Personally I see most evangelicals as no better than Islamic extremists. The Islamists at least do the killing based on their beliefs... Evangelicals use the U.S. government and the military. The current U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East is nothing short of a Holy War between the Evangelicals and the Islamists.
anyone who has turned their beliefs over to faith is equal. its very very dangerous. would you kill if god asked you? like god asked abraham to kill isaac? if you wouldnt, then are you really a christian? do you really have faith and trust in god? if you would, then you are clearly an evil son of a bitch.
Christianity is a religion of peace. People who oppose this idea always cite the Old Testament or historical events like the Crusades. Christianity is not based on the Old Testament. The whole idea of Christ is supported by the New Testament which was a profound change from previous beliefs. When it comes to violence carried out in the name of Christianity, that is simply people using the power of a belief system to support their ulterior goals.
THIS! I have never heard one single Evangelical reference the words of Jesus as it pertains to politics.
matthew 3:10, 12 - Those who bear bad fruit will be cut down and burned "with unquenchable fire." 3:10, 12 Matthew 8:12 - "The children of the kingdom [the Jews] shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." Matthew 10:34-35 - Do not think that I have come to send peace on Earth. I did not come to send peace, but a sword. I am sent to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. Matthew 24:37 - But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. Mark 6:11 - And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear you, when ye depart thence, shake off the dust under your feet for a testimony against them. Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city. Mark 7:10 - Honour thy father and thy mother; and, Whoso curseth father or mother, let him die the death: Luke 19:26-27 - As for my enemies who do not want me to reign over them, bring them here and kill them in my presence" Acts 3:23 - And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people. And essentially the entire Book of Revelation decrees death for unbeleievers.
Your point is well made, Red, however I agree with locoguano that Christianity is a religion of peace. At least that it the way it is supposed to be. This being said, Islam is also supposed to be a religion of peace as well as Judaism. Where the paths of peace and each of these religions diverge is when people start interpreting these passages as a justification to act as they wish. There are, however, people of all the aforementioned faiths who practice it in a peaceful and responsible way, and their goodness should not be tainted by the ignorance and blood lust of the maniacal few. I have no love loss for the evangelical movement and I've made that abundantly clear. My father was a baptist preacher and not a very good person so I saw the ugly, hypocritical underside of religion and faith first hand and you couldn't pay me enough to darken the doors of a church today. That said, the essential message of loving one's neighbor and trying to do what is right is still applicable whether done under the pretenses of religion or a personal decision.
Wasn't revelations written about Nero? That's the thing about the bible that I just can't get on board with. It's a story. It's no different than the lord of the rings. Makes me wonder if Tolkein had lived 3 or 4 thousand years ago and wrote the Lord of the Rings, if we would be worshiping Sauron.
It seems like I have heard that mentioned before but I am certainly no biblical scholar. Red mighty know the answer to that.
