The increasingly popular sociological perspective of Christianity is now very noticeable and alarming: many frustrated/angered non-believers and atheists hold that “Christianity is evil.” In the last several decades, we have actually seen growing hostility towards Christianity, true for millions around the world, but especially in the West and the Middle East. Christianity is frequently judged as an overbearing imperialist moral system that seeks to strip cultures of their right to define themselves as seen in the following occasions:
· Crusades
· Inquisitions
· Western Catholic/Protestant nation’s imperialism in the colonial era
· Any connection between the church and the state that produced bad policies for people (although the connection is not particularly immoral)
· Catholic/Protestant fights in Ireland
· Catholic priests sex abuse scandals
· Intolerant Evangelical/Fundamental critics of others lifestyles
Thus, this sociological/historical take on the nature of Christianity is, if accurate, eye-opening to the Christian. The proponents of this view claim that because our generation is concerned with historical fact – history, societies, cultures – and not philosophy, Christian arguments about the existence of God and stories from the Bible only further exacerbate the problems latent within the imposing inflexible Christian worldview.
Although painting with a broad brush, this sociological perspective is embraced by many non-believers. So now, merging with popular expression, the New Atheists also argue that Christianity is evil – just look at what Christianity has done and still does to us! If evil occurred/occurs by way of Christianity, then Christianity must be evil! What is the Christian response to this? Are we immoral irrational people? Do they know and obey “good” and we don’t?
Join Jeremy Livermore, Harry Edwards, and Steve Tsai as we respond to this sociological historical account of the nature of Christianity. (Also see chapter 8 of God is Good & God is Great by Chad & Meister)”
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