Vanarus, Machaka Lion Kings etc

[Squirrelloid]

Islam is slightly more conflicted on the 'non-believers' part than Christianity. There's at least one Sura which claims that 'people of the book' (Christians and Jews) can achieve paradise, because they do worship the true god. Of course, there are also passages which imply the converse, so as I said, conflicted. Christianity, by comparison, is very much 'believe or fry'.

(Actually, this gets to the heart of a difference between the religions. Islam is not about belief in the way Christianity is. Its about submission to God and refusing the path of hubris - that you can get along without God. Orthopraxy is far more important than orthodoxy.)

[RadicalTurnip]

The Romans were tolerant of *old* religions, in which they practiced Syncretism. Christianity really had problems once the Jewish nation convinced the authorities that Christianity wasn't a "Jewish" movement, it was a new religion.

Christianity was very pro-women for its time. Not necessarily in practice, but in doctrine, women being the first to find the empty tomb was a very big deal back then, because if you wanted something believed, then a man had to say it was true. Ephesians 5:22 (so often quoted in Christian weddings saying "wives submit to your husbands") was actually revolutionary because wives did that anyway, but to tell men that they had to be loving and caring to their wife was exceptional, as a Roman man could divorce his wife for any reason.

I think you'll find that almost every "category" of person has some skeletons if they've been around for a few hundred years, much less a few thousand. Sure Christians and Muslims did some not-so-nice things, but so have atheists, scientists, Americans, Germans, Japanese, Ottomans, etc etc etc.

[Kadelake]

Originally Posted by RadicalTurnip

Christianity was very pro-women for its time.

I agree that you have to consider the culture around the religion. I don't know whether Islam or Christianity is the most "pro-women", I've seen people argue for both. But even though they improved women's conditions where they first arouse it becomes problematic when they spread to other cultures.

From my Scandinavian perspective Christianity seems like an "anti-women religion" since here it lessened women's rights. So I don't think it's possible to simply generalise and say that a religion is pro or anti women. It was pro in the Levant and anti in Scandinavia.

I do believe that religions in general are holding back women's rights today, in case anyone was wondering about my opinion

[SplendidTuesday]

I have no opinion on the whole Machaka mess, but I'd certainly like to see a Muspelheim nation.

I'd also like to see a Sumerian nation; maybe a version of Absyia that's more of that style?

A nation based on the Turks might be fun as well.