Traditionally translated as "god wills [it]", but 'volo' generally translates as desire. "God wants it" does not really pack the same punch though.
I mean as Christians we are taught that we should turn the other cheek and that the world will hate us but you make an interesting point after seeing this.
But of course, 'the world' hated Christians at the time of Christ, but not between 400 and 1950 or so. How much of this is just a cultural meme promoted in order to prevent the greatest reservoir of resistance against the regime from doing anything? Early Christianity was pacifist, but in the 9th century, after the Muslims had invaded Europe from 3 separate places, Rome realized that something had to be done, and it approved of holy war to expel them from Italy.
Without Christian militancy, there would basically be no Christian left, except for a tiny, despised minority of dhimmis frequently subjected to mob attacks. People should not be a partner in their own marginalization, and along with that, the marginalization of all that is good and decent.
There are some gruesome stories of Muslim terror coming out of Africa. Let alone Europe.
Africa is far worse than Europe, because there the Muslims have larger populations and there is less of a need to play relatively nice for fear of upsetting people. Difference is that African Christians actually fight back, like in the Central African Republic, as opposed to the European "thank you, Sir, can you rape another of my daughters, Sir?"
I don’t think turning the other cheek means to stand by while you and your family get killed. I should’ve specified that better. I always saw it as trying to avoid conflict when and where possible. As this article shows certain groups make avoiding conflict impossible
I get what you mean, but there is a lot of stuff in the Sermon on thee Mount that appears to mandate a sort of extreme pacifism. Do not resist evil, give a robber your cloak as well, etc.
Now, of course, this makes a lot of sense when you are a small band of despised people, as the early Christians were, because if you are despised and you start being violent even in self-defense, then you are in big trouble. But it's very different when you are the majority or at least very influential.
Very true but I have to believe that Jesus wouldn’t want me to stand there if I see an old lady getting beat up or if someone was terrorizing my mom. I have given that a lot of thought. I love the sentiment of the sermon on the mount though. Now sometimes if you are being robbed it may be easier to give up what you have and move on but depends on the circumstances.
Did you grow up going to church? I’m impressed with your knowledge of Christianity. But I’ve had a few atheists friends who were very well versed in the Bible and we were able to have civil discussions
Very true but I have to believe that Jesus wouldn’t want me to stand there if I see an old lady getting beat up or if someone was terrorizing my mom. I have given that a lot of thought. I love the sentiment of the sermon on the mount though. Now sometimes if you are being robbed it may be easier to give up what you have and move on but depends on the circumstances.
Yes, but that is moving it into the area of what is practical rather than what is moral. It is not really "do not resist evil", although if you are unable to resist evil as the Christians were back then - that also makes tons of sense.
Did you grow up going to church? I’m impressed with your knowledge of Christianity. But I’ve had a few atheists friends who were very well versed in the Bible and we were able to have civil discussions
Yes, but I mostly learned about it myself. I actually despised it when I started learning about Christian history and the Middle Ages, in order to better denigrate them as Voltaire said, but then I started actually respecting it.
Traditionally translated as "god wills [it]", but 'volo' generally translates as desire. "God wants it" does not really pack the same punch though.
But of course, 'the world' hated Christians at the time of Christ, but not between 400 and 1950 or so. How much of this is just a cultural meme promoted in order to prevent the greatest reservoir of resistance against the regime from doing anything? Early Christianity was pacifist, but in the 9th century, after the Muslims had invaded Europe from 3 separate places, Rome realized that something had to be done, and it approved of holy war to expel them from Italy.
Without Christian militancy, there would basically be no Christian left, except for a tiny, despised minority of dhimmis frequently subjected to mob attacks. People should not be a partner in their own marginalization, and along with that, the marginalization of all that is good and decent.
Africa is far worse than Europe, because there the Muslims have larger populations and there is less of a need to play relatively nice for fear of upsetting people. Difference is that African Christians actually fight back, like in the Central African Republic, as opposed to the European "thank you, Sir, can you rape another of my daughters, Sir?"
I don’t think turning the other cheek means to stand by while you and your family get killed. I should’ve specified that better. I always saw it as trying to avoid conflict when and where possible. As this article shows certain groups make avoiding conflict impossible
I get what you mean, but there is a lot of stuff in the Sermon on thee Mount that appears to mandate a sort of extreme pacifism. Do not resist evil, give a robber your cloak as well, etc.
Now, of course, this makes a lot of sense when you are a small band of despised people, as the early Christians were, because if you are despised and you start being violent even in self-defense, then you are in big trouble. But it's very different when you are the majority or at least very influential.
Very true but I have to believe that Jesus wouldn’t want me to stand there if I see an old lady getting beat up or if someone was terrorizing my mom. I have given that a lot of thought. I love the sentiment of the sermon on the mount though. Now sometimes if you are being robbed it may be easier to give up what you have and move on but depends on the circumstances.
Did you grow up going to church? I’m impressed with your knowledge of Christianity. But I’ve had a few atheists friends who were very well versed in the Bible and we were able to have civil discussions
Yes, but that is moving it into the area of what is practical rather than what is moral. It is not really "do not resist evil", although if you are unable to resist evil as the Christians were back then - that also makes tons of sense.
Yes, but I mostly learned about it myself. I actually despised it when I started learning about Christian history and the Middle Ages, in order to better denigrate them as Voltaire said, but then I started actually respecting it.