would you fight in a religous civil war?

Question

if at some point in the future there erupted a battle between to groups of religous people here in the us, would you fight?
be it athiests vs. christians, or catholics vs. protestants, or some other religious rivalry i didnt metion, would you fight?

your god wouldnt condone it?
there are so many conflictions with that im not even going to go into it

you have freedom of religion here in the us, dont even think you dont
we could be like other countries and kill you for what you believe, but we dont

Answer 1

If a gang of morons came around wanting to stone me to death, or burn me at the stake for refusing to believe in an invisible, magical sky-fairy, I don't think I'd have much of a choice... would I?

Here's the kind of thing that we have to look forward to, if christian 'dominionists' get their way...

324 The emperor Constantine sacks the Oracle of the god Apollo and tortures the pagan priests to death. He also evicts all non-Christian peoples from Mount Athos and destroys all the local Hellenic temples.

335 Constantine sacks many pagan temples in Asia Minor and Palestine and orders the execution by crucifixion of “all magicians and soothsayers.” Martyrdom of the neoplatonist philosopher Sopatrus.

341 Constantius II (Flavius Julius Constantius) persecutes “all the soothsayers and the Hellenists.” Many gentile Hellenes are either imprisoned or executed.

354 A new edict of Constantius orders the destruction of the pagan temples and the execution of all “idolaters”. First burning of libraries in various cities of the empire.

359 In Skythopolis, Syria, the Christians organise the first death camps for the torture and executions of the arrested non-Christians from all around the empire.

364 Emperor Jovian orders the burning of the Library of Antioch. An Imperial edict (11th September) orders the death penalty for all those that worship their ancestral gods or practice divination. Three different edicts (4th February, 9th September, 23rd December) order the confiscation of all properties of the pagan temples and the death penalty for participation in pagan rituals, even private ones.

370 Valens orders a tremendous persecution of non-Christian peoples in all the Eastern Empire. In Antioch, among many other non-Christians, the ex-governor Fidustius and the priests Hilarius and Patricius are executed. The philosopher Simonides is burned alive and the philosopher Maximus is decapitated. Tons of books are burnt in the squares of the cities of the Eastern Empire.

372 Valens orders the governor of Minor Asia to exterminate all the Hellenes and all documents of their wisdom.

373 The term “pagan” (pagani, villagers, equivalent to the modern insult, “peasants”) is introduced by the Christians to demean non-believers. The non-Christians are called “loathsome, heretics, stupid and blind”. In another edict, Theodosius calls “insane” those that do not believe to the Christian God. The Christian priests lead the angry mob against the temple of goddess Demeter in Eleusis and try to lynch the hierophants Nestorius and Priskus.

381 At the Council of Constantinople the 'Holy Spirit' is declared 'Divine' (thus sanctioning a triune god). On 2nd May, Theodosius deprives of all their rights any Christians who return to the pagan religion. Throughout the Eastern Empire the pagan temples and libraries are looted or burned down.

385 to 388 Thousands of innocent pagans from all sides of the empire suffer martyrdom in the notorious death camps of Skythopolis.

389 to 390 Hordes of fanatic Christian hermits from the desert flood the cities of the Middle East and Egypt and destroy statues, altars, libraries and pagan temples, and lynch the pagans. Theophilus, Patriarch of Alexandria, starts heavy persecutions against non-Christian peoples, turning the temple of Dionysius into a Christian church, burning down the Mithraeum of the city, destroying the temple of Zeus and burlesques the pagan priests before they are killed by stoning. The Christian mob profanes the cult images.

392 On 8th November, Theodosius outlaws all the non-Christian rituals and names them “superstitions of the gentiles” (gentilicia superstitio). New full scale persecutions are ordered against pagans. The Mysteries of Samothrace are ended and the priests slaughtered. In Cyprus the local bishop “Saint” Epiphanius and “Saint” Tychon destroy almost all the temples of the island and exterminate thousands of non-Christians.

395 Two new edicts (22nd July and 7th August) cause new persecutions against pagans. Rufinus, the eunuch Prime Minister of Emperor Flavius Arcadius directs the hordes of baptised Goths (led by Alaric) to the country of the Hellenes. Encouraged by Christian monks the barbarians sack and burn many cities (Dion, Delphi, Megara, Corinth, Pheneos, Argos, Nemea, Lycosoura, Sparta, Messene, Phigaleia, Olympia, etc.), slaughter or enslave innumerable gentile Hellenes and burn down all the temples. Among others, they burn down the Eleusinian Sanctuary and burn alive all its priests (including the hierophant of Mithras Hilarius).

399 With a new edict (13th July) Flavius Arcadius orders all remaining pagan temples, mainly in the countryside, be immediately demolished.

401 The Christian mob of Carthage lynches non-Christians and destroys temples and “idols”. In Gaza too, the local bishop “Saint” Porphyrius sends his followers to lynch pagans and to demolish the remaining nine still active temples of the city.

405 John Chrysostom sends hordes of grey-dressed monks armed with clubs and iron bars to destroy the “idols” in all the cities of Palestine.

408 The local bishops lead new heavy persecutions against the pagans and new book burning. The judges that have pity for the pagans are also persecuted. “Saint” Augustine massacres hundreds of protesting pagans in Calama, Algeria.

