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J. Denny Weaver, Professor Emeritus of Religion at Bluffton University, suggests that there are numerous evolving views on violence and nonviolence throughout the history of Christian theology. [15] According to the view of many historians, the Constantinian shift turned Christianity from a persecuted into a persecuting religion.
Sectarian violence among Christians also became prominent during the Renaissance (from the 14th century to the 17th century CE) especially in Western Europe. In France, there were incidents of violence against a religious sect which was known as the Huguenots, whose members followed the teachings of the religious reformer John Calvin.
In response to the view that Christianity and violence are intertwined, Miroslav Volf and J. Denny Weaver reject charges that Christianity is a violent religion, arguing that certain aspects of Christianity might be misused to support violence but that a genuine interpretation of its core elements would not sanction human violence but would ...
Throughout history, biblical passages have been used to justify the use of force against heretics, [93] sinners [94] and external enemies. [95] Heitman and Hagan identify the Inquisitions, Crusades, wars of religion and antisemitism as being "among the most notorious examples of Christian violence". [96]
The Christian Martyrs' Last Prayer by Jean-Léon Gérôme (1863–1883, Walters Art Museum). A fanciful scene of damnatio ad bestias in ancient Rome's Circus Maximus beneath the Palatine Hill. In the first two centuries Christianity was a relatively small sect which was not a significant concern of the Emperor.
The killing of Jesus of Nazareth did not stop Christianity from becoming one of the world’s largest religions. ... Violence does not change people’s minds about truth, justice, or morality ...
Warfare represents a special category of biblical violence and is a topic the Bible addresses, directly and indirectly, in four ways: there are verses that support pacifism, and verses that support non-resistance; 4th century theologian Augustine found the basis of just war in the Bible, and preventive war which is sometimes called crusade has also been supported using Bible texts.
The history of Christianity begins with the ministry of Jesus, a Jewish teacher and healer who was crucified and died c. AD 30–33 in Jerusalem in the Roman province of Judea. Afterwards, his followers, a set of apocalyptic Jews , proclaimed him risen from the dead.