What is Christianity’s mark on the world?
As much good as Christianity might have done in our history (philantropy, donations, healthcare), we tend to hear a lot about the darker sides of this religion in recent years (from the violent Crusades and Inquisition, to the disgusting child abuse and subsequent cover-ups or the intolerance of the Christians as seen in the US. The author seeks to look at the real history to determine why some part of Christianity has gone astrayed so badly and what are the real balances of the good and the bad of Christianity.
- Believe in long-held narratives at your peril: We grow up with certain narrative that sticks with us even though we may the real facts behind it. For example, The inquisition, though bloody, was not the religious repression it’s painted as. In fact, it’s significantly less bloody than The Terror following the French Revolution. We are brought up on a lot of these narratives which with better scrutiny turns out to be distorted, exaggerated or purely false. It makes it quite exciting to gain more knowledge so we can challenge different beliefs and are able to decipher better the real lessons we should learn from our history.
- Non-uniform nature of Christianity: Christianity is responsible for both the goods and the bads at the same time. We need to accept this duality in any assessment of this religion. They were capable of great charity at yhe same time as inciting many riots and violence.
- Philanthropic mark on secular society: Though the teachings of Jesus, the early Christians developed a tradition of charity, free healthcare and (slightly) anti-slavery. If not for Christianity, our sectarian society might not advance with the concept of safety net and affordable healthcare in-built into the system. Looking at various hospitals and charities nowadays, many are still run by Christians.
- Impact of superficial religiosity: Studies show that those who wore Christ as an identity or tribal affiliation (as opposed to intrinsically as the real way of life) are more intolerant and less generous than the general population. Better to have no religion than to have superficial religion!
Recommended for those interested in: Christianity, History (especially Crusades and the Dark Ages), Theology, Examination of religions
My thoughts: I picked this book up wanting to understand more about Christianity’s marks on the world and am not disappointed. The author presents a balanced view of Christianity’s influences throughout the centuries. He did not sugar-coat any nasty bits, instead providing perspectives on why things are perceived throughout history. He came out acknowledging that many Christians have erred significantly from the true path of Christ but that is not the reason to completely dismiss Jesus and his beautiful and humane teachings and the goods it brought to the world.
I enjoy learning about the different, probably more accurate, retellings of some of these events. I thought of the inquisition as being a pretty bloody period in history and heard the mentioning of the Dark Ages as the bad period before the Renaissance and Enlightenment. Little did I know that those two mentions were way overblown. It makes me question the beliefs we are brought up to and how reading more books like this can help us be more aware of the real history and the real lessons we should learn from them.