We’ve been talking lately about the early history of Christianity and how different it is from the history offered up by most Christian apologists and leaders. This definitely is not a history I learned growing up Catholic or as a fundamentalist Read more
You know that sinking feeling you get when you realize that a lot of hard work is ahead of you that you really don’t want to do?
But there’s one part of their vision of Christmas that is particularly grating: the idea that their favored holiday, Christmas, represents some kind of “free gift” bestowed upon humankind by a generous, gracious god. I’ll show you that this “free gift” is anything but free, and certainly is not a gift in any way.
Christmas fast approaches, and with it the usual litany of Christian sermons about what they (mistakenly) imagine to be the reason for the season. Christian narcissism and ignorance are annoying at any time, but around the holidays, both telescope into levels you’d swear were caricature or parody. In one example of this exact narcissism and ignorance, we see why Christianity, as a religion, is such a mess.
We’ve been talking lately about the early history of Christianity and how different it is from the history offered up by most Christian apologists and leaders. This definitely is not a history I learned growing up Catholic or as a fundamentalist lass!
Its evangelists competed hard for followers and resources in a culture marked by a huge diversity of beliefs and gods. Because its leaders completely lacked the power to coerce people into joining and staying Christian, however, it wasn’t making that much progress. It would take a series of events in the fourth century to bring it not only to legitimacy, but dominance.
Its evangelists competed hard for followers and resources in a culture marked by a huge diversity of beliefs and gods. Because its leaders completely lacked the power to coerce people into joining and staying Christian, however, it wasn’t making that much progress. It would take a series of events in the fourth century to bring it not only to legitimacy, but dominance.
We’ve been talking lately about the origins of Christianity and how it retains power even today. There’s one truth above all others, as far as I can see it, regarding this religion: without coercion, Christianity never would have gotten big.
There’s a new way for Christians to engage with doubt: a defanged, controllable, tamed doubt that they can defeat. Sort of.
Christians’ weird way of engaging with virginity is a big problem in their culture, as well as a sign of something seriously wrong at its core. Some recent events have reminded me anew of that dysfunction.