Church History is Littered with Oppression & Violence

If Christianity is true, how can this be?

How would you respond?

“I have to doubt any religion that has so many fanatics and hypocrites,” insisted Helen, a law student. “There are so many people who are not religious at all who are more kind and even more moral than many of the Christians I know.”

How would you respond?“Christianity has (by certain people) been

used throughout history as an excuse for some of the most brutal, heartless, and senseless atrocities known to man. The historical examples are not difficult to recall: the Crusades; the Inquisition; the witch-burnings; the Holocaust… I did not see much in Christianity that I considered worth having.”

Ken Schei - Atheist

Myth -

Christianity is responsible for significant injustices and abuses throughout the centuries.

Like most myths, this is a partial truth.

Christianity is responsible for significant injustices and abuses throughout the centuries.

- How is this statement, at least, partially true?

Christianity is not the problem.

Reason 1 –

Many of the abuses carried out in the name of Christianity were NOT carried out by Christians.

- Matthew 7:21-23

Christianity is not the problem.

Reason 2 –

When Christians have been responsible for injustice and abuse, they have been acting contrary to the teachings of Christ.

Christianity is not the problem.

Reason 3 –

Christians aren’t perfect, just forgiven.

But this statement itself raises an objection -

Shouldn’t Christians on the whole be better people than everyone else?

This is a misunderstanding about Christians and about the church.

The church is a hospital for sinners, not a museum for saints.

Christianity is not the problem.

Quick Review –

1. Many abuses attributed to Christianity were not done by Christians.

2. When Christians have been at fault, they have been acting contrary to the teachings of Christ.

3. Christians aren’t perfect, just forgiven.

How would you respond?

Christopher Hitchens, the author of God is NOT Great: How Religion Spoils Everything, argues that orthodox religion inevitably leads to violence. His argument is that religion takes racial and cultural differences and aggravates them.

Christianity is not the problem.

Reason 4 –

The real issue runs deeper than Christianity or even religion.

The real issue is a heart problem.

Religion is only one of many influences that can make one person feel superior to another.

Great abuses have taken place under communist regimes that deny the existence of God.

So we’ve seen -1. Many abuses attributed to

Christianity were not done by Christians.

2. When Christians have been at fault, they have been acting contrary to the teachings of Christ.

3. Christians aren’t perfect, just forgiven.

4. The real issue runs deeper than Christianity or even religion. It’s a matter of the heart.

Even so, isn’t there a danger from Christian fanatics?

Statement of the problem – The more strongly Christians believe that they are right, the more insistent and aggressive they will be in trying to persuade others to believe as they do.

The problem isn’t too much Christianity, but too little.

If the essence of Christianity is salvation by grace, this is profoundly humbling.

“For Christians, …the antidote is not to tone down and moderate their faith, but rather to grasp a fuller truer faith in Christ.” - Timothy Keller

Biblical Christianity is the solution, NOT the problem.

- Christians throughout history have been instrumental in confronting social injustice.

- Christians and Christianity have been the source of great good for mankind.

Conclusion -

Christians are probably the most compelling argument for and against their faith.

Ask yourself – Am I an obstacle or a reason for others to believe?