Why do many, if not most, modern Christians often dissociate themselves from early Christians?

Question

For instance, many atrocities that were done by early Christians such as those committed during the Crusades, the dark ages, the witch trials, and the rise of slavery, to name a few, all are discounted as Christian acts because they were quote "not following the Bible".But these people were practicing Christianity long before modern Christians and they seemed to believe that they were right and God was on their side.Granted, many of them could not read.But many could.And Christianity was founded by the church.If it were not for the church, Christianity would have never continued beyond a small cult.And the church seemed to think that what they were doing was ok and they were suppose to be the experts.They may not have been as advanced as we are today but if they knew one thing it was their religion.

So, why do many, if not most, modern Christians dismiss and discount the actions of what Christianity has done in history by saying, "they were not following the Bible and so were not true Christians" when these historical actions are used to point out the darker side of Christianity?

A few answers seem to be dissociating from African slavery to Europe that was approved by the church and from the many thousands who were killed because they were not Christians.Denial is a terrible thing.

Answer 1

I also find their stand inconsistent. There are those who insist that the U.S. is a Christian country, yet they deny that the Christian culture is responsible for any wrongdoings. It may not be individual Christians that committed the act, but it most certainly was the Christian culture that allowed it.

The recent school shooting by Cho could have been avoided if we truly had what Christians think of as a Christian culture in that one loves his neighbor as himself. How many *real* Christians were oblivious to Cho's need for mental health treatment. Instead of trying to *convert* everyone, Christians would do well to help their neighbor in more constructive ways.

If the U.S. is a Christian nation, why have we turned our mental health patients out on the streets? If this is a Christian nation, why are there so many homeless on the streets? If this is a Christian nation, why did we invade and destroy Iraq? If this is a Christian nation, why do we consider the Iraqi people our *enemy?*
.

Answer 2

Many people don't follow the bible and call themselves Christians. That's a human nature thing, not a religious thing. For instance, the Muslim religion teaches peace, treating women with respect and as equals and that Jesus was a prophet but not all Muslims follow these teachings in the manner they were meant. They use the Koran to justify their behaviour, just as some Christians justify their behaviour using the bible inappropriately. Just because someone follows a religion does not mean they are perfect and do no wrong. There is a saying "the devil can quote the bible for his own good". By the way, Christianity was not founded by the church. Its the other way around, the church was founded by Christianity.

Answer 3

"For instance, many atrocities that were done by early Christians such as those committed during the Crusades"
Agreed,although I will point out that the Roman Catholics ransacked an Eastern Orthodox city,and dwellers of said city protected Jews from the coming onslaught.
"the dark ages"
Having a 'dark age' isn't an atrocity.
"the witch trials"
Yes,witch trials,where a few ten thousand were killed.Horrendous,most certainly.
"rise of slavery"
Slavery had nothing to do with Christianity.Slavery had been around for thousands of years before Jesus.And there were also many Christian abolitionists such as William Wilberforce.
"all are discounted as Christian acts because they were quote "not following the Bible" "
Well,I've never said that they weren't committed in the name of Christ.There is a difference betweeen someone doing something because something told him to do so,and someone doing something directly against the teachings of something.
"But these people were practicing Christianity long before modern Christians"
What does that have to do with anything?
"they seemed to believe that they were right and God was on their side"
And if I believe that the moon is made of green cheese,does that make it so?
".But many could"
Literacy doesn't have anything to do with it.Someone planning on killing another person might read books of law-that doesn't affect the book itself.
"And Christianity was founded by the church"
The first Christians were followers of Jesus.
"Christianity would have never continued beyond a small cult"
Not true.Christianity spread very,very quickly,long before the rise of the RCC.
"And the church seemed to think that what they were doing was ok and they were suppose to be the experts"
I might think that I'm an expert on astronomy.That doesn't mean that I am.
"So, why do many, if not most, modern Christians dismiss and discount the actions of what Christianity has done in history"
I'm not discounting anything.
""they were not following the Bible and so were not true Christians"
I'm not going to get into the 'true Christian' debate,but no,people who did those things were not following the Bible.
"when these historical actions are used to point out the darker side of Christianity?"
It points out the dark side of church history,but not Christianity,as Christianity doesn't condone these actions.It would be different if someone could point me to a verse that has Jesus saying "thou shalt behead those who disagree with you".There is no verse like that.

Answer 4

Let's clarify some things here:

First, historically slavery did not come out of Christianity, nor did it increase under Christianity. Yes Christians engaged in it, but it certainly wasn't propagated by Christendom. In fact, the earliest Christians mostly were slaves themselves.

Secondly, the dark ages couldn't historically be called an atrocity. They were just a period of recovery from the fall of Rome, and it was the Protestant Reformation that brought us out of them into the Renaissance.

And finally, if you read original works from the time of the Crusades, it is clear that the atrocities committed during that time were actually done against the orders of the church. The Knights who rode on the crusades behaved poorly, but the image of Popes and Bishops commanding them to rape women and children and burn down villages is actually revisionist history. These men did this on their own because they didn't adhere to the tenets of Christianity.

