This document discusses the history and legacy of Christianity through a critical lens. It examines controversial topics like the conquests of Columbus and Constantine, and explores how Christianity has been used to justify violence throughout history. The document suggests that Christians must face this difficult history, own it, repent of it, and rethink doctrine and mission in light of it. It quotes Indigenous voices arguing that Christianity has nothing positive to teach given its role in centuries of carnage against Indigenous peoples. Overall, the document prompts readers to grapple with Christianity's relationship to power, violence, and marginalized groups throughout its history.
Prophet Muhammad in the Eyes of the World Thinkersgreatest man
Studying the life of Muhammad, his sayings, his share to the world civilization and his spiritual effect, the world thinkers, unlike the biased ones, started to defend his prophethood
Prophet Muhammad in the Eyes of the World Thinkersgreatest man
Studying the life of Muhammad, his sayings, his share to the world civilization and his spiritual effect, the world thinkers, unlike the biased ones, started to defend his prophethood
This is a study of Jesus avoiding forced kingship. The people fed by the thousands were about to take Jesus by force and make Him King. He knew it and retired to the mountains to avoid such a thing.
Prophet Muhammad (pbuh): A mercy to all creation!F El Mohdar
The more science and technology advances, the greater is the need for the observance and practice of the teachings and instructions of divine prophets in human societies. This is because science and technology provide only machines and instruments and by no means prevent their misuse by human beings.
The terrible rise in murder, other felonies, corruption, suicide and so forth clearly points to this very fact. If morality, which is a significant part of the teachings of divine prophets, does not prevail and govern in human societies, surely not only will advanced science and technology fail to ensure human peace and prosperity, but they will add to our problems and miseries. For the exploiters and colonialists utilize advanced technology and sciences for their own satanic purposes. They murder or make homeless millions of human beings as they have always done and trample upon the rights of the weak and the defenseless.
As a matter of fact, the only factor that can halter man's restive soul and control his stormy instincts and passions and thus utilize science and technology for human prosperity and pacific life is true morality, which originates in faith in God.
The moral teachings and precepts of the divine prophets and their moral behavior are the best means of leading man to his ideal life. It goes without saying that both in personal and in social life the observance of moral principles is required of all. However, for those who must lead societies and guide the people, this requirement is much greater, because, first, the one who is the instructor of society must himself be a model of supreme moral behavior and excellent human characteristics, so he will be able to wipe moral decay out of people's hearts and minds. Obviously if he himself is lacking in morality, he will fail to lead the people onto the path of humanity and virtue.
Second, the responsibility of leading human societies is so great and crucial that no one can successfully perform it unless he has perfect morals. For this reason, God selected his prophets from among those who possessed exalted spirits, great tolerance, extraordinary patience, and other excellent moral characteristics. It was with this weapon of morality that divine prophets overturned the debased societies that were plunged in corruption and led the ignorant people who had gone astray onto the path of virtue and salvation.
In the Glorious Qur'an, Almighty God has addressed the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh): "Thus it is due to mercy from God that you deal with them gently, and had you been rough, hard-hearted, they would certainly have dispersed from around you." (3:159)
The sublime celestial morals of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) brought about the waves of the revolution of Islam first in Arabian society and afterwards all over the world. In the light of this all-embracing spiritual and intellectual resurrection, dispersion turned into unity, unchastity into chastity and virtue, idleness into hard work and industry, selfishness to altruism, and Arab arrogance to modesty and affection. Men and women were thus trained to become models of good moral behavior and have altruistic manners forever. The morals of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) were so sublime and praiseworthy that Almighty God has regarded them as great. "And truly you (Muhammad) possess great morals." (68:4)
Star of the Empress
(Sitara-e-Qaisarah)
By
Hadrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad
The Promised Messiah and Mahdi,
Founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama‘at,
on whom be peace
About the Author
Hadrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad as was born in 1835 in Qadian, India. From his early life, he dedicated himself to prayer, and the study of the Holy Quran as well as other scriptures. He was deeply pained to observe the plight of Islam which was being attacked from all directions. In order to defend Islam and present its teachings in their pristine purity, he wrote ninety-one books, thousands of letters, and participated in many religious debates. He argued that Islam is a living faith which can lead man to establish communion with God and achieve moral and spiritual perfection.
Hadrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad as started experiencing divine dreams, visions and revelations at a young age. This communication from God continued to increase and he announced that God had appointed him to be the same Reformer of the latter days as prophesied by various religions under different titles. He also claimed to be the Promised Messiah and Mahdi whose advent had been prophesied by the Holy Prophet Muhammad (may the peace and blessing of Allah be upon him). In 1889, under divine command, he started accepting initiation into the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, which is now established in more than 200
countries.
After his demise in 1908, the institution of khilafat was
established to succeed him in fulfillment of the prophecy made in
the Holy Quran that Allah the Almighty would establish khilafat
(successorship) among the Muslims. Hadrat Mirza Masroor
Ahmad aba is the Fifth Successor to the Promised Messiah as and
the present head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community.
The book Sitara-e-Qaisarah [Star of the Empress] was written by the Promised Messiahas on 20 August 1899 and published on 24 August 1899. In this brief exposition, the Promised Messiahas has presented, in a new light, the same views expressed in his book Tohfa-e-Qaisariyyah [A Gift for the Queen], which was written on the occasion of the Diamond Jubilee of Her Majesty, Queen Victoria. In this book, the Promised Messiahas has once again commended the British government for granting peace, security and religious freedom to all its subjects. He has then refuted the false doctrine of the advent of a militant Messiah and Mahdi, who according to some, would presumably, coerce the world into accepting Islam. Furthermore, he has also beautifully removed misconceptions surrounding the concept of Jihad and clearly expounds that Islam was never spread by the sword, nor is religious compulsion permitted in Islam. The Promised Messiahas then goes on to beautifully explain that the Christian concept of atonement, which logically results in Jesusas bearing the burden of curse, is a dishonour to the pure and holy person of Jesusas. Finally, the Promised Messiahas has presented his claim as being۔۔۔۔۔۔۔۔۔۔۔۔۔۔۔۔۔۔۔۔۔۔
This is a study of Jesus being one of a kind in His speech. He made people listen for He was powerful in His presentation with such great parables and stories.
This is a study of Jesus avoiding forced kingship. The people fed by the thousands were about to take Jesus by force and make Him King. He knew it and retired to the mountains to avoid such a thing.
Prophet Muhammad (pbuh): A mercy to all creation!F El Mohdar
The more science and technology advances, the greater is the need for the observance and practice of the teachings and instructions of divine prophets in human societies. This is because science and technology provide only machines and instruments and by no means prevent their misuse by human beings.
The terrible rise in murder, other felonies, corruption, suicide and so forth clearly points to this very fact. If morality, which is a significant part of the teachings of divine prophets, does not prevail and govern in human societies, surely not only will advanced science and technology fail to ensure human peace and prosperity, but they will add to our problems and miseries. For the exploiters and colonialists utilize advanced technology and sciences for their own satanic purposes. They murder or make homeless millions of human beings as they have always done and trample upon the rights of the weak and the defenseless.
As a matter of fact, the only factor that can halter man's restive soul and control his stormy instincts and passions and thus utilize science and technology for human prosperity and pacific life is true morality, which originates in faith in God.
The moral teachings and precepts of the divine prophets and their moral behavior are the best means of leading man to his ideal life. It goes without saying that both in personal and in social life the observance of moral principles is required of all. However, for those who must lead societies and guide the people, this requirement is much greater, because, first, the one who is the instructor of society must himself be a model of supreme moral behavior and excellent human characteristics, so he will be able to wipe moral decay out of people's hearts and minds. Obviously if he himself is lacking in morality, he will fail to lead the people onto the path of humanity and virtue.
Second, the responsibility of leading human societies is so great and crucial that no one can successfully perform it unless he has perfect morals. For this reason, God selected his prophets from among those who possessed exalted spirits, great tolerance, extraordinary patience, and other excellent moral characteristics. It was with this weapon of morality that divine prophets overturned the debased societies that were plunged in corruption and led the ignorant people who had gone astray onto the path of virtue and salvation.
