Christianity-proper is not an inherently violent religion:
godelian wrote: ↑Sat Mar 08, 2025 5:35 am
Veritas Aequitas wrote: ↑Sat Mar 08, 2025 5:23 am
I agree there were many Christians in the past whose practices in exploiting Christianity within a Clergy with political powers were abominable.
Well, we finally seem to agree at least on something.
Veritas Aequitas wrote: ↑Sat Mar 08, 2025 5:23 am
The evil acts of these evil prone Christians has nothing to do with the ideology of Christianity-proper which is grounded on the Gospels only and is overridingly pacifist.
Christian doctrine is not the product of the Gospels. In fact, Christian doctrine has very little to do with Christ or his ministry. This became very apparent during Martin Luther's trial:
Martin Luther: If you can show me through scripture and reason that I am mistaken, I will retract what I have written.
Papacy: The Bible itself is the arsenal whence each heresiarch from the past has drawn his deceptive arguments.
Veritas Aequitas wrote: ↑Sat Mar 08, 2025 5:23 am
Your "Christianity is essentially a violent but also imbecile ideology" is a misrepresentation of facts.
You need to
justify [prove] with evidences and arguments how the
ideology of Christianity is evil, violent and imbecile.
As the Papacy clarified to Martin Luther, the Christian doctrine is not closed under logical consequence. It does not allow for showing anything through
scripture and reason, because Christian doctrine is not even reasonable. In reality, it consists mostly of
deceptive arguments. It is obvious that Christian doctrine is violent because they even wanted to burn Martin Luther at the stake for disagreeing with the Papacy, just as they had previously burned Jan Hus at the stake.
Conclusion. Christian doctrine is essentially violent and imbecile.
Something is very wrong with you, perhaps, sicko somewhere.
You need to consult a psychiatrist.
Here is ChatGpt in response to your views above:
ChatGpt Wrote:
Your interlocutor is making the argument that Christianity, as a historical and doctrinal tradition, has been deeply entangled with violence and irrationality, as evidenced by episodes like the execution of Jan Hus and the treatment of Martin Luther. However, their argument is problematic for a few reasons:
1. Conflation of Christianity with its Institutional History
Your interlocutor is treating Christianity as a monolithic entity, reducing it to how church authorities (especially the Papacy) have acted in history. However, institutions and individuals within Christianity have often diverged from the core Gospel teachings. The Papacy's political decisions, inquisitions, and use of force were institutional developments, not necessarily intrinsic to the teachings of Jesus in the Gospels.
Your position—that Christianity in its essence is pacifist because it is based on the Gospels—is a valid way to distinguish between Christianity-proper (as taught by Jesus) and historical Christianity (as practiced by various institutions and groups). Your interlocutor, by contrast, assumes that institutional Christianity fully represents the essence of Christianity, which is a category error.
2. Christianity as a Pacifist Ideology
You rightly emphasize that the Gospels promote nonviolence:
Matthew 5:39: "If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also."
Matthew 5:44: "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you."
John 18:36: "My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest."
These statements indicate that Christianity, as an ideological framework grounded in Jesus' teachings, is inherently pacifist. Even early Christian communities were largely nonviolent, avoiding participation in war or state violence for centuries until Christianity was institutionalized under Constantine.
3. Christianity and Violence: A Historical Perspective
Your interlocutor's claim that Christianity is "essentially violent" is an overgeneralization. There have certainly been violent actions by Christians and Christian institutions (e.g., Crusades, Inquisition, religious wars), but these were often influenced by political, social, and economic factors rather than intrinsic Christian doctrine. The use of Christianity to justify violence does not mean that violence is part of its essence.
Historically, many Christians, such as early Anabaptists, Quakers, and Tolstoyan Christians, have interpreted Christianity as requiring absolute pacifism. Thus, Christianity has also been a force for peace, not just for war.
4. Christianity is Not Closed Under Logical Consequence?
Your interlocutor claims that Christian doctrine "is not closed under logical consequence," meaning it is not logically consistent. They argue that Christian doctrine consists of "deceptive arguments" because the Papacy refused to debate Martin Luther based on scripture and reason.
This is a non sequitur. The refusal of a political-religious institution (the Papacy) to engage in rational debate does not mean that Christianity itself is irrational or deceptive. Moreover, many Christian theologians (e.g., Augustine, Aquinas, Pascal) have engaged deeply with logic and reason in their interpretations of faith.
Conclusion
Your argument that Christianity is essentially pacifist when grounded in the Gospels is well-supported. Your interlocutor's argument, by contrast, conflates historical actions of Christian institutions with the ideology itself. They also make a hasty generalization by assuming that instances of Christian violence prove Christianity is intrinsically violent.
A more balanced view would recognize that Christianity, as an ideology grounded in the Gospels, is pacifist, while acknowledging that its historical institutions have sometimes acted in violent ways due to political and social influences.
My question to ChatGpt:
VA to ChatGpt
Is Christianity Inherently Pacifist or Violent?
Here is a discussion:
[ME] The evil acts of these evil prone Christians has nothing to do with the ideology of Christianity-proper which is grounded on the Gospels only and is overridingly pacifist.
[Interlocutor]Christian doctrine is not the product of the Gospels. In fact, Christian doctrine has very little to do with Christ or his ministry. This became very apparent during Martin Luther's trial:
Martin Luther: If you can show me through scripture and reason that I am mistaken, I will retract what I have written.
Papacy: The Bible itself is the arsenal whence each heresiarch from the past has drawn his deceptive arguments."
[ME] "Your "Christianity is essentially a violent but also imbecile ideology" is a misrepresentation of facts.
You need to justify [prove] with evidences and arguments how the ideology of Christianity is evil, violent and imbecile."
[Interlocutor]"As the Papacy clarified to Martin Luther, the Christian doctrine is not closed under logical consequence. It does not allow for showing anything through scripture and reason, because Christian doctrine is not even reasonable. In reality, it consists mostly of deceptive arguments. It is obvious that Christian doctrine is violent because they even wanted to burn Martin Luther at the stake for disagreeing with the Papacy, just as they had previously burned Jan Hus at the stake.
Conclusion. Christian doctrine is essentially violent and imbecile."[]
My view is, Christianity as a religion as represented by its Constituted Ideology as grounded on the Gospels Only is overridingly Pacifist. Christianity is Pacifist as grounded on its overriding maxims of 'love all even enemies' 'give the other cheek and the likes [Mathew 5-7].
As such, in essence Christianity is a pacifist religion, thus cannot be violent in essence.
Also, a Christian is one who had entered into an implied covenant with Christ/God with reference to "the offer" in John 3:16 and the Christian acceptance of the offer when he surrender his self to Christ/God.
As such, a Christian must comply with the overriding pacifist maxim and if he had killed any non-believers, the would have committed a sin according to the maxim and subject to God's grace to forgive him if warranted.
Christians who had committed evil acts are doing it on their own volitions and cannot do such evil evil acts in the name of Christ or Christianity or as a Christian-proper.
Please comment on my interlocutor's view.
The Papacy, the Christian Clergy and group/individual Christians had committed evil acts in the past as evident, but they in essence could not have done it in the name of the Christian Religion.
As such, the Christianity by its ideology as in the Gospels only cannot be inherent violent.