RE: Murder mystery: what killed Christianity in Europe?
April 29, 2015 at 10:07 am
(This post was last modified: April 29, 2015 at 10:10 am by DeistPaladin.)
King Henry VIII.
When he made the Anglican Church the official state religion, he gave it a state subsidy, therefore removing any incentive to make it appealing to the public.
Who made America the only developed nation in the world such a theocratic mess?
James Madison, when he barred Christianity from having any government support.
Evolution took its course. When Jesus was tossed out into the street and left to fend for himself, only his most appealing brands survived. This is why Puritanism, which got rid of all the fun pagan stuff, can only be found in reinactments and plays, while the most Charismatic of brands of Christianity have the megachurches.
In the UK, Christianity got fat and lazy. It featured churches where followers gathered on Sunday to mumble some boring hymns and listen to boring vicars who gave boring lessons. The result was nobody took it seriously and Jesus died a slow lonely death.
Go to any megachurch in America and you see how evolution has taken its course. You hear rock music, witness pomp and pageantry, hear professional speakers offer soaring oratory and experience other razzle dazzle. Give Christianity its due. The followers of Jesus in America know how to put on a show. Typically, these megachurches offer many social services, such as singles mixers. As a businessman who studied marketing and business strategy in school, I have to stand in awe of the marketing genius.
Having separated church and state, America ensured that it would always be a theocracy.
Having made Christianity a state religion, Britain ensured that it would be a secular nation.
So to my freethinking friends across the pond, don't think of your tax resources going to the church as any burden. Think of it as an inoculation against the Jesus virus. Really, it's a small price to pay to keep Christianity fat, lazy and content in its gilded cage.
EDIT TO ADD: looks like others have beat me to it and posted much the same thing.
When he made the Anglican Church the official state religion, he gave it a state subsidy, therefore removing any incentive to make it appealing to the public.
Who made America the only developed nation in the world such a theocratic mess?
James Madison, when he barred Christianity from having any government support.
Evolution took its course. When Jesus was tossed out into the street and left to fend for himself, only his most appealing brands survived. This is why Puritanism, which got rid of all the fun pagan stuff, can only be found in reinactments and plays, while the most Charismatic of brands of Christianity have the megachurches.
In the UK, Christianity got fat and lazy. It featured churches where followers gathered on Sunday to mumble some boring hymns and listen to boring vicars who gave boring lessons. The result was nobody took it seriously and Jesus died a slow lonely death.
Go to any megachurch in America and you see how evolution has taken its course. You hear rock music, witness pomp and pageantry, hear professional speakers offer soaring oratory and experience other razzle dazzle. Give Christianity its due. The followers of Jesus in America know how to put on a show. Typically, these megachurches offer many social services, such as singles mixers. As a businessman who studied marketing and business strategy in school, I have to stand in awe of the marketing genius.
Having separated church and state, America ensured that it would always be a theocracy.
Having made Christianity a state religion, Britain ensured that it would be a secular nation.
So to my freethinking friends across the pond, don't think of your tax resources going to the church as any burden. Think of it as an inoculation against the Jesus virus. Really, it's a small price to pay to keep Christianity fat, lazy and content in its gilded cage.
EDIT TO ADD: looks like others have beat me to it and posted much the same thing.
Atheist Forums Hall of Shame:
"The trinity can be equated to having your cake and eating it too."
... -Lucent, trying to defend the Trinity concept
"(Yahweh's) actions are good because (Yahweh) is the ultimate standard of goodness. That’s not begging the question"
... -Statler Waldorf, Christian apologist
"The trinity can be equated to having your cake and eating it too."
... -Lucent, trying to defend the Trinity concept
"(Yahweh's) actions are good because (Yahweh) is the ultimate standard of goodness. That’s not begging the question"
... -Statler Waldorf, Christian apologist
