Do any of you theologians put credence behind the Dead Sea Scrolls' versions of the gospels? What little I know (very) is that the earlier versions were much more harsh. Closer to the Koran as far as penalties for unbelievers and the competition. The theory goes that the "modern" version of the bible was watered down to survive under rule that wouldn't harbor revolutionaries. (Romans, etc.)
Again, my knowledge here is poor but I haven't heard anything on this topic in a few years. It's interesting to me since it would indicate Christianity evolved into it's comparitively moderate (PC) position out of a need for self-preservation as opposed to an inherent tolerance.
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There are a vast number of people who are uninformed and heavily propagandized, but fundamentally decent. The propaganda that inundates them is effective when unchallenged, but much of it goes only skin deep. If they can be brought to raise questions and apply their decent instincts and basic intelligence, many people quickly escape the confines of the doctrinal system and are willing to do something to help others who are really suffering and oppressed." -Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media, p. 195
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