In the Glorious Qur'an, Almighty God has addressed the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh): "Thus it is due to mercy from God that you deal with them gently, and had you been rough, hard-hearted, they would certainly have dispersed from around you." (3:159)
The sublime celestial morals of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) brought about the waves of the revolution of Islam first in Arabian society and afterwards all over the world. In the light of this all-embracing spiritual and intellectual resurrection, dispersion turned into unity, unchastity into chastity and virtue, idleness into hard work and industry, selfishness to altruism, and Arab arrogance to modesty and affection. Men and women were thus trained to become models of good moral behavior and have altruistic manners forever. The morals of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) were so sublime and praiseworthy that Almighty God has regarded them as great. "And truly you (Muhammad) possess great morals." (68:4)
Star of the Empress
(Sitara-e-Qaisarah)
By
Hadrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad
The Promised Messiah and Mahdi,
Founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama‘at,
on whom be peace
About the Author
Hadrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad as was born in 1835 in Qadian, India. From his early life, he dedicated himself to prayer, and the study of the Holy Quran as well as other scriptures. He was deeply pained to observe the plight of Islam which was being attacked from all directions. In order to defend Islam and present its teachings in their pristine purity, he wrote ninety-one books, thousands of letters, and participated in many religious debates. He argued that Islam is a living faith which can lead man to establish communion with God and achieve moral and spiritual perfection.
Hadrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad as started experiencing divine dreams, visions and revelations at a young age. This communication from God continued to increase and he announced that God had appointed him to be the same Reformer of the latter days as prophesied by various religions under different titles. He also claimed to be the Promised Messiah and Mahdi whose advent had been prophesied by the Holy Prophet Muhammad (may the peace and blessing of Allah be upon him). In 1889, under divine command, he started accepting initiation into the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, which is now established in more than 200
countries.
After his demise in 1908, the institution of khilafat was
established to succeed him in fulfillment of the prophecy made in
the Holy Quran that Allah the Almighty would establish khilafat
(successorship) among the Muslims. Hadrat Mirza Masroor
Ahmad aba is the Fifth Successor to the Promised Messiah as and
the present head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community.
The book Sitara-e-Qaisarah [Star of the Empress] was written by the Promised Messiahas on 20 August 1899 and published on 24 August 1899. In this brief exposition, the Promised Messiahas has presented, in a new light, the same views expressed in his book Tohfa-e-Qaisariyyah [A Gift for the Queen], which was written on the occasion of the Diamond Jubilee of Her Majesty, Queen Victoria. In this book, the Promised Messiahas has once again commended the British government for granting peace, security and religious freedom to all its subjects. He has then refuted the false doctrine of the advent of a militant Messiah and Mahdi, who according to some, would presumably, coerce the world into accepting Islam. Furthermore, he has also beautifully removed misconceptions surrounding the concept of Jihad and clearly expounds that Islam was never spread by the sword, nor is religious compulsion permitted in Islam. The Promised Messiahas then goes on to beautifully explain that the Christian concept of atonement, which logically results in Jesusas bearing the burden of curse, is a dishonour to the pure and holy person of Jesusas. Finally, the Promised Messiahas has presented his claim as being۔۔۔۔۔۔۔۔۔۔۔۔۔۔۔۔۔۔۔۔۔۔
This is a study of Jesus being one of a kind in His speech. He made people listen for He was powerful in His presentation with such great parables and stories.
The teaching of jesus concerning his own personGLENN PEASE
" Christianity is non-existent apart from Christ ;
it centres in Christ ; it radiates, now as at the
first, from Christ. It is not a mere doctrine
bequeathed by Him to a world with which He
has ceased to have dealings ; it perishes outright
when men attempt to abstract it from the Living
Person of its Founder."
From Greenbelt 2011. This is material from my next book - tentatively entitled, "Jesus, Moses, the Buddha, and Mohammed Walk Into a Bar: Christian Faith in a Multi-Faith World," to be released September 2012.
