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Originally Posted by Wolf07
From a theological viewpoint, it would be fair to say that those individuals who have used Christianity for purposes other than Christ-like behavior, or as a barrier to social progress, are not real Christians. Talking the talk and walking the walk are two totally separate things. You either take a religion as a whole, or not at all.
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Wolf07,
I admire our founding fathers as well. However, I cannot concur it would be fair to say anything of the like. Religions and Holy Books across faiths can and have been interpreted to justify any purpose, and what is "truly acceptable" changes constantly. War is part of the human condition, and soldiers kill, I am grateful we have troops who fight for American interests. What is Christ like behavior? By taking the religion as a whole are you including the Old Testament, because it is filled with violence, now folks can interpret the though shalt not kill commandment as shall not murder etc. ( perhaps this initial interpretation coincided with a need to raise an army). Or, if as some modern Christians believe, the New Testament supercedes the old since the old was written for Israelis and the new for Christians, Is it as simple as love God and observe the Golden Rule? That is subject to interpretation, but there are violent passages in the New Testament as well, Matthew 10:34-36 comes to mind. We are at war with Islamic terror groups, and if we have to kill them to survive and keep our freedoms, we should. So respectfully, I don't think it's as simple as Good Christian = Peaceful, Good Muslim= Violent. What if it's even simpler, there are wolves, sheep, and sheepdogs in every faith?