Dubai

[Professor S]

Originally Posted by Vampyr

Also, Mr. Christ preached about a lot of things - love, tolerance, etc. I don't think that makes those ideas Christian.

No, just the idea of church separate from state. Before he made that differentiation governments were intertwined with religion, oracles, mysticism, etc. Jesus made that change and spread that ideal, and I think most opjective historians and theologians would agree with that statement.

Keep in mind, I am not a Christian, so when I refer to something as being "Christian" I normally am referring to the teachings and influence of the man/philosopher, and not the 2,000 years of religious interpretation and deification.

The separation of church and state hasn't come about due to religion, it's come about due to the evolution of ideas of philosophers and politicians, some of which happen to have been religious.

I fail to see the difference. Once Christ made those statements and gained his following, and the word spread, I don't think you can deny the influence, especially among religious philosophers and lawmakers. It doesn't matter who made the law later on, without his influence we'll never know what would have happened. Hence, it's a uniquely Christian ideal/philosophy, IMO.