Is Christianity a Pacifistic Religion?

[Minimalist]

Better expressed as "two hands working accomplish a metric fuckton more than a million hands clasped in prayer."

[RoadRunner79]

For everything there is a season. A time for war, and a time for peace.

I don’t think that this passage, is saying, that you have to be a pacifist in every situation. But that temperance is a virtue. I think that perhaps a more biblical outlook, might be, not to seek revenge, rather than total pacifism.

[Fake Messiah]

[Minimalist]

For everything there is a season.  A time for war, and a time for peace.

I don’t think that this passage, is saying, that you have to be a pacifist in every situation. But that temperance is a virtue. I think that perhaps a more biblical outlook, might be, not to seek revenge, rather than total pacifism.

That bible bullshit is what ever you want it to be, RR.... hence fine xtians slaughtered muslims and jews in the name of their peaceful fucking religion.  And were told they were going to heaven by the fucking pope himself!

You're every bit as bad as muslims, today.

[vulcanlogician]

I always subscribed to the idea of “God helps those who help themselves”, not in the Bible it seems to be a better reflection of reality.

Yeah, that's Ben Franklin. Seems like a roundabout way of saying, "If you want help, help yourself." But what the fuck do I know?

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For everything there is a season.  A time for war, and a time for peace.

I don’t think that this passage, is saying, that you have to be a pacifist in every situation. But that temperance is a virtue. I think that perhaps a more biblical outlook, might be, not to seek revenge, rather than total pacifism.

Okay. Fine. But what about someone who sees pacifism as one of the ways they obey Christ? Would you say they have the wrong idea? Or would you see a commitment to pacifism as something that is perfectly in line with Christ's teachings?

[robvalue]

The bible is just a huge contradictory mess. But to come up with a peaceful interpretation you have to cherry pick seriously hard, usually ignoring virtually the whole OT. It's about time they did that for real.

The religion itself is just whatever its followers make it into. Its history, and even the current state, are not good though. It's divisive and judgemental when it's not being violent. The best kind (from my perspective) is the heavily diluted paper Christian version, just like with every religion.

[Fake Messiah]

From what I understand how Christians see it is that Christianity is pacifist unless you are a non-Christian because then you don't have any morals so anything goes and you deserve a sword until you accept Jesus. Sword is not bad for "them" because that is the only language they know since every other religion is devil worship so Christians killing them is a blessing because they would kill and rape each-other anyway, but much worse than Christians would do to them.

But, then, if you're a Christian you may deserve a sword if you follow bad Christianity which tainted Jesus' message with the one from the devil and you're doing harm and you need to be stopped.

[vulcanlogician]

From what I understand how Christians see it is that Christianity is pacifist unless you are a non-Christian because then you don't have any morals so anything goes and you deserve a sword until you accept Jesus. Sword is not bad for "them" because that is the only language they know since every other religion is devil worship so Christians killing them is a blessing because they would kill and rape each-other anyway, but much worse than Christians would do to them.

But, then, if you're a Christian you may deserve a sword if you follow bad Christianity which tainted Jesus' message with the one from the devil and you're doing harm and you need to be stopped.

Not in theory:

Matthew 5:46-48

46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet only your brothers,[i] what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? 48 You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

But very much in practice.

[Fake Messiah]

Not in theory:

Matthew 5:46-48

46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? 48 You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

But very much in practice.

Except the parts where Jesus is angry Luke 19:27 But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me

And indeed take the time of forty-two years after Columbus's arrival, the Aztec and Inca empires had been destroyed, and their peoples enslaved or murdered. As Bartolomeo Las Casas noted Catholics killed children, slit open the bellies of pregnant women, gouged out eyes, roasted whole families alive and set fire to villages in the night. They trained dogs to go into the jungles where the Indians had fled and to tear them to pieces. Men were sent to work in gold and silver mines, chained together by iron collars. When a man died, his body was cut from the chain, while his companions on either side continued working. Most Indians did not last more than three weeks in the mines. Women were raped and disfigured in front of their husbands.
The favored form of mutilation was to slice chins and noses. Las Casas told how one woman, seeing the Spanish armies advancing with their dogs, hanged herself with her child. A soldier arrived, cut the child in two with his sword, gave one half to his dogs, then asked a friar to administer last rites so that the infant would be assured a place in Christ’s heaven.

[Bahana]

Christianity can be many things depending on what you want to emphasize. Jesus is completely different in John than he is in Mark. Then there's also Paul who the author of Matthew would probably not have agreed with. Hopefully Christians will use their own reason and find the good stuff about Jesus.