Dodece said:
The age of enlightenment brought an end to legal slavery, and it has made it illegal to murder people on relgious grounds. It has attempted to address the real problem with pedophilia. Namely the misogyny that allowed perpetrators to get away with their crimes, because they alone had legal rights and legal standing. It also promoted equal treatment under the law of people of all faiths, and of all sexual orientations. I also must say this Idolotary isn't even a crime under Christianity. Christians do worship physical representations of their God, and other key figures in their faith. They even worship relics. You are probably thinking of Judaisms prohibitions. Christianity on the other hand has actively supported slavery, and indentured servitude. Actively promoted practices that involved the sacrifice of individuals in the name of its god. Promoted misogyny that gave victims of pedophiles no legal standing. Didn't stop homosexuality, but just drove it underground. Hasn't even put a end to other faiths. Basically Christianity hasn't been any kind of force for good. That the Age of Enlightenment brought. Once that broke Christianities strangle hold. Things started to get a lot better for human dignity. I don't know if you are being serious, but if you are I feel truly sorry for you. |
No, i am the one who feels reeeeally sorry for you.
Where to even begin?
The Church initially accepted slavery as a social institution in antiquity and even into the Early Medieval period. Some Catholics such as Saint Bathilde, Saint Anskar, Saint Wulfstan and Saint Anselm campaigned against slavery and the slave trade. By the end of the Medieval period, enslavement of Christians had been largely abolished throughout Europe, although enslavement of non-Christians remained an open questionAlthough Catholic clergy, religious orders and even popes owned slaves, Catholic teaching began to turn towards the abolition of slavery beginning in 1435 and culminating in three major pronouncements against slavery by Pope Paul III in 1537.A number of Popes issued papal bulls condemning enslavement and mistreatment of Native Americans by Spanish and Portuguese colonials; however, these were largely ignored despite the threat of excommunication. In spite of a resounding condemnation of slavery by Pope Gregory XVI in his bull In Supremo Apostolatus issued in 1839, the American Catholic Church continued to support slaveholding interests until the abolition of slavery.The Church has maintained its teaching against slavery and continues to campaign against it in whatever form it takes around the world.
Early Christian thought exhibited some signs of kindness towards slaves. Christianity recognised marriage of sorts among slaves,freeing slaves was regarded as an act of charity, and when slaves were buried in Christian cemeteries, the grave seldom included any indication that the person buried had been a slave.
John Chrysostom (c. 347–407), archbishop of Constantinople, preaching on Acts 4:32-4:33 in a sermon entitled, "Should we not make it a heaven on earth?", stated, "I will not speak of slaves, since at that time there was no such thing, but doubtless such as were slaves they set at liberty...
Nevertheless, early Christianity rarely criticised the actual institution of slavery. Though the Pentateuch gave protection to fugitive slaves, the Roman church often condemned with anathema slaves who fled from their masters, and refused them Eucharistic communion.
Since the Middle Ages, the Christian understanding of slavery has seen significant internal conflict and endured dramatic change. Nearly all Christian leaders before the late 17th century regarded slavery as consistent with Christian theology For example, the Protestant Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts owned the Codrington Plantation, in Barbados, containing several hundred slaves; all slaves in the plantation were branded on their chests, using the traditional red hot iron, with the word Society, to signify their ownership by the Christian organisation - the Church of England has since apologised for the "sinfulness of our predecessors" with this instance in mind. Today, nearly all Christians are united in the condemnation of modern slavery as wrong and contrary to God's will.
It is contended that as slavery fell into moral disfavor, some Biblical translations began to translate references to slavery using softer language, and often replacing the word 'slave' with the word 'servant.' Others say the word "slave" carried with it a different meaning at the time the Bible was written, and that while the key aspect of slavery is ownership by another, sometimes "servant" better conveys to a contemporary audience what the text originally meant.
^^These are mostly from wikipedia, but lets go a bit deeper and look what more educate schooars and historians had to say about christianity and slavery:
http://medicolegal.tripod.com/catholicsvslavery.htm
This is probably the best source on the matter as it has sources from both historical texts, actual Bible and tons of schoolars and historians. I suggest you read it, as theres tons of information there.
