Mini Report
Write a 250 word report on one of the following topics:
How did Christians fight infanticide and child abandonment in Greece and Rome?
How Christians stopped slavery? (Use 2 Sources)
Christianitys Successes and Failures
By Chris Christiansen, B.A. M.A.
The foundational texts of Christianity: The Old Testament
The Foundational Texts of Christianity: Jesus teachings
Content of Teaching
1. Humans are created in Gods image. Genesis 1:26-27.
2. All human beings are created equal. Galatians 3:28.
3. The Golden Rule. Matthew 7:12.
4. Love and social Justice. Luke 10:25-37.
Content of Teaching: Part 2
5. Obey the government. Romans 13:1-7.
6. Be obedient to God first. (acts 4:19.)
Paul Chamberlain:
It is a transitional, global entity with members in every country and corner of the world. As such, it transcends all political boundaries. Christians often marvel over the immediate bond they feel upon meeting other Christians even from remote parts of the world. Political and cultural differences quickly fade in importance, and there is less of a tendency to see foreigners as outsiders or enemies, even those from countries at odds with our own. These are our brothers and sisters, first and foremost.
Christianitys Gifts to the World
1. Battled infanticide.
2. Stopped child abandonment.
3. Created orphanages.
Christianitys Gifts to the World
4. Salvation army.
5. YMCA.
6. YWCA.
Christianitys Gifts to the World
7. Started hospitals.
8. Worked to abolish slavery.
9. Started universities like Oxford and Harvard.
Motivations:
They did this all because they took Jesus words seriously.
This is an example of how a cultural text, in this case the literal text of the Bible, can shape cultures.
Unfortunately, texts can also be abused. This is what we will look at in the next part of the class.
When Christianity Misbehaves
The church has done a lot of good, but it has also committed acts of great evil.
Sam Harris, an atheist author outlines some of these acts in The End of Faith.
The Inquisition
It formally began in 1184 under Pope Lucius III, to crush the popular movement of Catharism Apart from their attachment to certain unorthodox beliefs about the creation of the world. But heresy is heresy. Any person who believes that the Bible contains the infallible word of God will understand why these people had to be put to death. Sam Harris
The Witch Hunts
Women were accused of incredible things.
The women murdered on charges of being witches numbered from 40,000 to 50,000
Based on Exodus 22:18:You must not allow a sorceress to live.
Anti-Semitism
Related to the Gospel of John 8:41-45. Your doing what your father does. We werent both of sexual immortality, they said. We have one FatherGod. Jesus said to them, If God were your Father, you would love Me, because I come from God and I am here. For I didnt come on my own, but He sent me. Why dont you understand what I say? Because you cannot listen to My word. You are of your father the Devil, and you want to carry out your fathers desires. He was a murderer from the beginning and has not stood in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he tells a lie, he speaks from his own nature, because he is a liar and a father of liars. Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me.
Harris 2 Conclusions.
1) Whatever the Bible says, Christians are forced to believe it, no matter whether there is evidence for it or not.
2) Any command that the Bible gives, Christians are supposed to carry it out. When they do not behave in vicious ways, they are actually doing so in spite of what the book says.
Logical Conclusion? No!
When God gave laws about putting people to death, he was doing so in the context of national Israel. This was the law code Israel was to live by as a country as part of the covenant they were under with God.
Christians no longer live in national Israel.
Our ethics remain the same but we are no longer required to punish people like Israel did.
Our job is to spread the Gospel.
Paul Chamberlain:
Christians read and interpret the Old Testament Scriptures through a Christological filter. The teachings and example of Jesus are the interpretive guide for understanding the Old Testament. This is why Christians have never attempted to put into practice the religious rituals of the Old Testament. Even more importantly for the question of religious violence Jesus did no violence to anyone. He was on the receiving end of plenty of violence, but he was never the source of it.
Why did the Church do these things?
They ignored what the Bible said.
1 Corinthians 15:12, For what I have I to do with judging those outside? Is it not those who are inside that you are to judge? is enough to discourage someone from killing a nonbeliever.
Also given Jesus commands to turn the other cheek, love our enemies, etc., when the church resorted to horrible atrocities to enforce right teachings on everyone, and loving not just our friends but our enemies, religious terrorism seems to have happened in spite of Jesus teachings, not because of it.
Remember though:
Christians are humans and will make mistakes.
As Leaders, we must try to understand what the Bible is saying so that we can lead by example and teach our followers to live by it properly.
