Posts tagged Christian History
Short Takes on History: The Sword in the Bible - Warrior Ethos in Church History

Christians given the mission to spread the gospel contradicted their message with their militant approach that encouraged genocidal behavior and extreme racial prejudice and helped created a toxic masculine culture in the American church still prevalent today. This discussion details the brutality common to church history, pointing out the near constant presence of swords or guns carried with Bibles. Examples include first encounters with European explorers, seizure of land from previous occupants coupled with religious fervor toward the savages’ salvation, and the foundation of a key Protestant denomination on the pillar of southern chattel slavery. This discussion demonstrates how this confrontational culture continued into the 20th and 21st centuries, building on a warrior legacy present since the time of Christ.

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