Thread: When did christianity stop being a pacifist religon

Since Roman Catholic Church was established. I don't recall other Christian churches start a war.

Originally Posted by Doktor

I don't recall other Christian churches start a war.

Puritans.

^^ I stand corrected.

Till the enlightenment catholic and protestant hostility caused for than a few wars.

The thing is once disengaged from the state apparatus christianity became much more tolerant. I wonder if the same wouldnt be true of Islam. Maybe christianities past has a lesson inthere. Look at Turkey's secular history.

Originally Posted by Roosveltrepub

I have been reading about the willingness to be martyred during the mid 3rd century then again under Diocletian and it is so different than the attitude of 5and 6th century christiandom toward arianism and monophysites. It makes me think that maybe the issue with christian violence is the exact same as muslim violence. As long as it was a state religon it couldn't tolerate dissent and state's that were theocratic in nature were hostile to non believers.

Atilla's march on Rome.

Originally Posted by Roosveltrepub

The thing is once disengaged from the state apparatus christianity became much more tolerant. I wonder if the same wouldnt be true of Islam. Maybe christianities past has a lesson inthere. Look at Turkey's secular history.

I'd reword it a bit. When christianity was forcibly disengaged from the state apparatus it became much less powerful and less able to enforce its intolerance. The same is true for Islam.

I am going to be picky.

Christianity is not an organized church; it's a guide for living. No religion is an organization.

The Catholic (universal) church evolved into a organization primarily to be an arbiter of what the teachings meant. There had been problems from the very beginning with misunderstandings of what the teachings meant. Many of Paul's letters in the New Testament were written to correct misinterpretations.


In any case, we ought to distinguish between defenders of the faith and the faith itself. Among the former were a good number of intolerant, cruel and violent men. But they stands in contrast to Christian teaching, which itself is
a way notable for tolerance, non-violence, and love of neighbor.

Originally Posted by Parihaka

Puritans.

Arianic, Nicene (protocatholic), Orthodox, Lutheran and pretty much every other Christian denomination too at some point in the last 2,000 years...

Originally Posted by kato

Arianic, Nicene (protocatholic), Orthodox, Lutheran and pretty much every other Christian denomination too at some point in the last 2,000 years...

Wait a minute we are talking about:

a) Wars started because the church asked for them or started it
b) Rulers who started wars over religious issues

a). For the most part.

Don't know about the other churches, but am not aware the Orthodox ever called for war, can you please enlight me?

There is none.Russians once talked about liberating Jerusalem for the cause of christendom,but those were political calls,not coming from church.
We do have a clean record in that matter.

From a technical viewpoint, the first crusade (by Urban II.) was launched on request from the Patriarch of Constantinople.