Christianity began as a religion of martyrs—that is, victims of state violence. But once Christians gained political power, they went from victims to victimizers, a pivot that has sadly characterized many persecuted peoples in history. While in power, Christians killed mainly other Christians, though also Jews and Muslims. And then, as the Christian Church began to lose power to secular nationalists, notably during the French Revolution, Christians again became victims of state violence.
Power tends to corrupt—and so does powerlessness. Our culture is marked by a competitive victimization: secular writers emphasize religious victimizers while religious writers, such as Thomas Albert Howard, focus on religious victims. Perhaps we need instead a comparison of religious and secular violence, to see what they might have in common.
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