Answer 5

Well, I commend you for your high sense of humour. The point is that, Christians of those days thought was they were doing was right because they were following the Law of Moses. But the modern christians were able to point out all these evil act perpetrated by the early Christians. Also note that in those days, many were punished for there evil act on way or the other, God was never on there side. The modern day christian were following the Golden Rule

Answer 6

The crusades, witch trials,and Dark Ages were not "early christians" Many early christians were martred because of their faith. Slavery existed long before Cristianity and did not rise because of it, in fact in most countries where slavery was done away with it was because of christians who were committed to seeing that slavery was ended. Many early Christians were slaves themselves. The atrocities you mention were committed by corrupt church leaders. Their beliefs and their actions do not reflect what Christianity is.

Answer 7

Hindsight is a good thing. And it makes us easy to judge. People do get caught up in fervour and do craz things believing they are right. I would very much prefer not to associate with murderers, no matter how they believed.
The bible specifically tells you not to murder - but men do and have. The bible specifically tells you not to commit adultery - but men do and have. Some people, like Henry VIIIth have greater power and no one corrects them without losing their head. Many people live in fear of God, and do anything they can to guarantee their acceptance into the Kingdom of God. Take the Islmaic terorirsts for example. How do you justify this, without accepting that there is a fair bit of brainwashing going on by powerful people who are admired for their piousness?
It happens in every church - its called history and we must learn from it.
And they didn't know their religion - most didn't have bibles but were preached at by priests in a foreign language.
Also, if you are totally immersed in a religion, it is your way of life and you never think about it. For example, you go and see a movie with an 18 restriction - you don't think twice. You accept it, but to many people it is shocking and offensive. Or swearing. I hear people swear and blaspheme every day - they're so used to it that they cannot accept they are wrong. So it is too in the church - you get used to things and believe what you are told.
It is all unfortunate, but we have to learn from history.

Answer 8

Those people who committed the atrocities during the middle ages cannot be classified as 'Early Christians'. Those people were blindly following the leadership of a man who styled himself 'God on Earth', or the pope. If you study Christian church history, you'll see that the RC usurpted and changed the teachings that the early Christian church believed.
The early Christians followed the teachings of Jesus the Christ who taught us to love all men and treat them the way we would like to be treated. Real Christians still follow Jesus' teachings and strive to live in harmony with all people and to love all people. The apostle Paul made the statement - 'Christ in you, the hope of glory', which tells us that all have the Christ Spirit in them, and we should look for that in all people. When we approach daily living with this in mind, it is a constant reminder that we are all Children of God.
If you would like to be associated with a church that attempts to following the Jesus Christ Teachings today, look for your nearest Unity Church.
There you'll find a group of people who practice unconditional love and acceptance and support all people in the realization of their divine potential.

Answer 9

The modern non Catholics like to do a bit of Catholic bashing but we all have faults EVERY single Christian.

The basic premise of Christianity is that "All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God"

Whenever someone starts getting hollier then thou things start to break down.

When the English settled Australia they murdered and slaughtered the Aborginal first settlers. So I am descended from those English and I share in their crimes. That does not mean I am guilty of them.

I have a tremendous respect for Catholics as I have learned much from thier mystics, of which I am one today.

God bless you in your journey. I hope this helped.

Answer 10

I'm just working through the account at the garden of Gethsemane at the moment. I'm going by what 2 Peter 2 and Isaiah 5 and Revelation 18 say about the occupation of religious leaders who are just in it to draw attention to their own jollity.

They didn't want to kill Jesus. They wanted to marry him off and claim the credit for it. This was why Judas was upset when the woman put the spikenard ointment on him. It looked like he was letting himself down, or letting himself up, and either way Judas was looking for a cash cow. Getting prostitutes married off "safely" (politically so that people don't come after them with their past or if they do, it doesn't affect their husband) is important for religious people who have no clue what they're doing but lots of cash to suggest otherwise.

So therefore, this is really a story about social manipulation and the crusades were definitely way off the message of the Bible. But then so has most of it been. I'm just piecing it together for myself at the moment.

The high priests is only surpised that Jesus doesn't answer the false witnesses against him (Recall Diana Ross' comment that if you don't have any enemies, you're not worth your salt? Even socialists, who are against sexism and racism don't like Christianity.) because he thinks it's wrong NOT to have any opposition to your proposed marriage or whatever they were trying to fix for him so that he could join their criminal doings.

I think that Jesus was implying that he didn't have any bisexual friends or something similar to that. Therefore, the priests accused him of wanting to kill "the same" (himself). They were saying that a heterosexual living in a homosexual society would rather die. They made that judgement on his behalf. The next morning, they took counsel (each one of them) because he was on suicide watch and they all wanted to be able to claim the credit for saving him.

So they put him in a strait jacket - their version of religion (clothing-wise) and gave him over to Pontius Pilate. (His version of food, according to them? Some good intelligent conversation?)

Judas is trying for some sort of criminal deal. There's obviously been an innocent death already (compare Isaiah 57). He's taking on responsibility for having ratted on the murderer (not Jesus) to see if he's safe, I think, in case it catches up with him in the future. They reply: "Who is advantaged by us, according to you?"

Jesus' marriage was meant to cover over getting rid of the body. Whenever there was an innocent death, they might have looked for somebody to marry off so that they could cover it over with frivolity and maintain the illusion that only guilty people die, but they still get a eulogy - everybody's happy...