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Originally Posted by Ypsilanti Undead
Since I won't be online again until Tuesday, I'll go ahead and show my trump card: How is the violence of a truly secular society, such as USSR or Red China, preferable to that of the Crusaders'?
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Trump card? That's the trump card? Ha. I can take this softball. While violence is never prefered, at least secular violence can be explained as a part of human nature. Man is by nature violent and aggressive. As Thomas Hobes said, life in a state of nature would be solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short. When secular societies act in this manner, it is easy to understand, but of course not "preferable." On the other hand, when a country, nation, or body of people act in an aggressive, violent, prejudiced, or other ugly manner under the veil of Christianity, a religion of which some of the cornerstones are to love thy neighbor, and turn the other cheek, the ultimate unexcusable hypocrisies rear their ugly head. Obviously, violent agressive unprovoked behavior by any nation-state is not something to be prefered, but at least in a secular society, they would be acting within their defined nature.