It seems that a lot of these days, people talk about how Christianity is and was evil in and of itself, and even if that is indeed true, then why did Christians themselves form a kind of ideology that in past historic times, was used an excuse for evil deeds in the name of power and whatnot?
And did they really ever think of themselves as evil or?
Lara Croft, in the library, with the candlestick.
shareLara Croft wasn't an evil Christian, was she??
shareI don't know but she is an archaeologist who looks into themes and recurrences throughout history which denote whether people felt they were doing things for personal interest or whether they were doing things for the greater good.
Plus she's got a huge library filled with texts from lots of different ancient cultures.
And being the girl scout that she is she'll have a candle on a candlestick in case the power goes out.
LOL
shareAnd what Lara has to do with this,exactly?
shareSee above.
shareSPOILER ALERT!!
In shadow,she accidentally triger the apocalypse
I've been watching, I've been waiting, for tomorrow, all my life (The Rasmus - "In the Shadows").
shareActually,i'm talking about this
https://youtu.be/XYtyeqVQnRI
According to one user review in 2000, mentalcritic, of the film "End of Days" (1999), Christians are not the good guys and that in past historic times, they were known to violently torture and kill people merely for the sake of them being not like them.
shareAs in the Crusades.
shareI won't go any further with this.I may say things that will - maybe- offend others who still believe in these things
shareThe Bible is indeed an evil book, because it outlines a deity who happily uses genocide and threats of torture against its creation, while claiming that this deity is perfect.
This creates a belief system where genocide, threats, and torture are not excluded from the idea of being "perfect" and "loving."
It's obvious that these beliefs come from ancient times when humans were less civilized, and most modern believers accept that without extrapolating it to the entirety of the belief system. Thus just use that acceptance to cherry-pick what they like and dislike about the book itself, proving that their beliefs are nothing but an emotional attachment and are in no way reflective of reality.
I'm sure other ancient religious books would qualify as evil as well, but I am only familiar with the Bible.
Is Christianity an evil in and of itself?
Maybe......
I no longer practice in the organized religion that I was brought up in.
I do believe in trying to help others and I want to do what is right. I believe that is Christianity.
I can't allow others who seem to have a pipeline to God tell me that my son, who is married to a fine young man, is somehow sick and that he will burn in Hell.
I can't allow others who seem to have a pipeline to God tell me that I will go to Hell if I am not in church each Sunday.
I can't allow others who seem to have a pipeline to God tell me ANYTHING if they believe in that fairy tale BOOK they call the Bible. It was written by men who interpreted their ideas of the Word of God.
I'd like to believe that there is a higher power. Somehow, I just can't believe that this is all that there is. We must be here for a purpose. If for nothing else? Plant food? How about helping each other????
I don't have the answers.... NOBODY HAS THE ANSWERS! The true EVIL is in those people who would have you believe they do......
To me, all religions are evil and weird. Persecutions, torture, bombings, etc. Why people are attracted to religion has always been a mystery.
shareBut in some of those cases, it probably isn't religion in and of itself that is evil but that it is used fallaciously instead to "justify" the evil deeds.
shareReligious ideology itself can't really be evil or good, it's just text on a page.
How people form group identities based on their interpretation of that text and what they do in the name of it can be labeled "good" or "evil".
That being said, the "first" official church of Christ (after they wiped out all the other pagan Christian sects that didn't follow their interpretation of the scriptures) aka the Catholic Church has been so institutionally corrupt over the past two thousand years that after they were revealed to have engaged in a long history of institutional child rape and coverups in their ranks, it's hard not see them as having been an evil in itself.
Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
shareYes indeed! Take a look at the Vatican. A billionaire church that neglects and ignores the poor people who are it's congregation. Unbelievable.
shareProblem with the Church is it takes forever for it to change, so much bureaucratic red tape from its sheer organization size to effectively address issues within their ranks, and that's not even focusing on the cultural and social ends of the institution.
shareConservatives are all about reducing government. How about reducing the out-of-control bureaucracy in the Church?
shareThat's actually a great point, Turnip, never thought of it that way. It's easy to the see the Church as a relic of the past and why not, its actively intent on preserving it's foundation. To the Church, its heritage is its identity, there to remind the faithful that as things change, it represents a time capsule.
Personally, I think the organizational heads prefer for it to change slowly, thinking that gradual change, even at snails pace, is better than a sudden overhaul of the system where things can have extreme consequences, which they rather not chance it.
All religions create more misery than happiness. Some are worse than others. Currently Christianity is not the worst. We all know what that one is.
share