[Vobomei]

Dear Effie,

I didn't mean to sound harsh, or to pick on Greece. As I said in my post, the same could be said of virtually all Christian countries and religious groups (except for the Anabaptist who never killed anyone). I only mentioned Greece because it was Greeks making the boast about pluralism. Thus, I meant my comment to be more ironic than condemning!

****

But about the question of pluralism raised by someone else...

I mentioned Emperor St. Theodosius' persecution of the pagans as an example of the beginning of Christian persecution. By way of contrast, however, his predecessor, Emperor St. Constantine the Great, in his Edict of Milan, declared all religions legal. It's actually a very enlightened document, and a fine example of pluralism and the importance of property rights. Unfortunately, the edict was later effectively reversed by Theodosius. (Of course, St. Constantine wasn't averse to killing his own wife and son, among others.)

But if you want to go to the earliest case for pluralism, I would suggest reading the New Testament, where the only sword Christians are allowed to use against the pagans is the double edged sword of the Word (Hebrews 4:12-13). The only instance of a disciple of Christ using force against another, so far as I know, was when Peter tried to protect Jesus with his sword, and was soundly rebuked for it (Matthew 26:51; Mark 14:47; Luke 22:50; John 18:10).

-Shawn