On 23 January 2011 08:46, Joao Barros-Pereira <[email protected]> wrote: > Christians like to think that they invented love, as Americans like to > think they invented freedom. Did love not exist before Jesus Christ, and was > there no freedom before the birth of the USA? What fun!
Dear Joao: I don't think "Christians" as a group have made this claim explicitly, though it might have some from a few extreme voices. Fact is, Christians have taken qualities like service, sharing, and building a social infrastructure to another level, and improved its delivery to the commonman. They may have done so for motives of their own (a belief in god's kingdom, wanting to show the advantages of their faith, etc, but does that really matter? I think Jesus Christ was a big time rebel, the "love" thing was a latter add-on. At the end of the day, I think religion helps some (many?) people walk down the straight and narrow path. It also helps them to be better human beings (for whatever motive, even if fear of the after-life). Is that a bad thing after all? FN Frederick Noronha :: +91-9822122436 :: +91-832-2409490
