Before ‘onward Christian soldiers’ was a thing those Jesus freaks were hard core pacifists! ‘Turn the other cheek’ was a strictly observed doctrine. My mind struggles to fathom the impact that kind of devotion would have on people who believed in the supernatural to such an extent. Gods, deities, witchcraft and all kinds of superstitions people adopted to try and understand and maybe feel a little in control of their turbulent existence.
Our magic is powerful and gives us an edge. Well, our gods trump your magic, so there. Gods? There is only one God, and he has chosen us as His people, so the rest of you are fucked! Then this long-haired hippy starts wandering around with love for all and a profound idea regarding eternal life and getting into heaven. No malice, no exclusion; a genuine yearning to welcome allcomers to this celestial paradise.
Long after his death (& rebirth?) people start to use passive resistance and devoutly dying in this bloke’s name. They refuse to return violence and seem in some way ecstatic about death. “These cunts are fucking happy to die!” Remember back in the BC days news travelled by word of mouth. Even though this was the exact beginning of the AD days, mind you. A guy remaining stoic in death can become a man who died in a state of bliss in one village and a man who pissed his pants and begged for his life in another.
Either way, the original draw card for Christianity was this unshakeable faith that produced, not just a lack of fear, but an embrace of death. Not in a suicidal sense, no. These people hoped to live long and pious lives, but if faced with tyranny and forced to renounce their God and saviour, these fuckers would rather die! That’s very impressive, especially with no ability to accurately fact check these tales.
I reckon the whole ‘ask for forgiveness and ye shall be saved’ schtick helped the recruitment process too. Lots of evildoers would jump at the chance of such a simple salvation. The not fighting back stuff though, while awesomely noble in theory, would have become a sticking point for the average adherent in practice.
One feature about religious texts is perfect for the sin and forgiveness debate: interpretation. Many people can read the same words and extract very different meanings. If those words have also been translated, you get another area of contention. A translation of a translation etc. and we’re moving into elastic territory. From there it is not a long way to “turn the other cheek unless…”.
What’s the use of having a population of devout followers who have no fear of death, but refuse to fight? Although, as I already said, one could hardly expect to convert a huge number of people to follow such dogma. With a slight tweak, we end up with striking down the infidels; and with so many variations on the theme, even Christian enemies can be proved unfaithful without much trouble.
“Now I want you to remember that no bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country.”
George S. Patton
Which brings us to the major competitor in the religious recruitment rivalry. One that took a much more direct route toward the ‘killing in the name of God’ creed: Islam. Unlike Christianity’s ‘blessed are the meek’, Islam came right out of the gate with “we don’t take shit from anyone!” or something along those lines. This is an outsiders view after all.
Around 700 years after the death of Christ these warriors were dealing with the updated ‘God is on our side’ Christians, rather than the peace-loving lambs of old. Needless to say, much blood was spilled in God’s name. Or perhaps God was called on to assist in the victory of the faithful. Either way, God was playing favourites apparently.
My interest lies more in the global expansion of these religions more so than their warmongering. My unscholarly understanding of this practice begins with the expansion alongside empires idea. As a Christian or Muslim empire took over the territories of non-believers or people of a different faiths, they brought their religion with them. Depending on where you get your history, either creed may or may not have forced their belief system on the new population. Regardless, it would have offered, even if only slightly, certain advantages to convert to the religion of the new lords. Thus, the most direct form of acquiring new followers was conquest.
The other, more mobile, way of spreading the faith is the good old word of mouth. The legends around the exploits of each religion’s followers; their faith giving them strength, guidance and wisdom. God saving believers and giving them courage to bear the trials of life. In pre-scientific times, that stuff had huge influence. Shit, it still converts people today!
Both religions were offering hope for the downtrodden and both offered eternal paradise for the faithful, along with damnation for the infidels. The target population being able to read your holy text would also be a fantastic advantage. I suppose having created enough interest to warrant a translation into a new language would represent quite a coup as well.
Theory is one thing, but people are most convinced by results. Tales of heroism and miracles are impressive, yet verifiable or at least plausible examples are much more persuasive. Historically recorded military victories against the odds. People achieving great things in the name of their God. This stuff inspires! This stuff compels!
With the western world spreading its empires across the globe and overwhelming populations with their advanced technology, they seemed to be onto a good thing. Maybe you ‘savages’ might like to get in on this. A combination of ‘look at our magical technology’ and ‘are you aware of your immortal soul?’ was a pretty good sales pitch. I reckon that original peacenik left a shadow of doubt once people thought about it though; especially the oppressed.
Islam offered a kick-ass alternative! Same risk-reward ratio, but a God that insists on not getting kicked around. Fuck yeah! Heaven or hell for all eternity either way (unless of course you have backed the wrong horse), I’m gunna fight back and get some righteous revenge before I go. “I actually get upgraded if I die for the cause?” Bonus. That’s some Viking Valhalla shit!
COP IT SWEET or KICK ASS? THE DESTINATION IS THE SAME…
The rest is clauses and sub clauses: We can’t eat pork or drink alcohol, and we have to do a difficult fast for a month. I can’t really do a comparative one for Christianity because of the number of various denominations and interpretations of those denominations. “Don’t eat meat on Good Friday” maybe?
Regardless, individuals from all denominations and both religions have their own unique unquestionable tenets, flexible rules and loopholes when they need them. Most people are born into their religion. Some may move about within that religions various systems, some may simply lapse, but few actively convert unless they see something offering a – better? More convincing? More powerful? – alternative.
Jerry: I wanted to talk to you about Dr Wattley. I have a suspicion that he’s converted to Judaism purely for the jokes.
Priest: And this offends you as a Jewish person?
Jerry: No, it offends me as a comedian
When people look at Islam or Christianity, standing up for yourself is a powerful enticement. God only knows how many of the new, and mostly American, Christian denominations promote hostility (and even greed), but that’s a whole other kettle of fish.
MINDLESS MUSINGS 
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