If a good tree cannot bear bad fruit, how can Christianity be a "good tree"?

[CynthiaZ]

After it has taken part in such things as tyranny, genocide, slavery, inquisition, cutting little boys' balls off so they can sing better, etc, etc, etc, how can people still believe in Christianity?

Do you really believe that Christianity is to blame for all those things?

If other cultures had the same practices, that only suggests that they and Christianity are essentially equivalent.

All cultures have those same practices because of something we call "human nature", human beings are just as subject to instinct as any other animal. We are driven to violence and war because we are driven by instinct to dominate and control our environment. So it is not religion that drives us towards these things but nature that drives us. so you cannot blame a single religion for why we are violent but you have to accept the facts that humans are instinctual and it is human nature alone that drives us towards dominance and violence.

So, nothing special about Christianity? Just the same as the other religions?

Did I say that? Because my point is that it is human nature that is core reason as why we seek to dominate others and to do so by the means of violence. We are violent and seek dominance because nature made us that way. Our nature as nothing to do with our religions. We are at the core of our nature...natural born killers. And to deny that truth is just being naive.

 

[there4eyeM]

I would suggest there is a difference between spirit and institution. The structure and hierarchy that was built up around the idea of 'Christianity' became similar to all such establishments. It became more or less political, in the largest sense of the word. It was also almost exclusively male, and therefore subject to all the problems of the masculine mind.

 

[Hollie]

And the Old Testament is bloody as Hell

Yeah because the the first five books and Joshua and Kings and the Chronicles are the most important part even though those books constitute just a quarter of the OT. Let's ignore the Prophets when they emphasize social justice which happens to be a major theme within the OT, lets ignore the poetry of the Psalms and of course let us ignore the existential struggle between faith and doubt in the more philosophical books such as Job and Ecclesiastes because even though those books constitute the majority of the OT they are minor in the shadow of just those few books at the beginning.

Let's also ignorance that Christianity co-opted (stole) Hebrew scripture and rebranded it for conveniences sake.

 

[Delta4Embassy]

After it has taken part in such things as tyranny, genocide, slavery, inquisition, cutting little boys' balls off so they can sing better, etc, etc, etc, how can people still believe in Christianity?

Willful ignorance helps a lot. Once you study Christianity you're more likely to become atheist, so avoiding such enlightenment is a prerequisite to being any kind of Christian.

 

[guno]

After it has taken part in such things as tyranny, genocide, slavery, inquisition, cutting little boys' balls off so they can sing better, etc, etc, etc, how can people still believe in Christianity?

Pick up the New Testament, read the parts printed in read and tell us where Our Lord commanded these hideous things you cite.

Won't hold my breath.

"Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God."

The "Love your enemies" part should clue everyone in that anyone who practices any of these vile things is not exactly following the teachings of Jesus.

From the goyim kjv bible
Luke 14.26 If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brothers, and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.

Luke 12:51
Suppose you that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, No; but rather division

 

[hobelim]

Luke 14.26 If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brothers, and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.

Luke 12:51
Suppose you that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, No; but rather division

"Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword."Matthew 10:34

"Take from my hand this cup of fiery wine and make all the nations to whom I send you drink it. When they have drunk it they will vomit and go mad; such is the sword that I am sending among them." Jeremiah 25:15

From his mouth there went a sharp sword with which to smite the nations." Revelation 19:15

"Take this cup of wine and drink it. This is a cup of my blood, the blood of the covenant." Matthew 26:27

"Just art thou in these thy judgments, thou Holy One who art and wast; for they shed the blood of thy people and of thy prophets and thou hast given them blood to drink." Revelation 16:5

"I will force your oppressors to eat their own flesh and make them drunk with their own blood as if with new wine. Then all flesh will know that I, the Lord, am your Savior and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Ya'akov" Isaiah 49:26

 

[Meriweather]

After it has taken part in such things as tyranny, genocide, slavery, inquisition, cutting little boys' balls off so they can sing better, etc, etc, etc, how can people still believe in Christianity?

That's kind of like asking after all the wife beatings and divorce, how can people still believe in marriage? Or, after the millions of abortions, how can anyone believe mothers are good people?

Christianity teaches of God's love for all and invites everyone to embrace this love, loving God and our fellowman in response. Christianity teaches/implores mankind to turn away from what is hateful and to turn back to what is good.

Why do some Christians do hateful things?
Why do some husbands beat their wives?
Why do some mothers kill their babies?

Why do others still strive to be loving, to be gentle with their wives, to nourish their children? It's because we believe in the Power of the Dream.

 

[TyroneSlothrop]

Mike Huckabee Sells "Miracle Cures" to Supporters
(NYT) In a wood-paneled study lined with books and framed family photos, the prospective presidential candidate looks into the camera. “I’m Mike Huckabee,” he says with all the folksy charm that propelled a career as a preacher, politician and broadcaster.

But this is no campaign ad. It is an Internet infomercial for a dubious diabetes treatment, in which Mr. Huckabee, who is contemplating a run for the Republican nomination in 2016, tells viewers to ignore “Big Pharma” and instead points them to a “weird spice, kitchen-cabinet cure,” consisting of dietary supplements.

 

[Agit8r]

After it has taken part in such things as tyranny, genocide, slavery, inquisition, cutting little boys' balls off so they can sing better, etc, etc, etc, how can people still believe in Christianity?

Pick up the New Testament, read the parts printed in read and tell us where Our Lord commanded these hideous things you cite.

Won't hold my breath.

"Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God."

The "Love your enemies" part should clue everyone in that anyone who practices any of these vile things is not exactly following the teachings of Jesus.

From the goyim kjv bible
Luke 14.26 If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brothers, and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.

Luke 12:51
Suppose you that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, No; but rather division

It is no wonder that Ludwig von Mises compared Christianity to Leninism, huh?

 

[Avatar4321]

Because many self proclaimed Christians failed to nourish the seed.

Also, because as Christ said, their would be tares among the wheat.