Is christianity the cause of our problems?

Question

In the times of Ancient Greece, new innovations and ideas were introduced. Medicines were developed to cure ailments, and new philosophies were initiated: it was the Golden Age. But what happened during the midle ages? Citizens went back to their old ways... blaming god for diseases, blaming god for death, blaming god for this, blaming god for that. The medicines were forgotton. The science, the math, the architecture: all forgotten, solely due to one reason: God and christianity. The middle ages therefore set humantity back hundreds of years in evolution, affecting us today.

Dont get me wrong, i am not insulting anyone. IN fact, a plethora of my great friends are christian, and i dont have a problem with that. I just think that christianity itself has pulled us down, away from our full potential.
Tell me this is wrong

Answer 1

I had a conversation very similar to this with a friend a couple of nights ago. I am of the same mind that humanity would have progress so much further than we have, had Christianity not strangled it with it's stronghold for so long. Shutting down a child's mind at a young age, a mind that could hold ideas that no one else ever could have thought - ideas that could change the world as we know it, for the purpose of them believing the parents religion is so very wrong. Imagine if that had worked on Einstein, or any of the other great minds since Christianity appeared.... then imagine how many minds it did quiet for of fear that the thoughts they were thinking were against god (ie:sins) and the fear of burning in hell was too great. Terribly sad.

Answer 2

The Dark Ages were just a violent time period, the Church was not really responsible for the lack of education. Actually, the only good way to get an education at the time was to join the clergy. The Middle Ages was just a time period of a lot of invasion and migrations of many different ethnic groups. The Huns, the Goths, the Franks, the Lombards, the Vandals, etc. They were the ones that actually destroyed the Western Roman Empire and they were actually Pagan peoples. The Vikings who ravaged Western Europe and Britain, were also a Pagan group. Basically, what I am saying is that there have been times of turmoil throughout history and that interferes with progress. Look at the Greek Dark Age which actually preceded the Greek Golden Age. Christianity is not to blame, sometimes there are just dark times. Look at Africa right now, there are all kinds of crimes being committed by a variety of different religious and ethnic groups. People do bad things, no matter what religion they have.

Answer 3

Socrates, considered a heretic for his philosophical beliefs that still affect us today, would have been murdered by the authorities had he not killed himself by drinking hemlock. during the middle ages, many of the herbs and potions used in Greece were used and Leonardo da Vinci was probably the most brilliant person who ever lived (circa 1500). Some of the greatest buildings, the cathedrals, were built in the middle ages and the flying buttress is one of the most ingenious inventions since the keystone.

Greece and Rome were in the hands of a plethora of gods, who had to be appeased and seemed to be rather fickle. Monotheism brought a new freedom--you had some free will and (barring catholicism) could speak directly to God.

I could on but I think you get the point. There are good and bad things throughout history, and it's not all at Christianity's feet. The Roman Catholic Church has a lasting and many would say negative influence on much of history, but it also made great contributions. And, the important thing is not the temporal Churches of the world but the eternal church of God.

Answer 4

You are both right and wrong. But first, it is not just Christianity, right now you would have to admit if you are honest that Islam is the greatest impediment to progress in the world. Only the Chinese atheist keep more people in proverty and ignorance than the Islamic countries do.

The right comes from the fact that what you see as Christianity is really not. It is not based on the worship outlined by the Creator God in the Bible but on pagan concepts, superstitions and human traditions and interpretations. This is easily proven, many of the Atheists on YA already know and understand this better than most of the professing Christians. Because of those false concepts, nominal Christianity, Catholicism, Protestantism, Orthodoxy, and others, have all held mankind back from the potential that we are given by the Creator God. The rejection of truth has led to the curses that you outline in your comments.

If mankind had chosen to obey God as per His instructions, then the world would be a much different place. Poverty, crime, war, famine, disease, ignorance, all these things are as a result of rejection of the Creator and His instructions. Advances in science, medicine, astronomy and many other fields would also be even more advanced because from a truly Biblical perspective, these studies are not, in themselves, some evil anti-God device to deceive people. In actuality, the sciences prove the existence of a Creator. Just think how much the above fields, indeed all Fields of scientific study are based on mathematics, on a provable law. How come?

So, I both agree and disagree with you. That being said, mankind, in spite of themselves, will achieve the ultimate potential that the Creator God has planned for them......eventually.....

http://www.thetrumpet.com/print.php?page=book&q=13.6.0.0

Answer 5

The then Christian Roman empire the western half, was attacked and defeated by pagan tribes. The loss of a central government led to the dark ages in western Europe.Combined with global temperature drops.

The eastern Christian half of the empire went on and flourished very well, For a long time in fact they traded and were guarded by the vikings that were plundering western europe. THey had medicine architexture and great power .Until they were Conquered by Islam.

The Greeks had a whole pantheon of Gods and Goddesses.
It was Christianity that lead to the freeing of the working class. The Greeks and Romans had slaves.
The first religion to say that he poor were Equals. master and slave in the same seat. That is the GREATEST HUMAN ADVANCMENT of ALL TIME.
This combined with the reformation and the printing OF BIBLES etc etc
the Printing press,,knolwdge and power to former serfs and slaves. free speach, and the rest of the freedoms you enjoy.
the BILL of Rights and your freedom are a flowering of Christian western thought.
So yes YOU are wrong.

unless slavery is your idea of advancment. Notice all those greek pillars on your plantation house. The idea that work was beneath the upper class is a greek Ideal. So was democracy or an athenian one but democracy for the masters not the slaves.
The Quakers and the shakers they fought against slavery.Very christian To work is to pray.

Its all about HUMAN RIGHTS and without Christian thought we would Not have them. Including your right to disagree.

Answer 6

When you put it that way yes, Chriatians HAVE caused society A LOT of problems over the years, more than what you have written. However it's too bad that people blame God for these problems instead of blaming christians for their bad ideas and mistakes. God and Christians is not the same thing. There have always been people throughout generations and still are who have glorified the name of God, causing much good to society, but there were also many who have carried His name without actually ever knowing Him or being taught by Him.

Answer 7

You are looking at the world solely with a Western mindset. There have been many "golden ages" in many different cultures, and they started and ended for a variety of reasons that had nothing to do with religion, especially not Christianity, since it wasn't even known by those cultures. Also, historically speaking, the glory days of ancient Greece and Europe's Middle Ages are separated by several centuries of the Roman Empire. The dark ages began after Rome fell due to military and economic instability, not religion.

Answer 8

Actually I dont think you got any of your facts correctly and I doubt Christianity is to blame for your lack of knowledge.

Before Christianity they had like 20 Gods for every problem in life. They also approved of sex of men with children. Are you going to say thats a good thing?

Also Middle Ages and Dark Ages are not the same thing. In Italy and Greece there were no dark ages. It was only in Northern Europe that there were very few records written.

So there you go, you are wrong.

Answer 9

No..Actually Technology in Rome and Greece was not innovative..The philosophies and math were. As far as Medicine, rich Romans always wanted an Egyptian doctor..if you read the surviving medical texts..they weren't above blaming gods and bad behaviour for decease. I think the worst thing to fall science was the burning of the library at Alexandria..but that's just my own opinion. After the Fall of Rome, It was Muslim, Jewish and Christian scholars that got Europe out of the Dark Ages.

Answer 10

Religions are the cause of some problems and the source of some good. Yes, it's interfered with critical thought and some scientific inquiry, but has founded great secular universities. Really I don't think the world would be that much different without religion. As to all of the wars and conflicts started by religions, people would probably find something else to fight about. We are a species characterized by both love and aggression.