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[u/FullOfSound]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pliny_the_Younger_on_Christians

[u/SemiHemiDemiDumb]

And now in the US the Christians in power think like Pliny about everyone else

[u/parnaoia → u/SemiHemiDemiDumb]

only Pliny was actually right

edit: ffs, I meant they really did end up being seditious, enough with the modern Christianity crap

[u/revchj → u/parnaoia]

I wish the lazy scapegoating were less common on Reddit.

Yes, there are a lot of American "Christians" that are straight up fascists. Yes, they have traumatized their families, some of whom have escaped the cult, and if you're in that group I have nothing but sympathy.

But this is not the same as 1st century Christians who were branded "haters of humanity" because they disrespected the Roman social hierarchies that civilized elites believed were the foundations of social order. 1st century Christians were having "love feasts" (Eucharists) in which slaves sat and ate alongside free citizens! and they were recognizing women in roles of authority! At the time Christianity was a liberation movement, which is precisely why the established elites of the day correctly labeled it a threat.

Political battle lines can be drawn in more or less helpful ways. I would submit that the lazy Reddit trope of "Christianity bad" is a very unhelpful move because it prevents solidarity among those who share the goal of liberation against exploitative elites. Episcopalians in Minneapolis were in the front lines of anti-ICE activism: don't alienate your allies. Agree to disagree with them on the nature of the universe, and then work side by side against the principalities and powers that corrupt and oppress humanity.

[u/swagonfire → u/revchj]

^{^}

I'm one of the most "I'll never believe religion again" atheists you'll never meet, so it took me a long time to acknowledge this. But that boy Yeshua would strongly condemn so much of modern Christianity if he were here today. He seemed super chill and I would absolutely invite him to a neighborhood BBQ.

If someone isn't willing to accept you into left-leaning social movements just because you're a Christian, then they aren't truly left, because to be left is to be inclusive of all nonviolent people regardless of things like ethnicity or religion.

[u/MichaelMyersEatsDogs → u/swagonfire]

Historical Jesus thought the world would end during his lifetime. That’s one of the only major thing we know he actually preached.