“Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain.” Philippians 2:14-16
It is often hard to distinguish whether a thing is good or bad. Sometimes things develop and become a double-edged sword that cuts both ways. This is especially true of political and economic events. Often some people are enriched by the implementation of a certain policy while others are hurt by the same development. Throughout history there have been paradigm shifts in the workings of the world which had far reaching effects on masses of people, many times leaving the estimation of their value blurry. In this article, we want to look at the most impactful event in human history and determine if it is a blessing to humanity, or a curse. That event is the life of Jesus of Nazareth and the religion He established, Christianity.
Critics claim Christianity is a curse to society. This sentiment is growing at an alarming rate as more and more people buy the naturalistic philosophy peddled as “science.” The argument is that the Christian religion is stuck in the ancient past and impedes the progress of humanity. It is also argued that Christianity promotes violence, hatefulness, and oppression. Events such as the European Conquests, Spanish Inquisitions, and attempts to justify slavery from Scriptures like Ephesians 6:5-8, Colossians 3:22, and 1 Peter 2:18-20 are held up as proof of Christianity’s evil. Male spiritual leadership is held up as proof of misogyny in the Bible (cf. Ephesians 5:22-24; Colossians 3:18-19; 1 Peter 3:1-6). On the surface, these arguments seem to be valid when you look at all the atrocities perpetrated in the name of “Christianity.” Also cited is the often harsh and hurtful rhetoric of many who claim to represent the Christ. The trouble is, though many people have claimed to do such things in His name, Jesus was fundamentally opposed to all the above. These atrocities were fueled only by human perversions of the Scriptures and not by any true teaching in Scripture. As we will see, Jesus taught a completely different ethic.
Ideas such as the equal value of all people whether they be men or women, children or the elderly, rich or poor, black or white and every color in between are thoroughly Christian. These ideas were revolutionary in their time and would have been at any point in history prior to Christ and His apostles. In the ancient world women were beneath men, children were distained as pests, the poor were looked down upon by the rich, the rich (even the benevolent) were hated by the poor, the Jew hated the Gentile and vice versa, the Greek hated the barbarian (all non-Greeks), and the list could go on. I hope you will take a few minutes to examine this sampling of the true New Testament teaching on these things (on children-Matthew 18:1-6; on women- Galatians 3:26-29; Ephesians 5:25-33; on rich and poor James 1:9-11; 1 Timothy 6:17-19; on ethnic equality- Romans 1:14; 1 Corinthians 9:19-22; Galatians 3:26-29; Isaiah 2:1-4; Acts 8:26-39; on gracious speech- Ephesians 4:15; Colossians 4:5-6).
From this analysis, we learn that the real problem is not Christianity, but it is evil men doing evil things and falsely claiming to do so in the name of Christianity. Let us not throw the baby out with the bathwater. Genuine, New Testament Christianity is pure, peaceable, and healthy for all who are influenced and affected by it (James 3:13-18). May we strive daily to become more like Christ that the world may see His beauty lived out in our lives.