The soviet saints (1968) - Richard WurmbrandIulian
The soviet saints (1968) - Richard Wurmbrand
"For God so loved the world, that He gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16
"Car Dieu a tant aimé le monde qu'il a donné son Fils unique, afin que quiconque croit en lui ne périsse point, mais qu'il ait la vie éternelle." Jean 3:16
"Also hat Gott die Welt geliebt, daß er seinen eingeborenen Sohn gab, auf daß alle, die an ihn glauben, nicht verloren werden, sondern das ewige Leben haben." Johannes 3:16
"Fiindca atat de mult a iubit Dumnezeu lumea, ca a dat pe singurul Lui Fiu, pentru ca oricine crede in El sa nu piara, ci sa aiba viata vesnica." (Ioan 3:16)
The Christ, A Critical Review and Analysis of The Evidences of His ExistenceChuck Thompson
The Christ, A Critical Review and Analysis of The Evidences of His Existence. http://www.gloucestercounty-va.com Although we do NOT agree with the findings of this book, we present it here as part of a knowledge base for review.
based on his extensive reasearch into the people behind the scene attemping to control the entire population of the planet in his famous book "The world order" eustice gives his theory on the motives for their aganda
The Hope of Salvation - Jude 1:24-25 - MessageCole Hartman
Jude gives us hope at the end of a dark letter. In a dark world like today, we need the light of Christ to shine brighter and brighter. Jude shows us where to fix our focus so we can be filled with God's goodness and glory. Join us to explore this incredible passage.
2 Peter 3: Because some scriptures are hard to understand and some will force them to say things God never intended, Peter warns us to take care.
https://youtu.be/nV4kGHFsEHw
Discover various methods for clearing negative entities from your space and spirit, including energy clearing techniques, spiritual rituals, and professional assistance. Gain practical knowledge on how to implement these techniques to restore peace and harmony. For more information visit here: https://www.reikihealingdistance.com/negative-entity-removal/
Exploring the Mindfulness Understanding Its Benefits.pptxMartaLoveguard
Slide 1: Title: Exploring the Mindfulness: Understanding Its Benefits
Slide 2: Introduction to Mindfulness
Mindfulness, defined as the conscious, non-judgmental observation of the present moment, has deep roots in Buddhist meditation practice but has gained significant popularity in the Western world in recent years. In today's society, filled with distractions and constant stimuli, mindfulness offers a valuable tool for regaining inner peace and reconnecting with our true selves. By cultivating mindfulness, we can develop a heightened awareness of our thoughts, feelings, and surroundings, leading to a greater sense of clarity and presence in our daily lives.
Slide 3: Benefits of Mindfulness for Mental Well-being
Practicing mindfulness can help reduce stress and anxiety levels, improving overall quality of life.
Mindfulness increases awareness of our emotions and teaches us to manage them better, leading to improved mood.
Regular mindfulness practice can improve our ability to concentrate and focus our attention on the present moment.
Slide 4: Benefits of Mindfulness for Physical Health
Research has shown that practicing mindfulness can contribute to lowering blood pressure, which is beneficial for heart health.
Regular meditation and mindfulness practice can strengthen the immune system, aiding the body in fighting infections.
Mindfulness may help reduce the risk of chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes and obesity by reducing stress and improving overall lifestyle habits.
Slide 5: Impact of Mindfulness on Relationships
Mindfulness can help us better understand others and improve communication, leading to healthier relationships.
By focusing on the present moment and being fully attentive, mindfulness helps build stronger and more authentic connections with others.
Mindfulness teaches us how to be present for others in difficult times, leading to increased compassion and understanding.
Slide 6: Mindfulness Techniques and Practices
Focusing on the breath and mindful breathing can be a simple way to enter a state of mindfulness.
Body scan meditation involves focusing on different parts of the body, paying attention to any sensations and feelings.
Practicing mindful walking and eating involves consciously focusing on each step or bite, with full attention to sensory experiences.
Slide 7: Incorporating Mindfulness into Daily Life
You can practice mindfulness in everyday activities such as washing dishes or taking a walk in the park.
Adding mindfulness practice to daily routines can help increase awareness and presence.
Mindfulness helps us become more aware of our needs and better manage our time, leading to balance and harmony in life.
Slide 8: Summary: Embracing Mindfulness for Full Living
Mindfulness can bring numerous benefits for physical and mental health.
Regular mindfulness practice can help achieve a fuller and more satisfying life.