409 Another edict orders all methods of divination including astrology to be punished by death.

415 In Alexandria, the Christian mob, urged by the bishop Cyril, attacks a few days before the Judeo-Christian Pascha (Easter) and cuts to pieces the famous and beautiful philosopher Hypatia. The pieces of her body, carried around by the Christian mob through the streets of Alexandria, are finally burned together with her books in a place called Cynaron.

416 The inquisitor Hypatius, alias “The Sword of God”, exterminates the last pagans of Bithynia. In Constantinople (7th December) all non-Christian army officers, public employees and judges are dismissed.

423 Emperor Theodosius II declares (8th June) that the religion of the pagans is nothing more than “demon worship” and orders all those who persist in practicing it to be punished by imprisonment and torture.

435 On 14th November, a new edict by Theodosius II orders the death penalty for all “heretics” and pagans of the empire. Only Judaism is considered a legal non-Christian religion.

448 Theodosius II orders all non-Christian books to be burned.

450 All the temples of Aphrodisias (the City of the Goddess Aphrodite) are demolished and all its libraries burned down. The city is renamed Stavroupolis (City of the Cross).

482 to 488 The majority of the pagans of Minor Asia are exterminated after a desperate revolt against the emperor and the Church.

515 The emperor of Constantinople, Anastasius, orders the massacre of the pagans in the Arabian city Zoara and the demolition of the temple of local god Theandrites.

546 Hundreds of pagans are put to death in Constantinople by the inquisitor Ioannis Asiacus.

556 Justinian orders the notorious inquisitor Amantius to go to Antioch, to find, arrest, torture and exterminate the last non-Christians of the city and burn all the private libraries down.

578 to 582 The Christians torture and crucify Hellenes all around the Eastern Empire, and exterminate the last non-Christians of Heliopolis (Baalbek).

And THAT, folks, is a greatly abbreviated and redacted account of just the BEGINNING of the 1,200 year Christian 'Reign of Terror'... 'Holocaust'... whatever you want to call it. Here is a more complete and extensive list, along with a narrative... http://www.askwhy.co.uk/christianity/0780Bookburning.php
.

Answer 2

I would fight if it were a war of ideas

if it were a violent religious war, I think I would go to another country where there really is freedom of religion
---updated---
I meant that if there was a violent civil war about religion, I would leave that kind of persecution.

Answer 3

not a physical war; if we reach that point, we've all lost. The fundies have nukes these days, and some of the get giddy about getting their apocalypse.

I am committed to fighting against the encroaching fundie theocracy. Luckily I have complete faith in their ability to shoot themselves in the foot.

Answer 4

Every action that one undertakes is a religious civil war. Your behaviour is your religion.

the greayest Holy War is to behave well, in a rational compasssionate manner, despite our vanity.

Answer 5

I would fight if people were trying to take away my right to freedom of worship. Would it be for religious reasons? No, it is about my freedoms being curtailed and I will fight for them.

Answer 6

In the near future we all will have to fight in a religious war if we wish to live. every man, woman, and child will flee from their homes and search for refuge in the hills and mountains because the invader comes and even now is among us--who desires to convert us to one religion.

In the Middle East, they are known as Jihadists; in Iraq, insurgents; in the west, terrorists.

Answer 7

If someone were trying to force me to believe a certain way, then I suppose I would. I wouldn't go to war to force someone else to believe MY way, however. I'm Jewish, and we've kind of been through this a few times...

Answer 8

Absolutely.

Answer 9

I fight imposition of fundamentalism NOW. What do you think most of the conflict in this forum is?

Answer 10

I would do what I could then to end us all. Ending humanity's existence would be the only way to ensure we do not spread this taint of religion to the universe

Answer 11

No.
The God I believe in, would never condone violence in His name. The true God is the God of love, not the God of wrath and hate and exclusion of others.
I'm so glad that I wasn't taught about God as a source of hate fear and anger, the way most poeple believe due to their religious upbringings.

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Edit:
Notice, I said "My God wouldn't". I DON'T disagree that there are plenty of "Godly" people who would exclude, hate and kill in the name of God. Actually more people kill in the name of God than any other reason in the history of human kind. I just want you to know that there ARE poeple who believe in a Creator, but do NOT believe in religion. It's organized religion that condones violence and exclusivity and intolerance. Please know that believing in God and blindly following a particular religion are NOT necessarily the same thing. It's religion which teaches this intolerance... this negativity is not inherent in believing in a Creator.
The injustices come to light when people shove their beliefs down other's throats.

Here's an answer I gave just before answering this one. You may better understand my position on rejecting religion, while still believing in a Creator. By the way, I'm also against creationism. I believe in Evolution, but i believe in evolution as it was set about by a Creator.
Take a read: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=As7RN9skWZnCLdsB4vMzkA7sy6IX;_ylv=3?qid=20071001102728AAuqqF8&show=7#profile-info-AA10009439

Matt J and Kjelstad actually assume that I'm speaking on hehalf of a "book" or that I follow the doctrines of one religion or another. I presume the book they THINK I'm quoting is the bible. You know what they say about people who assume....