I dont accept any such thing as an absolute truth of the Christian faith.
Christianity was once the absolute law of the land. History defines that time period as the Dark Ages.
Good gawd. Not that again.
Not a true statement.
First off, Christianity was slowly replacing the Roman Empire (not by brutality, but by the teachings of the Christ). Then came the pillaging and plundering muslims, Turks, and Moors. That was the beginning of the "Dark Ages". It took hundreds of years to recover (sad, today, people are saying: we should embrace their way of thinking, their culture).
Christianity was points of light at that time for many. There were some really corrupt players that infiltrated the church then too. There were still pagan religions, human sacrifices, and some other nasties too! Then there was the belief that "royalty" had different rules than the "commoners". That was not changed until the Quakers gained prominence. The Quakers (a Christian faith), influenced the new gov't in this country, so there would be no special rules for those in gov't and the citizens that chose them!
Noticed how you skipped over the inquisitions
Or conquering native lands and forcing Christianity on the population by the sword like in Mexico and South America
Witch Hunts (beginning circa 1480 in Europe): The witch hunts in the United States were short lived and resulted in very few deaths compared to the witch hunts in Europe where countless people were wrongfully murdered after bogus trials for the cross.
The Crusades (Beginning 1095): As a religious driven military movement, the Crusades, fought mainly against Muslims, were efforts to recapture the Holy Land which lead to irrational claims of crosses appearing on chests of leaders, demoralization of non-Christians (Jews and Muslims) and mass murders of innocent men, women and children.
The Inquisition (Beginning 1184): The purpose of the Inquisition was stated in a 1578 handbook for inquisitors as,
for punishment does not take place primarily and per se for the correction and good of the person punished, but for the public good in order that others may become terrified and weaned away from the evils they would commit. Such as statement makes it clear that the goal was to inspire fear among a people in order to rule and conquer them. During the Inquisitions church leaders often supported the enslavement and/or murder of heretics.
The Holocaust (beginning circa 1933): Christian Fundamentalism was a primary cause of the Holocaust. Jewish persons had been murdered and enslaved throughout Europes violent Christian history and the Nazis continued this long tradition of murder claiming it to be for the betterment of God and Gods wish. Although the Jewish people took the largest number of casualties, other groups were murdered including, homosexuals, Soviet citizens, political prisoners and the disabled.
The inquisitions killed less people than have died in Chicago in the last decade (and the Inquisition lasted hundreds of years. BTW there were two Inquisitions: one by the Spanish "gov't" that was extremely severe and the other by the Catholic Church that was considered to be less harsh. Then, like now, when a "gov't" has all the power, the people suffer.
NO, Nazism was not a result of Christian "fundamentalism". It was the result of a sick, demented, twisted person in charge of a gov't that had convinced the "people" the "gov't" was the answer. The same type of rhetoric was used: "they have money", "it was rightfully yours", "let's take it from them", they didn't give us enough, let's punish, torture, murder them (and all the "legion" went right along with it). We are watching the same thing happen in this country. The "mob" is being stirred up and fingers are being pointed, now, it will come down to who will suffer the violence.
So you want to go back hundred, even thousands of years for examples of Christianity being used for brutality. Got it.
Now let's talk about "authoritarian gov't".
French Revolution, once the aristocracy was overthrown, those "rebels" that ran the gov't made the Guillotine word for thousands.
Estimated number of victims
In the introduction, editor Stéphane Courtois states that "...Communist regimes... turned mass crime into a full-blown system of government"[3]. He claims that a death toll totals 94 million[4]. The breakdown of the number of deaths given by Courtois is as follows:
65 million in the People's Republic of China
20 million in the Soviet Union
2 million in Cambodia
2 million in North Korea
1.7 million in Africa
1.5 million in Afghanistan
1 million in the Communist states of Eastern Europe
1 million in Vietnam
150,000 in Latin America (mainly Cuba)
10,000 deaths "resulting from actions of the international Communist movement and Communist parties not in power."[4]
Courtois claims that Communist regimes are responsible for a greater number of deaths than any other political ideal or movement, including Nazism. The statistics of victims includes executions, famine, deaths resulting from deportations, physical confinement, or through forced labor.
The Black Book of Communism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Now, let's look at what is happening with "Christians" today. They are being persecuted and murdered in Africa, the Middle East, China, Indonesia while the "tolerant" liberals are absolutely silent. In the developed countries (and some of the undeveloped countries) Christian charities are providing hope, food, medical care, and education in places where the gov'ts are not. When "natural disasters" hit, the churches are the first charities there, if they are local and able, their doors are open. When is the last time a "Christian" murdered anyone saying: this is for the LORD?
I am trying to understand how people like you can feel so threatened by Christians. What are you afraid of: someone will tell you they disagree with the way you live? 99% of Christians do not have the "authority" to "judge" you. If they say something to you, they do not have the "authority" to place any sentence upon you.
Does someone believing in the LORD scare you so badly, that you are joining the "gov't" to legislate a "forced" silence on "Christians"? Why are Christians so terrifying to you? Can you give one example where "Christianity" has been "forced" on you (you had to participate in a Christian act or you would be beaten, fined, killed)?
Just what is so terrifying about a message of the SAVIOR walking, eating, living among us, and then having our sins beaten into HIS flesh for all to see, before HE was tortured to death; then He rose from the dead, still wearing the wounds of HIS torture and told HIS followers of HIS absolute LOVE for all of us? What is hurtful about that? What is insulting about that?
