so devastating as war, especially if he thought there were cases when it was ok. Ah yes, the classic Jesus did not talk about it fallacy. Jesus did not talk about my going to a movie or eating popcorn... or buying my kid a toy robot for Christmas... 1. Christians read THE BIBLE and Doctrinal positions are built on THE BIBLE, not only the red letters. 2. The absence of something is just that... an absence. The Bible, nor Jesus teachings, were an exhaustive list for how to do everything, or a list a million pages long of what is OK or not OK explicitly, but were certainly a framework to work from. With some clear guidelines on certain things, like say adultery. 3. This is where you get some Christian doctrine around "Just war" which is built like any other doctrinal position, based on all the scripture we do have. War is not like you going to the movies or eating popcorn, you imbecile. It's something that back then had been around for millennia and it's something important. It's not a simple detail. If there was such a thing as a just war, you'd think Jesus the supreme and for a Christian, the only true authority would have something to say about it. Once again you've shown yourself to be an idiot, comparing something innocuous to something tragic that caused the death of thousands of people back then and millions today. Christians who talk about just war are just a bunch of either liars especially when they profit from war or fools when they are the useful idiots of the first sort. |
|
|
|
Post by Monster Man on Jul 14, 2022 21:42:57 GMT
Ah yes, the classic Jesus did not talk about it fallacy. Jesus did not talk about my going to a movie or eating popcorn... or buying my kid a toy robot for Christmas... 1. Christians read THE BIBLE and Doctrinal positions are built on THE BIBLE, not only the red letters. 2. The absence of something is just that... an absence. The Bible, nor Jesus teachings, were an exhaustive list for how to do everything, or a list a million pages long of what is OK or not OK explicitly, but were certainly a framework to work from. With some clear guidelines on certain things, like say adultery. 3. This is where you get some Christian doctrine around "Just war" which is built like any other doctrinal position, based on all the scripture we do have. War is not like you going to the movies or eating popcorn, you imbecile. It's something that back then had been around for millennia and it's something important. It's not a simple detail. If there was such a thing as a just war, you'd think Jesus the supreme and for a Christian, the only true authority would have something to say about it. Once again you've shown yourself to be an idiot, comparing something innocuous to something tragic that caused the death of thousands of people back then and millions today. Christians who talk about just war are just a bunch of either liars especially when they profit from war or fools when they are the useful idiots of the first sort. You would think if it were so important Jesus would have clearly admonished any and all war too then! That is why these absurd arguments about "well Jesus did not say" are just that. |
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 15, 2022 4:30:03 GMT
War is not like you going to the movies or eating popcorn, you imbecile. It's something that back then had been around for millennia and it's something important. It's not a simple detail. If there was such a thing as a just war, you'd think Jesus the supreme and for a Christian, the only true authority would have something to say about it. Once again you've shown yourself to be an idiot, comparing something innocuous to something tragic that caused the death of thousands of people back then and millions today. Christians who talk about just war are just a bunch of either liars especially when they profit from war or fools when they are the useful idiots of the first sort. You would think if it were so important Jesus would have clearly admonished any and all war too then! That is why these absurd arguments about "well Jesus did not say" are just that. So what you're saying is that war, the killing of thousands, nay millions of people is not important and that in fact it's the same kind of thing as going to the movies or eating popcorn... IOW, you're full of shit. |
|
|
|
Post by Monster Man on Jul 15, 2022 4:43:01 GMT
You would think if it were so important Jesus would have clearly admonished any and all war too then! That is why these absurd arguments about "well Jesus did not say" are just that. So what you're saying is that war, the killing of thousands, nay millions of people is not important and that in fact it's the same kind of thing as going to the movies or eating popcorn... IOW, you're full of shit. No, I was mocking your comment. I thought that was obvious. I will try to spell these things out a little more clearly for you in the future. |
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 15, 2022 4:50:52 GMT
So what you're saying is that war, the killing of thousands, nay millions of people is not important and that in fact it's the same kind of thing as going to the movies or eating popcorn... IOW, you're full of shit. No, I was mocking your comment. I thought that was obvious. I will try to spell these things out a little more clearly for you in the future. Don't bother, worm, I really couldn't care less about your antics. |
|
|
|
Post by Monster Man on Jul 15, 2022 4:59:19 GMT
No, I was mocking your comment. I thought that was obvious. I will try to spell these things out a little more clearly for you in the future. Don't bother, worm, I really couldn't care less about your antics. Oh. LOL, you can't fool me. I know you care. You care so much it makes me smile. |
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 15, 2022 5:26:47 GMT