Mindfulness has the power to change our perspective and way of perceiving the world, leading to deeper se
A375 Example Taste the taste of the Lord, the taste of the Lord The taste of...franktsao4
It seems that current missionary work requires spending a lot of money, preparing a lot of materials, and traveling to far away places, so that it feels like missionary work. But what was the result they brought back? It's just a lot of photos of activities, fun eating, drinking and some playing games. And then we have to do the same thing next year, never ending. The church once mentioned that a certain missionary would go to the field where she used to work before the end of his life. It seemed that if she had not gone, no one would be willing to go. The reason why these missionary work is so difficult is that no one obeys God’s words, and the Bible is not the main content during missionary work, because in the eyes of those who do not obey God’s words, the Bible is just words and cannot be connected with life, so Reading out God's words is boring because it doesn't have any life experience, so it cannot be connected with human life. I will give a few examples in the hope that this situation can be changed. A375
In Jude 17-23 Jude shifts from piling up examples of false teachers from the Old Testament to a series of practical exhortations that flow from apostolic instruction. He preserves for us what may well have been part of the apostolic catechism for the first generation of Christ-followers. In these instructions Jude exhorts the believer to deal with 3 different groups of people: scoffers who are "devoid of the Spirit", believers who have come under the influence of scoffers and believers who are so entrenched in false teaching that they need rescue and pose some real spiritual risk for the rescuer. In all of this Jude emphasizes Jesus' call to rescue straying sheep, leaving the 99 safely behind and pursuing the 1.
Why is this So? ~ Do Seek to KNOW (English & Chinese).pptxOH TEIK BIN
A PowerPoint Presentation based on the Dhamma teaching of Kamma-Vipaka (Intentional Actions-Ripening Effects).
A Presentation for developing morality, concentration and wisdom and to spur us to practice the Dhamma diligently.
The texts are in English and Chinese.
16. Why did the chicken cross the road?
Albert Einstein: Did the chicken really cross the road, or
did the road move beneath the chicken?
Sir Isaac Newton: Chickens at rest tend to stay at rest.
Chickens in motion tend to cross the road.
A nun: It was a habit.
Hamlet: That is not the question.
John Donne: It crosseth for thee.
Colonel Sanders: Did I miss one?
17. Why did the dinosaur cross the road?
Why did the Texas chicken cross the road?
Why did the chicken go to the seance?
What is a chicken’s highest dream?
18. Laughter is one of the ways we cope with
discrepancies in our lives. There is a dream we all
have for this world, and then there is, well, this
world. There are expectations we have of our
religions, and then there are our religions ...[O]ur
capacity to love God, ourselves, people, and all of
life grows with our capacity to laugh....
This ability to laugh in the midst of our
imperfections in the presence of God is what we call
grace.
- Samir Selmanovic
It’s Really All About God: How Islam, Atheism, and
Judaism Made Me a Better Christian
19. Can you imagine Jesus, Moses, the Buddha,
and Mohammed walking together ... not in a
joke, but in reality: in friendship, in
compassionate understanding, perhaps in
honest but respectful difference or
disagreement, embodying toward one another
the principles they taught?
If they could cross the road together, might it
be possible for us to follow them?
20. Why Christian identity?
1. I have 56 years of experience with it.
2. It’s the religion claimed by 33% of the world’s people.
3. That 33% controls most of the world’s weapons and
wealth.
4. Jesus said not to try to “fix” others first.
5. Members of other faiths are better suited to deal with
their unique identity issues.
21. Can Christians today build a new
kind of identity ... based on
hospitality, not hostility, to the
other?
strong-
benevolent
27. From Follow the Sacredness, by Jonathan Haidt
http://campaignstops.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/17/forget-the-money-follow-the-sacredness/
Despite what you might have learned in
Economics 101, people aren’t always
selfish. In politics, they’re more often
groupish. When people feel that a group
they value — be it racial, religious, regional
or ideological — is under attack, they rally
to its defense, even at some cost to
themselves. We evolved to be tribal, and
politics is a competition among coalitions
of tribes.
28. ... The key to understanding tribal behavior is
not money, it’s sacredness. The great trick that
humans developed at some point in the last few
hundred thousand years is the ability to circle
around a tree, rock, ancestor, flag, book or god,
and then treat that thing as sacred. People who
worship the same idol can trust one another,
work as a team and prevail over less cohesive
groups. So if you want to understand politics,
and especially our divisive culture wars, you
must follow the sacredness.
29. Farther back, Rene Girard and others
remind us, violence is at the root
of all government and all religion.
