Yes, I think that is part of reason why Jesus life and death resonates with so many. He saved people from damnation - and slavery by corrupt clergy regardless if it cost him his life and even regardless, if the freed commoners saw his sacrifice for what it was: Selfless act of love. The kind that is at best of times shown by parents to their children.
Christianity played huge role in knightly culture that developed in the west later on. For the first time in history, people felt, that they can be both just, protective and selfless, yet fierce warriors. Life and death of Christ humanized warrior culture and gave it meaning.
Nice picture, so romantic... the knight in armor is the protector, the savior, the hero. The woman look up to this Godly warrior as her savior - you can see the gratefulness on her face, her God saved her (by killing a few, or few hundred or even a few thousand human beings, not much different than the woman herself). No wonder God is a "he" a male figure. Poor females, they will have to bow the knee to their manly Gods. GOD be with them the day their heros aren't in such a good mood and want to take it out on his loyal subject(s).
You need to judge a system in comparison to the system it replaced not by the moral standards of a thousand years later. Chivalry emphasized bravery, military skill, generosity in victory, piety, and courtesy to women.
It was a tremendous improvement over the ethics of prior eras and a powerful testament to the civilizing power of ethical monotheism and Christianity.
This is the prior "ideal" it replaced. The veneration of the conquering alpha warrior.
Poor dippididodaday. Hasn't figured out that all people die, yet. Wants to blame the inner destructive qualities of mankind on God. So blind that he can't see that God is simply manipulating some of man's own destructive qualities to save some people from themselves... for eternal salvation.
So we see that it is essentially people like dippididodaday who promote destruction. But I will give him this. He may not know that he is doing what he is doing. But, don't count on it.
You still don't get it. God has nothing to do with the killings. It is people who do all the bad stuff because of their religion. Religious ideology is making otherwise normal people do some pretty insane things.
Religious ideas make people insane.
You still don't get it, do you. God has something to do with everything.
However, you are right about people. They do what they do because of their personal religion.
It is even your religious ideology that keeps you thinking that God doesn't exist.
It does not matter what I think or what you think. What matters is who gets killed because of the religion.
Harm the religious thinking causes is real. Currently, Islamism and Jihadism kills people as we type these messages.
BTW, I do not play your 'game'. I think only you think that 'not playing a sport' is a 'sport'.
Atheism is a religion like abstinence is a sexual position.
According to the dictionary, religion is, among other things, "... something one believes in and follows devotedly; a point or matter of ethics or conscience."
If you want to change the meaning of religion, go ahead. But if you want to be honest about it, explain your definition.
If you are talking about the religions that are organized as religions, say it. Others will want to use the dictionary definition, since the dictionary definition is generally what is accepted without special meanings being given.
BADecker,
our "atheist" friends here seem to be stressed, that knights as idealists replaced enslavers and misogynists, that they for some reason mistake for alpha males.
Alpha males protect their loved ones and dont treat them like property.
Perhaps these "atheists" should instead find enjoyment in Islam as it caters to their dark, controlling needs.