Don't bother, worm, I really couldn't care less about your antics. Oh. LOL, you can't fool me. I know you care. You care so much it makes me smile. Whatever you say, worm. |
|
|
|
Post by Running Deer on Jul 15, 2022 16:47:19 GMT
I see. Then it should probably also examine the support for war and oppression among American Christians. If someone doesn't rob a bank but enthusiastically supports destroying Iraq, is their religion good or bad, on balance? What percentage of American Christians enthusiastically supported "destroying" Iraq? Support for invading Iraq was about 75%. The US was about 80% Christian at the time. The war was most enthusiastically supported by evangelical Christians, who were in turn backing a president who put Christianity at the forefront of his appeal. So it's fair to say that tons and tons of American Christians supported destroying Iraq. Let's not kid ourselves here. Americans are a bloodthirsty people already, and the nation was baying for blood after 9/11. The Bush Administration was stocked with neoconservatives (a mix of Jews and Christians) who dreamed of completely overhauling the Middle East's political systems and national borders. Bush lost the popular vote in 2000 and probably should have lost Florida and the Electoral College. The Bush Administration saw a perfect opportunity to do two things: 1. bolster its popularity by killing some ragheads 2. indulge the imperial fantasies of its top advisors. It trotted out a few different lines of bullshit - WMDs, democracy, etc. - but these were obviously, transparently fake. People clung to different lines of bullshit to make their bloodlust seem just or dignified. I'm not a Just War expert - and to be frank I doubt you are, either - but I find it hard to believe you can crush another country that has done you no wrong and poses no threat because you would like to rearrange their politics. |
|
|
|
Post by Monster Man on Jul 15, 2022 17:12:15 GMT
So it's fair to say that tons and tons of American Christians supported destroying Iraq. No, that is not fair to say at all. You jump from support for an invasion to "destroy" Iraq. They are not the same thing at all. LOL, what is this, the opportunity you have been waiting for to run off a list of leftist grudges? Bush should have lost Florida?! ROFL. Yeah, if you selectively recount only some areas more favorable to Gore and then "interpret" what a voter meant on a ballot that is incompletely completed... sure. |
|
|
|
Post by Mercy for All on Jul 15, 2022 17:40:24 GMT
What percentage of American Christians enthusiastically supported "destroying" Iraq? Support for invading Iraq was about 75%. The US was about 80% Christian at the time. The war was most enthusiastically supported by evangelical Christians, who were in turn backing a president who put Christianity at the forefront of his appeal. So it's fair to say that tons and tons of American Christians supported destroying Iraq. Let's not kid ourselves here. Americans are a bloodthirsty people already, and the nation was baying for blood after 9/11. The Bush Administration was stocked with neoconservatives (a mix of Jews and Christians) who dreamed of completely overhauling the Middle East's political systems and national borders. Bush lost the popular vote in 2000 and probably should have lost Florida and the Electoral College. The Bush Administration saw a perfect opportunity to do two things: 1. bolster its popularity by killing some ragheads 2. indulge the imperial fantasies of its top advisors. It trotted out a few different lines of bullshit - WMDs, democracy, etc. - but these were obviously, transparently fake. People clung to different lines of bullshit to make their bloodlust seem just or dignified. I'm not a Just War expert - and to be frank I doubt you are, either - but I find it hard to believe you can crush another country that has done you no wrong and poses no threat because you would like to rearrange their politics. Let's also not forget that immediately after 9/11, based on popular media, the American populace was not at all happy with how long it took for George Bush to respond. |
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 15, 2022 20:21:36 GMT
Support for invading Iraq was about 75%. The US was about 80% Christian at the time. The war was most enthusiastically supported by evangelical Christians, who were in turn backing a president who put Christianity at the forefront of his appeal. So it's fair to say that tons and tons of American Christians supported destroying Iraq. Let's not kid ourselves here. Americans are a bloodthirsty people already, and the nation was baying for blood after 9/11. The Bush Administration was stocked with neoconservatives (a mix of Jews and Christians) who dreamed of completely overhauling the Middle East's political systems and national borders. Bush lost the popular vote in 2000 and probably should have lost Florida and the Electoral College. The Bush Administration saw a perfect opportunity to do two things: 1. bolster its popularity by killing some ragheads 2. indulge the imperial fantasies of its top advisors. It trotted out a few different lines of bullshit - WMDs, democracy, etc. - but these were obviously, transparently fake. People clung to different lines of bullshit to make their bloodlust seem just or dignified. I'm not a Just War expert - and to be frank I doubt you are, either - but I find it hard to believe you can crush another country that has done you no wrong and poses no threat because you would like to rearrange their politics. Let's also not forget that immediately after 9/11, based on popular media, the American populace was not at all happy with how long it took for George Bush to respond. Yeah, and most of them wanted a response, not necessarily an appropriate response. Just someone to blame and kill as revenge for these murders. |
|
