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500 Christians Slaughter By Machete In Nigeria
- Thread starter Lowjack
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hayseed_theology
Senior Member
Heartbreaking.
FX Jenkins
Senior Member
This event is actually about a year old...and interestingly enough, Nigerian police recently killed one of the local Muslim financiers...
atlashunter
Senior Member
As is Nigerian Christians murdering their own children out of the belief they are witches.
gtparts
Senior Member
"Murdering their own children out of the belief they are witches" is purely from Satan. Even Christians can be deceived, if they are not taught the Word. Such ignorance is indeed heartbreaking.
Meanwhile, the number of saints in heaven grows with each passing moment. Praise God that they have been saved for His glory and honor.
stringmusic
Senior Member
As is my dog getting hit by a car. Nobody stated the fact that Nigerian Christians murdering their children was not heartbreaking.
from this month's issue of the Church of God Evangel magazine, an article called 'Too Good for This World' by Bill George.
George quotes Antonio Socci's book, "The New Persecuted: Inquiries Into Anti-Christian Intolerance in the New Century of Martyrs."
"Reputable researchers agree that at least 70 million have died for the faith since the time of Christ. Remarkably, some 45 million, or two-thirds of all Christian martyrs, died in the 20th century."
and
"A conservative estimate of the number of Christians killed for their faith each year is somewhere around 150,000." Ron Csiliag in the Dec. 4, 2010 Toronto Star newspaper.
http://www.thestar.com/news/insight...bly-the-most-persecuted-religion-in-the-world
George quotes Antonio Socci's book, "The New Persecuted: Inquiries Into Anti-Christian Intolerance in the New Century of Martyrs."
"Reputable researchers agree that at least 70 million have died for the faith since the time of Christ. Remarkably, some 45 million, or two-thirds of all Christian martyrs, died in the 20th century."
and
"A conservative estimate of the number of Christians killed for their faith each year is somewhere around 150,000." Ron Csiliag in the Dec. 4, 2010 Toronto Star newspaper.
http://www.thestar.com/news/insight...bly-the-most-persecuted-religion-in-the-world
atlashunter
Senior Member
As is my dog getting hit by a car. Nobody stated the fact that Nigerian Christians murdering their children was not heartbreaking.
Nor was that claimed.
Just pointing out that both victims and perpetrators of religious violence are not exclusive to any single religion.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yelwa_massacre
People kill and get killed because of their religious views and that includes Christians.
atlashunter
Senior Member
TTom
Senior Member
Read the article, noted it was over a year old, March 2010.
Also noted that it mentions earlier violence in the area for which this attack was supposedly revenge. Went back and looked for the earlier story and found that in January 2010, 2 months before, 200 Muslims were killed in attacks pretty much just like this round only 200 Muslims instead of 500 Christians.
Also noted that it mentions earlier violence in the area for which this attack was supposedly revenge. Went back and looked for the earlier story and found that in January 2010, 2 months before, 200 Muslims were killed in attacks pretty much just like this round only 200 Muslims instead of 500 Christians.
gtparts
Senior Member
And you would be correct.
There are problems, however, with pulling one passage (particularly from the OT) and relying on that to guide the actions of a Christian. A Christian that acts strictly on that basis does not have the mind of Christ. A Christian is to think and act under the New Covenant, which supersedes the Old Covenant.
Ronnie T
Ol' Retired Mod
TTom
Senior Member
Ronnie T
"Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live."
The passage was used to justify the hanging of the Salem Witches, and more than a thousand women in Europe during the middle ages, and it is used today in places like Africa to justify killing. Jus as atlas mentioned.
SOME Christian groups have grown beyond taking the passage as literal. But there are many places in the world of Christendom where it is still a justification for execution.
GT you can say it's from Satan, if we assume that is true then Satan has guided the churchs people into thousands of murders for Christ through that passage. Complete with the Preachers whipping up the fever to burn them at the stake directly from the pulpit. History of this is plain, and even though many would and will deny it or at best say, that's old news.
"Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live."
The passage was used to justify the hanging of the Salem Witches, and more than a thousand women in Europe during the middle ages, and it is used today in places like Africa to justify killing. Jus as atlas mentioned.
SOME Christian groups have grown beyond taking the passage as literal. But there are many places in the world of Christendom where it is still a justification for execution.
GT you can say it's from Satan, if we assume that is true then Satan has guided the churchs people into thousands of murders for Christ through that passage. Complete with the Preachers whipping up the fever to burn them at the stake directly from the pulpit. History of this is plain, and even though many would and will deny it or at best say, that's old news.
gtparts
Senior Member
You will not hear or read of me denying the plain truth, that Christians can and have been mislead, confused, and just plain ignorant in their personal conduct, acting outside of the will of God.
I guess it bears repeating, though it should be obvious to all, but Christians are not perfect and too often they are guilty of thinking and behaving in ungodly ways.
However, it should be noted that regardless of their religious beliefs or claimed affiliation, such actions and thinking are not consistent with the teachings of Christ. While it is entirely appropriate to place the responsibility for such things on the one carrying out the action, blaming it on Christ is simply fallacious reasoning.
It is important to understand to whom that instruction was given. Taking things out of context has lead to many misapplications.... and tragedies.
atlashunter
Senior Member
GT that is your interpretation. Other Christians have and continue to take the bible including the OT quite literally.
gtparts
Senior Member
Are you suggesting that the entire Bible is literal? If so, you and those who hold that position need to study up on the various literary forms used throughout Scripture. I am reminded of visions and dreams that seemed rather symbolic(not literal), requiring spiritual insight and interpretation. There are dozens of examples of metaphors and the use of hyperbole all through the Bible.
Besides, you don't believe the Bible any way. Why would you choose to take literally, something you don't believe in?
That is just strange!
atlashunter
Senior Member
Which is why I referred to how other Christians read the scripture about killing witches. I rarely, in fact I've never, heard a Christian say that the 10 commandments aren't to be taken literally or that they no longer apply because they are from the OT. And there are more than a few of your brethren out there who love to point out the biblical position on homosexuality. In fact Christians in Uganda would like to make it an offense punishable by death. And it wasn't that long ago that sodomy was illegal in many states right here in the US.
Maybe there is some context that you can point out that tells us when the bible said "Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live." it didn't really mean to kill them. And if you can that is fine, I won't argue the point with you. That is your take on the scripture. All I am saying is that there are other Christians who don't share your view and there was a time when your view would have been a minority view amongst Christians. We shouldn't lose sight of that and we shouldn't brush it off as having no biblical basis. When Christians kill someone because they think they are a witch they aren't doing it in complete contradiction of what scripture says under some satanic influence, they are doing it precisely because scripture instructs them to and they believe they are following the scripture.
gtparts
Senior Member
You've stumbled on to one of the sad truths about some Christians. Many don't read Scripture regularly, don't study Scripture very much, if at all, and don't understand Scripture in its' full context. Most know nothing of hermeneutics or exegesis. They are usually referred to as "nominal Christians"..... Christian in name only.
A lot of half-baked ideas come out of this bunch of folks, and all Christians get lumped into the same pot, including those "witch killers" you mentioned.
atlashunter
Senior Member
We aren't talking about just some small fringe groups like WBC. This was the understanding of scripture for the largest and oldest Christian organization in the world. And it wasn't exclusive only to catholics. To suggest that they didn't read or study scripture regularly or understand it in it's full context is really failing to own up to a stain on the history of Christianity that was and still is biblically motivated. The scripture in Exodus didn't change, people did, and I'm very glad for it. The same thing needs to happen in Islam. But let's not minimize what happened, what continues to happen to a much lesser degree than in the past, and the reasons why.
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