> Christianity was one of the first belief systems to suggest that all people _were_ actually people: up until then, "people" was just part of whichever clan you were in. Other folks were sub-human.
I disagree:
Many people, including Christians, have used religion to justify treating others as sub-human. Consider slavery in the United States, often justified by religion, and treatment of people of different sexual orientations today. Many other horrible things have been done in Christianity's name (which again is true of all religions).
Many religions emphasize treatment of strangers (and guests). I would bet all religions say that, and in other places all religions justify killing the sub-human, apostate 'other'. Religious scriptures (at least those I've read) are self-contradictory, vague documents; subject to wide ranges of interpretations; written by many people over long periods of time. Often people interpret whatever they want to see; perhaps that's necessary if your religion is going to appeal to millions or billions of people, across cultures and eras.
> Many people, including Christians, have used religion to justify treating others as sub-human
I assume Daniel was talking about the early days of Christianity, when Jesus and the Apostles were alive. At that time, they actually meant the whole concept of "God loves everyone individually". Eventually, and especially when Christianity became the official religion of Rome, that changed, but during the early days, that tenet made Christianity revolutionary and dangerous to the Roman elite.
I disagree:
Many people, including Christians, have used religion to justify treating others as sub-human. Consider slavery in the United States, often justified by religion, and treatment of people of different sexual orientations today. Many other horrible things have been done in Christianity's name (which again is true of all religions).
Many religions emphasize treatment of strangers (and guests). I would bet all religions say that, and in other places all religions justify killing the sub-human, apostate 'other'. Religious scriptures (at least those I've read) are self-contradictory, vague documents; subject to wide ranges of interpretations; written by many people over long periods of time. Often people interpret whatever they want to see; perhaps that's necessary if your religion is going to appeal to millions or billions of people, across cultures and eras.