"[Jesus] somehow transformed the system's greatest weapon [the cross] against him into his greatest marketing tool, proving that his secret about strength through weakness wasn't just philosophy but practical engineering."
Getting nailed to a cross as a marketing tool. The whole essay is heavy mental gymnastics.
Haha, should have written it less sensationally. This is not false though. I think you might find "Martyrdom and Persecution in the Early Church" by WHC Frend interesting.
"Persecution was seen by early Christians, as by later historians, as one of the crucial influences on the growth and development of the early Church and Christian beliefs."
I love that! Climbing a mountain would be such an arduous task, impossible even! But taking another small step can be fun and easy. Keep having fun, and if you find yourself at the very top, look for another mountain.
But wrt how it can impact society, might be worrisome with people emotionally depending on entities they can't have direct real life interaction or experience with. But again that's a separate headache with no real answers as of now. We can only deal with it once it exists.
Getting nailed to a cross as a marketing tool. The whole essay is heavy mental gymnastics.
"Persecution was seen by early Christians, as by later historians, as one of the crucial influences on the growth and development of the early Church and Christian beliefs."