I believe that it is important for people, especially Christians, to be aware of church history. That is why I podcast and blog on this subject. But sometimes it is easier for people of faith and sometimes harder to study this history.
Where I am in the podcast right now, it is easy for Christians to be edified. The Christians are the minority and therefore the underdog. They are the “good guys” and people can be encouraged by their example. Yes there are some unfortunate statements and events but it is not too bad.
But that is going to change.
We are eventually going to get into some very complex and uncomfortable times. As the church gains political powers, they are going to use it for their own gain.
I find it interesting that Christians get angry over some of the violent tendencies of Islam, including forced conversions, penalizing un believers and so on. The irony is that almost all of the the actions by Muslims that Christians hate, those same things have been done by the church.
Protestants will sometimes counter by saying, “That was only the Roman Catholic Church!” But that’s not true. Protestants celebrate the Reformation but there were some very bad things done by the Lutherans and Reformed churches, especially toward the Anabaptists.
One punishment for being an Anabaptist was called the “third baptism.” The first was infant baptism, the second believer’s baptism and the third was death by drowning.
People of faith can read these stories and be discouraged. Are the abuses of the church, ancient and modern, enough to give up on the faith?
This blog is not meant to be Christian apologetics. I will just say that any part of life can be abused. There are many people who have used science of evil intent and yet that doesn’t negate the value of science.
Something is true or untrue by its own nature and not by how well its believers behave.
