Moderate Islam?

[DeistPaladin]

Well thats really an interesting question.
I believe in order to understand why christians are tolerant now, you should ask yourself when did christians started to became more tolerant?
What has changed? Bible is still the same bible.

I think Cerrone has an interesting point that it's not so much that Christianity became tolerant as much as it became increasingly constrained by civilization and modernity. They burn Harry Potter books now instead of heretics because they no longer are allowed to burn heretics. Muslim Imams are allowed to cut off the head of or hang apostates, gays, witches, etc because some places in the world still allow it.

The Bible is still the Bible but Christianity has been forced to accept that the world is round and not at the center of the universe. Many Christians are coming to realize that evolution is true (now official Catholic doctrine), the world is older than the literal reading of the Bible suggests (opinions vary on this) and homosexuality is innate (in recent years, the president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary issued a statement that homosexuality was part of the gay's nature but added that this is the result of "the fall" and a sin to be cured or suppressed).

The Bible hasn't changed but Christians are more likely to reinterpret certain passages or dismiss them as "metaphoric" than they were in ages past. Science has forced them to do so. They have no other option.

The violence is more restrained than it used to be. Christians today will say they'll "pray for" atheists, gays and Muslims where in the past they would simply execute such people. Of course, they won't refrain from discrimination, harassment and the occasional illegal action by some of the more zealous and violent believers, but at least now Christian attacks on its victims has to be done under-the-table.

The process was gradual, surprisingly so. I was shocked to find out the last burning-at-the-stake occurred toward the end of the 18th century, the heyday of the "Enlightenment". Apparently, the light hadn't reached all corners of Europe or its colonies. The Dark Ages died hard.

I think a critical turning point was the Reformation. This is not to say the Protestants were any better or worse than the Catholics. It is to say it broke the Pope's undisputed political power. Pope's were increasingly forced to rely on allies among the royals and nobles of Europe to keep hold of their flock. Secular leaders, kings and nobles, had more options and could bargain with the Pope instead of being forced to submit to him. Increased secular authority diminished Christianity's power.