User:JosephCronin/sandbox

For the page Christianity and Violence, I want to add more to the section titled "Christian Opposition to Violence' since the page seems to be more heavily favoring examples linking Christianity with violence. Issues I want to address are Christian pacifism and early persecution of Christians. I also want to research Christian perspectives and attitudes regarding war and violence. Sources for this I have found include:

Niebuhr, Reinhold. Why the Christian Church is not pacifist. Student Christian movement Press, 1940.

Dombrowski, Daniel. "Christian Pacifism." Theological Studies 52.4 (1991): 775.

Kelly, Edward Thomas. The anti-Christian persecution of 1616-1617 in Nanking. Columbia University., 1971.

De Ste, Geoffrey Ernest Maurice. "Why were the early christians persecuted?." Past and Present (1963): 6-38.

Alexander, Paul J. "Religious persecution and resistance in the Byzantine empire of the eighth and ninth centuries: methods and justifications."Speculum 52.02 (1977): 238-264.

Thompson, James Westfall. "The alleged persecution of the Christians at lyons in 177." The American Journal of Theology 16.3 (1912): 359-384.

Frend, William WHC. Martyrdom and persecution in the early church: A study of conflict from the Maccabees to Donatus. Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2014.

Bainton, Roland H. Christian attitudes toward war and peace: A historical survey and critical re-evaluation. Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2008.

Gaddis, Michael. There is no crime for those who have Christ: religious violence in the Christian Roman Empire. Vol. 39. Univ of California Press, 2005.

Wilkinson, Alan. Dissent Or Conform?: War, Peace and the English Churches 1900-1945. Lutterworth Press, 2010.

I also feel there is ample room to add to the "Forced Conversions" section of the article and I was going to add some more examples and detail to this section entailing Hernando Cortes' conquest of Mexico and forced conversions of the Aztec natives there. I also want to further explore Christian perspectives and opinions when it comes to violence for the greater good and other examples of utilitarian thinking. Examples from this include things like the spanish Inquisition, but also things such as the invasion of Germany to de throne Hitler. A source I would use for this purpose would be...

Murphy, Andrew R. The Blackwell Companion to Religion and Violence. Chichester, West Sussex: Wiley-Blackwell, 2011. Print.

Prominent examples of forced conversion and Christian conquest can be seen in the colonization of North America. The main benefactors of this were the governing bodies responsible for this colonization, examples including Spain, England, Portugal, and France. Despite this influx of wealth from the New World, many of those who initialized this conquest believed it was their religious duty to do so. On this topic, Jay P Dolan writes , "Columbus believed he was more than a servant of the Crown; he was an instrument of God: a man, he said, 'animated by heavenly fire,' who's mission was not only to find a passage to the Indies, but also to inaugurate the last great crusade so that the biblical prophecy of preaching the gospel to all peoples and races could be fulfilled".

This attitude of religious duty permeated much of the conquest of the Americas, and was not specific to Columbus. One of the most prominent examples tying conquest and colonialism to the forced conversion of indigenous peoples is Hernan Cortez' conquest of Latin America. In a description of Cortez written by Bernal Diez in 1516, it is written that Cortez had two banners made to be carried that read, "Brothers and comrades, let us follow the sign of the Holy Cross in true faith, for under this sign we shall conquer". With the cross as their justification, Cortez and his men conquered this newly found land they believed was justly theirs. In a speech to his men, Cortez said, "We are engaging in a just and good war which will bring us fame. Almighty God, in whose name and faith it will be waged will give us victory... For we have seen by experience how God has favored the Spanish nation in the Americas, and how we have never lacked courage or strength, and never shall." Cortez came not only to conquer the indigenous peoples and riches of Latin America, but also to conquer their pagan ideology. The Spaniards' attitude of theological superiority is what they used to justify their forced conversion and conquest of the native people. In a proclamation intended to be read to all indigenous peoples, it is written, "We ask that... you acknowledge the Christian church as the ruler and superior of the whole world, and as superiors that you agree to let the Christian priests preach to you... If you do so, you will do well... we will receive you in love and charity... But if you do not do this... we shall forcefully enter into your country and shall make war against you... we shall take you and your wives and your children and shall make slaves of them .... we protest that the death and losses which shall result from this are your fault". This proclamation shows that the Spaniards used their faith to absolve themselves of any guilt or wrongdoing, believing their doctrine took precedence over the basic rights of their fellow humans. In this way, the Spaniards' religious zealotry made them intent on converting the Aztecs and Incas, forcing them to "abandon their ancient evil ways" (royal decree king ferdinand 1501)

(1) Dolan, Jay P. The American Catholic Experience: A History from Colonial times to the Present. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1985. Print.

Cortés, Hernán. Cartas y relaciones de Hernan Cortés al emperador Carlos V. Edited by Pascual de Gayangos. Paris: A. Chaix, 1866. Microfilm.

for those uncited, I am still working out how to find a credible source to cite those. Many of those quotes came from historical texts, and I am unsure how to cite it in a manner that is correct with a credible source since I can't cite the original letter by king ferdinand for example