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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]
[quote]But my point re Christianity is that Jesus was very clear that God is the only judge, not man. [/quote]

I agree. But if the Christian God is the judge, then, by definition, those who are not Christian are judged as lacking. The essence of Christianity as a proselytizing religion is that Christianity is "right" and those who are not Christians are "wrong."

[quote]So people who are throwing bombs at each other, over religious differences no less, aren't actually behaving in a Christian way (it happens, a lot, obviously). [/quote]

I understand your point, but not long after Jesus made it clear that God is the only judge, Christians started splintering into different sects based on the way they interpreted what Jesus said.

They may not be behaving in the way Jesus supposedly wanted them to, but they're behaving in a way that is very consistent for Christians (and other religions, I'm not picking on Christians in particular).

Granted, that may be fallible and inherently sinful humans corrupting Jesus' message, but, at the end of the day, those religious distinctions have been used for persecution and discrimination - both within the various flavors of Christianity and between Christians and non-Christians.

Each of the various flavors of Christianity perpetuates an "us vs. them" mentality of "we're right and they're wrong" because they don't believe as we do - and that's the essence of religion.

Religion provides a binding belief structure that unifies a group, and it makes it easier for that group to consider outsiders as "other" - because they don't share insiders' belief structure. Religion provides a unifying element that divides the believers from the non-believers.

Jesus may want everyone to be Christian, but, implicitly, that means those who aren't are "wrong" according to the Christian religion.

You may love me as your neighbor, but according to Christianity I'm not getting into Heaven unless I believe as you do. Because while you love me, God judges me. [/quote]

It has never been true that all you have to do is declare (baptized, confirmed, talk about it constantly) yourself a Christian (like nationalism or being a fan of some team) to be assured of salvation. It has always been the case that many Christians won't get into heaven, either.

Even this distinction is only part of the story, though. Through history, and increasingly in the past 100 years, many theologians and churches are now moving away from the idea that you even have to declare yourself a "Christian" to be saved. CS Lewis, for example, argues in Mere Christianity that it's possible for a non-Christian to get into Heaven, because the non-Christian  has acted in a Christ-like manner, while someone who calls himself Christian may not get into Heaven. It's true that historically theologians and churches have not seen it that way. But in the past 100 years we've really seen a movement away from the idea that being Christian means declaring your allegiance so some particular church, and more towards the idea that it's about your behavior (love your enemy and the rest). In my view, it's about time, and also this is much more consistent with the New Testament than the fanclub view of religion.

I agree that religion may create groups who see others as "outsiders". I agree this is a bad thing. But the "do not judge" and "love your enemy" stuff, if taken to heart, would preclude that group mentality.[/quote]

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