Christians, do you teach the history of your religion as part of your religion?

Question

I ask this because its a huge part of study for my religion and I have noticed many Christians, especially younger ones have no knowledge of the history of thier faith, the good AND the bad. Is that important to you?
And no I'm not being a smart ***. I'm really curious. I see denials of things that Christians did. I have never heard "Yes it happened it's a part of our past. In the end we learned from the mistakes." All I ever hear is "That wasn't us that was the ________"
Do you not honestly know the history of the church?

Not the history of Christ...the history of CHRISTIANITY. How do you know who you are if you don't now where you came from? Christ was the beginning of Christianity, Christians are it's continuation.

Answer 1

I feel this question is what determines that fine line of being religious and being of a religion. I think that religious people know the stories and history behind their beliefs through research and tons of study, while those of a religion simply call themselves the label but don't know the hows and whys, and probably couldn't care less. It's fine to be less religious than others, but don't go pushing your religion on me when you don't really know what it is - that's what I say!

Answer 2

Ok, this is the truthful answer- We don't place a huge weight on studying our history among new Christians. When someone comes into the faith, our focus is on them learning the Word of God from the Scriptures and in being taught how to grow in that person's relationship with Christ. As that person begins to grow beyond the basics, they may begin to be interested in the history of our faith and study to that end. I have been in churches before that offered classes on our Christian history, but most of that has begun with the Reformation. My own knowledge of Christian history- both the good and the bad- is the result of my own interest in historical events and some fine documentaries presented by the History Channel. Any time I have the opportunity to learn, I listen. I can not say that all Christians have an interest in history any more than all atheists have an interest in stellar physics. But history of the western world is a subject taught in every high school and university. To complete one's education outside of the church without gaining at least a superficial understanding of the crusades, the rise of Catholicism and the reformation, and the witch trials of Europe and America (and other relevant events) must simply be an individual's choice to refuse learning.

Answer 3

I would be interested in hearing the answer to this too. When I was growing up in a Christian household, I was very surprised at how few of my peers understood or even studied church history. My father INSISTED that I learn it so that I would know the reasons behind the beliefs.

In my current religion, the group that I am affiliated with has a Basic Adult Education program that it encourages people to participate in and there are in-depth studies for those who want to be legal clergy that INCLUDES "Hellenic Religious History and Culture".

I find it mind-boggling that people would not want to know the ROOTS of their beliefs. How else to better EXPLAIN them to others?

Answer 4

I'm sure they teach some church history but they leave out some parts. Crusades, witchhunts....those don't exactly make the church look good so the church is not going to go out of their way to draw attention to it.
When I was Mormon I studied the history of the church but it was always from church approved sources and they left a lot of things out. For instance they don't tell you that Joseph Smith had 30-plus wives and some of them were as young as 14. They don't tell you that Brigham Young preached that blacks were not to hold the priesthood and that interracial marriages were an abomination to God. So I would suspect that yes, Christians do learn some church history but its only the parts that the church wants them to hear

Answer 5

I do know the history of my Church.
Part of your confusion is due to the fact that "the Church" in question has nothing to do with the Christians you are talking to. The other confusion comes from the fact that there are many false assumptions about the history of Christianity, both good and bad.

Answer 6

I was a Southern Baptist for 20 years. I grew up going to church and bible studies and the whole 9 yards. Not once did we ever talk about the history of Christianity other than the stories in the bible.

Answer 7

We are not our history.

Christians are people, just like you, who have come into a relationship with the living God. This is what is important to us. That is the "root" of Christianity. Does knowing the history of the United States make you any more or less an American? It's just knowledge. The present reality is another matter.

What people in the past have done does not mean that it is who or what we are and/or will do today.

Answer 8

normally there's a international Religions non-obligatory that is going into intensity. most of the main significant religions (Catholicism, Orthodox Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, etc) are touched on as they relate to international history itself. normally cases there will be a financial disaster for a number of the smaller religions- Jainism, Zoroastrianism, Confucianism, etc. i've got self belief that this is an rather solid element, by way of fact understanding others' ideals, whether we don't believe them, is the considerable to getting alongside.

Answer 9

Sure! There are three books that come to mind: Church History by Shelley and Foxes Book of Christian Martyrs by John Foxe and the Bible As History by Werner Keller.

For other information, you may want to see the Catholic Encyclopedia. There was at least one female Pope. Her name was Joan

Answer 10

Isn't the Bible the history of Christ?
Most stories in the Bible are about the blood line of Christ.

I am a Christ follower.
I am not a member of an organized religion.
Thanks