What was the pre-Islamic, Christian middle-east like?
bloody, very bloody.
>>523084
Interesting theologically. Egypt and most of the Levant split from the churches of Rome and Constantinople after Chalcedon in 451 and there were some pretty grim civil wars between the Orthodox Byzantines and non-Chalcedonian Levantines/Egyptians.
I think the Coptic Church has only very recently (last year) agreed to re-enter communion with the Orthodox church after 1500 years of schism.
The discord is a key reason why invading Islamic armies were able to expand so quickly.
>>523095
>desert god of war
>anything but bloody
>>523095
Yeah, sure
they needed a warlord to come in and pacify things
>>523223
messiah*
ftfy
Look up the Byzantine Empire. Also it was far less bloody than the West, so I have no idea wtf the "bloody" man is on about.
>>523306
Muhammad never claimed to be a Messiah.
>>523125
battle of the literalists of antioch vs the figuratists of alexandria
>>523313
meh..war lord, messiah..within the context of the time period those words are basically synonymous
>>523334
>meh..war lord, messiah..within the context of the time period those words are basically synonymous
No they weren't. Jesus never ever tried to be a warlord nor was he taught as such, he was a sacrificial figure--instead of bringing glory on the battlefield, he brought human salvation and grace.
And Muhammad never claimed to be a Messiah, in fact Muslims still hold Christ was the Messiah.
Let's not be fucking ignorant here. Yes, ancient peoples often went to war. So do modern peoples. Doesn't mean they are only capable of appreciating battle prowess.
>>523125
Yeah, it was basically all a product of using two different definitions of "nature", and so the Chalcedonians thought the non-Chalcedonians were advocating monophysiticism (that is, the doctrine that Christ is only divine), and the non-Chalcedonians thought the Chalcedonians were advocating Nestorianism (that is, the belief that Christ's divinity and humanity were distinct). In actually, both partisans thought Christ was fully human and fully divine, semantics over one nature or two natures confused it all.
However, it was not as violent as under Muslims. Or I should say, compared to the Muslim wars. Muslims were not really bloodthirsty rulers (unless you refused to convert or pay the tax), but they did expand primarily through conquest. On the other hand, they gave the non-Chalcedonians a lot of insulation from the Chalcedonains, which allowed the icon friendly theologians to go their and write their arguments without being persecuted by the iconoclasts, hundreds of years later.
>>523353
calm down killer, lmao
>Jesus never ever tried to be a warlord nor was he taught as such
you mean he was never MADE to be a warlord. Nor was he inteded to be interpreted as one. Yeah I think the Romans intended that for a reason...
>>523313
>Look up the Byzantine Empire. Also it was far less bloody than the West, so I have no idea wtf the "bloody" man is on about.
Why not look up the Byzantine Empire and realize the "bloody" man is talking about the tens of thousands dead from the series of religious riots that swept through the Eastern Mediterranean. Let's not also forget the period Sassanid invasions which got very bloody, flattened major cities, with the last one a catastrophe for all involved.
Oh yeah, and one of the most devastating plagues in history that wiped out tens of millions.
But other than that, yeah, not bloody at all.
>>523376
And again, far less bloody than the West. You think the West didn't have riots, plagues, wars, invasions? Hell, you think we don't have all that shit now?
>>523370
Oh you are trolling, k.
>>523359
>However, it was not as violent as under Muslims
I can only vouch for Egypt but it was certainly more stable and generally a safer place to be for basically anyone who wasn't a staunch pagan, if any of those existed in 642.
>>523403
I think he meant that the rivalry between churches wasn't as violent under Muslim rule because the Arabs had no interest in taking sides nor any tolerance for armed bands fighting other armed bands in the streets over non-Muslim theology they couldn't care less about.
>>523410
Oh, I see. Yes, he's right.
That's benign neglect for you.
Watch Aladin
>>523602
>watch a movie about a Muslim Chinaman to learn about the Christian Middle-East
>>523829
Aladin was a Christian as evidenced by his lower class.
>>523865
Not sure if b8 but the textual version of Aladdin make it clear that he is Muslim
>>523359
Merry Christmas, Constantine!
>>523370
>>523602
>>523976
Aladdin means Nobility of (the)Faith meaning Islam. Din (pronounced deen) means the act of submission to God. It's an Islamic term.
>>523209
>desert god of war
Sounds metal as fuck. I'd make a mad max movie about it.