The Scapegoat Mechanism explains how
we achieved political/religious
unity and identity.
We must face this truth in our
history.
30. 1. Imitation
2. Rivalry
3.Violence and Anxiety
4. Scapegoating & Sacrifice
5. Religion, Prohibitions, Ritualization
6. Priests and Prophets
7. Jesus and the gospels
8. The violent reversion of
“historical/sacrificial Christianity
31.
32. 1495
2nd Voyage Return Cargo:
1600 male and female Taino
slaves for Spain
“It is possible, with the
name of the Holy Trinity, to
sell all the slaves which it
is possible to sell … Here
there are so many of these
slaves … although they are
living things they are as
good as gold.”
33. The Spaniards who remained in
Hispaniola were encouraged to take
Taino slaves “in the amount desired.”
Columbus himself gave a teenage girl
to one of his crew, Miguel Cuneo, for
his personal “use.” Cuneo wrote that
she “resisted with all her strength”
when he attempted to have sex with
her, so he “thrashed her mercilessly
and raped her.” Being given a Taino
woman to rape was, in fact, a popular
“company perk” for Columbus’s men.
Columbus himself wrote to a friend,
“There are plenty of dealers who go
about looking for girls; those from
nine to ten [years old] are now in
demand.”
34. - An eyewitness in the early 1500’s
As a result of the sufferings and hard
labor they endured, the Indians choose
and have chosen suicide. Occasionally a
hundred have committed mass suicide.
The women, exhausted by labor, have
shunned conception and childbirth….
Many, when pregnant, have taken
something to abort and have aborted.
Others after delivery have killed their
children with their own hands, so as
not to leave them in such oppressive
slavery.
35. Of the estimated 300,000 Taino alive
when Columbus “discovered” them in 1492,
about 12,000 remained in 1516, fewer than
200 in 1546, and zero in 1555. What our
history calls “the discovery of America,”
Taino history might call “the arrival of
the Christian genociders,” if, that is,
any Taino survived to tell an alternate
history. None did.
36. “Here those Christians
perpetrated their first ravages
and oppression against the
native peoples. This was the
first land in the New World to
be destroyed and depopulated
by the Christians.”
--another eyewitness,
Bartolome De Las Casas
about Christian invasion
of Hispaniola
39. From Eusebius:
[Constantine] said that about noon, when the day was
already beginning to decline, he saw with his own eyes
the trophy of a cross of light in the heavens, above the
sun, and bearing the inscription, CONQUER BY THIS.
At this sight he himself was struck with amazement,
and his whole army also, which followed him on this
expedition, and witnessed the miracle… [That night] in
his sleep the Christ of God appeared to him with the
same sign which he had seen in the heavens, and
commanded him to make a likeness of that sign which
he had seen in the heavens, and to use it as a safeguard
in all engagements with his enemies.
40.
41. “In hoc signo vinces”
IN THIS SIGN CONQUER?
CONVERT BY THE SWORD?
DOMINATE?
COLONIZE?
ASSIMILATE?
INVADE AND OCCUPY?
KILL?
TERRORIZE?
42. From Eusebius:.
At dawn of day he arose, and communicated the marvel
to his friends: and then, calling together the workers in
gold and precious stones, he sat in the midst of them,
and described to them the figure of the sign he had
seen, bidding them represent it in gold and precious
stones. And this representation I myself have had an
opportunity of seeing.
43.
44. “Now it was made in the
following manner. A long spear,
overlaid with gold, formed the
figure of the cross by means of a
transverse bar laid over it. On
the top of the whole was fixed a
wreath of gold and precious
stones; and within this, the
symbol of the Saviour's name…”
46. This spear-cross was further adorned with an embroidered banner
that featured the emperor and his family. The finished product,
Eusebius said, “presented an indescribable degree of beauty to
the beholder.” He added, “The emperor constantly made use of
this sign of salvation as a safeguard against every adverse and
hostile power, and commanded that others similar to it should be
carried at the head of all his armies.”
Eusebius, it should be noted, would be considered more of a
propagandist than a historian in the modern sense. For more on
Constantine’s life and work, see James Carroll, Constantine’s
Sword: The Church and the Jews—A History (New York: Mariner
Books, 2001).
