Why do both christians and muslims tend to deny the violent past of their religions?

Question

The christians are always carrying on about how violent muslims are, while ignoring there own violence through history with crusades, inqusitions, whitch burnings and those fun loving Jesuit missionaries, among other such horrors of history.

The spread of Islam through violence is well documented. It really DID spread rapidly through Africa, Europe and Asia at the tip of a sword. For those unfamiliar with the history, the attached article is quite concise.

http://www.roadtopeace.org/research.php?itemid=195&catid=37

Don't both sides have as violent a past as each other?

Answer 1

Yes... they both have hideously violent pasts... and oftentimes a hideously violent present...

women being stoned

blacks dragged behind pick-up trucks

gays being beaten to death here in the US

The violence is a monstrosity...

Answer 2

Hello,

Religion, pagan religions long before Christianity and Islam all have had violent pasts. One of the best Empires to read about is the Assyrian; one of the few who actually boasted of their dreadful atrocities inflicted on rebellious towns or cities who tried to hold out against them.

Today the Roman Catholic church has apologized on numerous occasions for being complicit or causing grief in the past and does not condone violence as a problem solver now. That said, I feel it is very foolish to judge past societies and institutions by today's standards. The world of the middle ages and 16, 17th and centuries was totally different from today and the philosophies of life, the way people saw the nature of the universe was completely different than today.
Religion and politics in Europe were intertwined and things like the protestant reformation were regarded as a dangerous threat to the status quo just like communism and Muslim fanaticism are to America and western Europe today.
Unlike financial greed and politics, many of the churches have learned to behave better with respect to violence but certainly not our governments.

Michael Kelly

Answer 3

One BIG difference, Muslims carry on the violence,
I agree with the first answer.
Christians just moan at the way Muslims act and
I respect that, because Muslims are constantly
fighting Christians for Bethlehem Ephrathah
and because Jerusalem is a holy city for
Jews, Christians and Muslims we
fight tooth and nail for it. I am not
personally Christian, but
although Tony Blair has wrecked
Britain thanks to Cherie Blair's
hey-you-man (human) rights act
and multi-cultural world in mind
and we all have to work for the Muslims
who don't pay a penny into the system gets
me angry, so we go back to our ORIGINAL
religion, Christianity.

As a Christian, I never said I denied, it's Muslims
and Christian Monarchy or Church that do that, sometimes
for peace or even war, mostly for money.

Answer 4

Yes, the past of both religions are violent. As Christians we must be very emphatic that Christians have and continue to do many shameful things in the name of Christ,
BUT the issue is this: Christians who use violence in the name of God to destroy their enemies have no justification for their actions from Jesus Christ, his life and teachings as found in the New Testament.
Whereas, Muslims who are engaged in violence and destruction of anyone who opposes Islam, have ample justification for their actions from the Qur'an and the life and sayings of prophet Muhammad.
It is beyond doubt that the prophet of Islam did encourage the killing and intimidation of his enemies, not just in self defense as it is commonly reported by Muslims, but in the promotion of the cause of God and the spread of Islam.
The actions of the prophet were in direct contradiction to the teachings and actions of Jesus Christ and his disciples.
So the point is not that Christians have never resorted to violence and other horrible atrocities. They have indeed committed many horrible acts, but when they have done this, they have betrayed the very person that they claim to follow. But when Muslims commit such acts, they can in fact claim that they are following the example of their prophet and thus fulfilling the will of God and promoting His cause. That, is the big difference.

Answer 5

Man has a violent past. All people, not just Christians and Muslims. God destroyed the first world by the Great Flood because of the violence and wickedness of man. Sodom and Gomorrah was destroyed for violence and wickedness.

Man refuses to live by the laws of God. Man refuses the sacrifice of the Son of God. Man refuses and rejects God.

Answer 6

because that is the past but the violence done in the name of Islam by millions is happening now and is growing right now Christians , particularly Catholic leaders have publicly repented of the violence of the past in the name of Christ and have resolved to prevent suchin the future We are waiting for Muslims to make the same resolve and end the violence There are Muslim inquisitions,witch trials, genocides, slave trades, etc going on today

Answer 7

I can't speak for Muslims, but for Christians there is a HUGE difference between "Christianity" and "organized religion".

The Crusades, the Inquisition aod other "Christian" atrocities were examples of organized religion in which brutal, greedy, ignorant, power-hungry Popes and equally brutal, ignorant, power hungry priests exhorted brutal, greedy, ignorant, power-hungry men to do the things they did. In all of these cases, they did their OWN wills in Jesus' name, in direct contradiction to His written commandments.

The problem with most accusers of Christianity is that they point out these examples, yet either willfully or blindly ignore Jesus' warnings that this would happen, and that those who did so were not His followers. As He said;

John 16:2-4
2 They will put you out of the synagogues; yes, the time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers God service.

3 And these things they will do to you because they have not known the Father nor Me.

4 But these things I have told you, that when the time comes, you may remember that I told you of them.

He also said that by their works we would know the true Christians from the imposters;

Matthew 7:17-20

17 Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.

18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.

19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

20 Therefore by their fruits you will know them.

Unfortunately too many look at the Roman Catholic Church as being the only visible form of Christianity, and lump all Christians under that umbrella. That is like saying that during WW II, all Germans were Nazis. That was far from the ttruth, and so is classifying all Christians as "Catholics", and associating us with their past works.

Judge through discernment, not through assumptions.

Answer 8

Let me answer your que. with a que.
Why did Adam pass the buck to Eve?
Why did the Jew deney Christ? and still do?
Why do children exclaim " he did it, it's not my fault!"
Why do I hate to admit that I have German blood in my
vain right after watching the Holocaust?
No one wants to judged for tragedies of the past, or of the
present...no matter from which side of the earth we reside
we will always be passionate for what we our personal experience is, & again human nature is to hide from the
shame of what we know our ansisters has done, because we
or atleast I hope that i wouldn't have been any part of any injustices that occoured.

Answer 9

Yes , some violent events took place . but this doesn'y mean that Islam ordered us to do so . If a muslim committed a murder this doesn't mean that all muslims are murders and that Islam orders us to murder people . It's just like Imperialism has commiitted many terrible things in the world , no one says that it didn't happen but don't stick it to the religion

Answer 10

Both sides have done bad things. it seems that Muslims keep doing it more at the present time.

If you Atheists think that you want to get rid of Christianity, you will soon be forced to be Muslims. They long to be the world religion. And they are not going to be so nice as Christians are toward you.

Answer 11

I consider this as one of the dangers of religious belief and part of the reason that I will be very pleased to see the end of this kind of irrational thinking when it finally becomes a reality.

The people of any of the Abrahamic god-beliefs are quick to think themselves above violence when in fact it is waiting to be set lose in them and lies just below their rose painted facades. They are quick to judge others as foe and they are willing, (to willing,) to damn their neighbors to hell and even offer personal help to speed the process along - it is not above them to quickly take up arms and kill without hesitation for the sake of their god.

It isn't a denial of the historic truth of a belief's violent past that is such a concern, but rather it is the denial that a violent potential exists today and that it is capable of rising from within at just the smallest suggestion from leadership that it is RIGHT ACCORDING TO GOD TO WAR.

I see no solution to this problem as long as loyalty to religion and the belief of god continues to live in the hearts of would-be decent men and women.

If they would all re-think what is most dear to them and recognize that they face losing it by acts their own hand, perhaps our world would begin to grow a little safer and perhaps Eden would begin to rise from the dust.

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