Originally Posted by YO-ELEVEN-11
It's not the religion that is "un-peaceful" but the people who are in it. Like the old saying goes "guns don't kill people, People kill people."
This is a most important addition to the discussion. And, I think it opens the door to a further idea:
Christianity is not a person. As such, it is not capable of emotion or action. Thus, Christianity cannot really be peaceful, or war-like, or have any human quality. 'Religion' may be an important thing. It may even be amongst the most important of things. But as it is not a human being, it has mostly the qualities of an inanimate object. Religion cannot hold a gun, be hateful, be paranoid, or be selfish. Religion cannot be compassionate, kind, understanding, or selfless. Religion is not a human.
To ask, "Is Christianity peaceful?" is certainly an interesting question. Many interesting ideas and discoveries may derive from asking such a question. But, ultimately, to ask if Christianity, as a religion, is peaceful, is not much different than saying "Is a rock peaceful?", "Is a cloud peaceful?", or "Is a prime rib peaceful?" None of these things are capable of
being peaceful, as they aren't human.
Of course, one might note that religion is, after all, uniquely a human invention. And, indeed, this is true. Religion is a tool. Now, take any given human tool. Is a bow and arrow peaceful? Well, all by itself, sitting on a shelf, its not anything in particular. Just a stick with string and some straight pieces of wood. However, it could be used as a bow to start a campfire, it could be used as an exhibit at a museum, it could be used as sporting equipment, it could be used as a walking cane (maybe?
![Roll Eyes :rolleyes: :rolleyes:](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
), it could be used to hunt for food, and it can be used to kill people...whatever someone can use it for, that is what it is in that instance. But none of these are qualities the bow necessarily possesses without a human user.
Religion, I would offer, is similar to this. It all depends on how you use it. In the hands of one man it may be a tool for assisting in attaining transcendental wisdom. In the hands of another, it may be a tool for justifying the most appalling carnage. None of these possibilities, though, are inherent in the religion itself. And whether or not a bow and arrow is used to kill a man, or to teach a spiritual insight (in the case of Zen and archery, for instance), is up to the users. It all depends in which direction you point it.