47. The violent cross of Caesar
The nonviolent cross of
Christ
The violent cross of
Constantine
Which
Cross?
48. 1 Cor 1
For the message about the cross is
foolishness to those who are perishing, but
to us who are being saved it is the power
of God... we proclaim Christ crucified, a
stumbling-block to Jews and foolishness to
Gentiles, but to those who are the called,
both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of
God and the wisdom of God. For God’s
foolishness is wiser than human wisdom,
and God’s weakness is stronger than
human strength.
49. ... But God chose what is foolish in
the world to shame the wise; God
chose what is weak in the world to
shame the strong; God chose what
is low and despised in the world,
things that are not, to reduce to
nothing things that are, so that no
one might boast in the presence of
God. (1 Cor.1)
52. Serve like this ...
Love like this ...
Reconcile like this ...
Transcend violence like this ...
53.
54. Islamophobia Today:
We should invade their countries, kill their
leaders, and convert them to Christianity. We
weren’t punctilious about locating and punishing
only Hitler and his top officers. We carpet-
bombed German cities; we killed civilians.
That’s war. And this is war.
- Ann Counter, National Review
Islam is something we can’t afford any more in
the Netherlands. I want the fascist Quran
banned. We need to stop the Islamisation of the
Netherlands. That means no more mosques, no more
Islamic schools, no more imams.
- Geert Wilders, Dutch politicians
55. These people [Arabs and Muslims] need to be
forcibly converted to Christianity ... It’s
the only thing that can probably turn them
into human beings.
- Michael Savage, syndicated radio host
Islam has attacked us ... The God of Islam is
not the same God.... Islam is a very evil
religion. All the values that we as a nation
hold dear, they don’t share those same values
at all, these countries that have the
majority of Muslims.
- Franklin Graham, Christian evangelist
56. Sound familiar?
From Martin Luther, “On the Jews and Their
Lies” (1543)
They [rulers] must act like a good physician
Text
who, when gangrene has set in proceeds without
mercy to cut, saw, and burn flesh, veins, bone,
and marrow. Such a procedure must also be
followed in this instance. Burn down their
synagogues, forbid all that I enumerated
earlier, force them to work, and deal harshly
with them, as Moses did...
If this does not help we must drive them out
like mad dogs.
57. Elie Wiesel:
“All the killers were Christian….The
Nazi system was the consequence of a
movement of ideas and followed a strict
logic; it did not arise in a void but had its
roots deep in a tradition that prophesied
it, prepared for it, and brought it to
maturity. That tradition was inseparable
from the past of Christianized, civilized
Europe.”
Quoted in David Stannard, American Holocaust: The Conquest of the New World
(New York: Oxford, 1992), 153.
58. Indigenous scholar Jack Forbes
writes, “The ‘cosmology’ or
‘world-view’ of a people is
closely related, of course, to all of
their actions. The world-view
influences actions and, in turn,
actions tell us what the world-
view really is!”
Jack Forbes, Columbus and Other Cannibals (New York: Seven Stories Press, 2008), 20.
Originally published by D-Q University Press in 1979.
59. From this vantage point, Christianity has nothing –
absolutely nothing – to teach Indigenous people about how
to live in a good way on this land. In fact, Christians have
only demonstrated that there is something profoundly
wrong with the cosmology and worldview behind more than
five centuries of carnage—carnage that has yet to even slow
down. Christians have so much negative history and dogma
to overcome within their own tradition, I do not believe the
religion is even salvageable. The world is deep in the
throes of an ecological crisis based in Western economies of
hyper-exploitation. The planet will not survive another 500
years of Christian domination.
- Waziyatawin, PhD, 2012
60. From this vantage point, Christianity has nothing –
absolutely nothing – to teach Indigenous people about how
to live in a good way on this land. In fact, Christians have
only demonstrated that there is something profoundly
wrong with the cosmology and worldview behind more than
five centuries of carnage—carnage that has yet to even slow
down. Christians have so much negative history and dogma
to overcome within their own tradition, I do not believe the
religion is even salvageable. The world is deep in the
throes of an ecological crisis based in Western economies of
hyper-exploitation. The planet will not survive another 500
years of Christian domination.
- Waziyatawin, PhD, 2012