Christianity is NOT the oppressive political religion of the DARK AGES

Jesus was the most kind, loving, peaceful and compassionate person that has ever lived. He was also a person that spoke out against worldly authorities. So how could Christianity turn into a political power that oppressed and killed people for over a thousand years? If you just open and read the Bible, it’s pretty clear that this was not what Jesus intended. That it’s not something that Jesus approves of.

One explanation is of course that almost no one, except a very small religious elite, could open and read the Bible at the time when this took place. That fallen humans in a fallen world decided to use their monopoly on biblical truth for their own gains. Many undoubtedly didn’t understand that this was what they were doing. Because the capacity for self-deception, especially among intellectuals, is endless.

Christianity was first adopted as a state religion by Armenia 301 A.D. But it was because of the emperor Constantine and the Roman empire that Christianity got a foothold as a political religion. 

As far as I’m concerned, it’s obvious that turning Christianity into a political religion went directly against the message of Jesus and the word of God. Instead of being a force for peace and liberation, it became the opposite: a force for violence and oppression. Anyone that opens the Bible and reads about Jesus will see how totally incompatible this is with what he stood for. “…the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32) is one of the most famous Jesus quotes from the Bible. If we instead get tyranny and oppression, can it really be the truth that Jesus talked about?

This does not mean that I believe that Catholicism today is bad. I neither find Catholicism nor Protestantism all bad or all good. The Catholics that I’ve met or know of seem to be good people and there are many things that I appreciate about Catholicism. Among many other things, I appreciate the colorful liturgy of Catholicism, that speak much more to the emotions than the one in protestantism. I think that this fills a deep need within humans. We need to have our emotions stirred in one way or another to keep our faith alive. This can often come from within, but there is no guarantee that it does. 

I also think that the institutionalized confession of sins fills an important function. This is because something happens to us when we tell someone about our wrongdoings. And the knowledge that we eventually will have to tell someone about our actions is a powerful deterrent for many of us. Not all of us, since some seem to use confession as a license to sin. But even though I have no proof of this, I would bet such a person would sin no matter what.

Catholicism has also, even in the Middle Ages, given birth to many wonderful theologians and mystics, such as Thomas Aquinas and Julian of Norwich. 

But what is most relevant for this discussion, is that I believe that in spite of the medieval corruption, God in the end managed to turn the corruption into something good. On many levels. In fact, God turning something evil into good is a core theme of the Bible. All the way from the initial corruption, to Jesus’ death on the cross, to when he will come back to finally make everything right forever. 

This does not mean that I condone the horrors that have been done in the name of religion. Neither do I believe that it somehow was necessary. What I believe that this has to do with, is our free will and the fact that we live in a fallen world. Now please bear with me, because this will be a somewhat lengthy discussion. I hope that I can tie it all together towards the end, in a way that is not entirely unsatisfying.

The kind of Christianity that needs manipulation and coercion to flourish is not true Christianity. From a secular perspective it would make sense that in order to grow, Christianity needs worldly powers. From a secular perspective you either have to argue, manipulate or coerce if you want others to adopt your message. But Christianity, true Christianity, needs only its truth to carry it. 

Why am I saying that Christianity only needs its truth to carry it? I’ve studied many religious teachings throughout my life. But it’s only the message of Christ, understood correctly, that has never failed to lead me where I want to go. Many other teachings seem more reasonable on the surface. But when scrutinized and applied to real life, they fall apart. And I’ve seen this in so many other people. But it’s hard to admit to oneself that something that we’ve put much time and energy into haven’t given the results that we’ve hoped for. 

When it comes to the Bible it’s the other way around. What on the surface might seem unreasonable, reveals its correctness when it’s studied more carefully, understood and applied. This is something that I will come back to over and over again. The need to understand the Bible in light of what Jesus taught and stood for. How it is undeniably clear that this is the way the Bible is intended to be understood. And that the Bible cannot be blamed when people choose to view it differently. Even though they should, and often do, know better.

In this context I feel the need to mention something. Namely that the Bible is a book whose message is continually being revealed. It contains numerous passages whose meaning no one fully understands yet. But I believe that we are living in times where much that was priorly hidden is about to be revealed.

Furthermore, the Bible has never failed to provide a correct analysis of the state of the world and of our existences as human beings. Furthermore, Christianity, true Christianity as it is taught by Jesus, works. It creates a change in people’s hearts that leads to peace, prosperity, humility, kindness and so on. When people understand the core truths of the message of Jesus and take them to heart, they cannot avoid becoming better people.

This is the intellectual “why?” when it comes to my beliefs. At least part of it.

Christianity is the only teaching that has offered me true peace, joy and hope in my, for the majority of my time here on earth, rather chaotic life. It has offered meaning and a sense of coherence. This is something that I especially value in the times of chaos and fragmentation that we are living in right now. It offers a hope and meaning that I truly feel that I can rely upon no matter how dark the world gets. No matter what happens to me on a personal level.

This is part of my emotional “why?”. 

I’ve had an abundance of personal experiences that have pointed towards its truth. I’m not going to elaborate on this. But if I call this the spiritual “why?”, you might get a clue of what I’m talking about. I believe that, in the times that we are living in, this side will become more prevalent among more and more people. Because Christianity was never meant as a set of rules to be followed. It was meant to come alive on the inside. And when it does, we will find many reasons to believe that are just meant for us. As the world grows darker, more and more people will find that a light is growing within them.

My point is that I’ve been so thoroughly convinced of the message of the Bible, that I have to simply accept the parts that I cannot comprehend. This is something that I feel called to share so that others may also see and understand the things that I have seen and understood. See and understand that God has something infinitely more valuable to give you, than what our fallen, broken world has to offer.

Among the things that I cannot comprehend is the fall. Some time in the past the world fell. And for some reason God could not just snap his fingers and restore the world to the state before the fall. For some reason, this restoration had to take time. And for some reason it had to be centered around Jesus’ death on the cross. For some reason this death had to happen to atone for the sins of humanity. So, it’s pretty clear how this plays out and why on one level. But why did it have to happen in this particular way? Why couldn’t God, who is almighty, just restore the world without all the may years of death and suffering? I don’t know. But I do know a few things. I know that my intellect is limited, while God’s is unlimited. I know that which I stated in the prior discussion. I know it to such a degree that I’m willing to bet my life on it. I know that I don’t have to understand everything. And I have humility enough to admit that just because I cannot understand something does not mean that it cannot be true. 

I know that the last paragraph is not a popular one in this era of intellectual pride, where we feel that the human intellect must be able comprehend everything. That referring to the limits of human reasoning is often seen as a cop-out. But what else can you say when you cannot understand the logic of the most central pieces of a puzzle, where all of the pieces fit together in an undeniable way?

All of these things taken together amount, for me, to the necessity of taking a leap of faith. A leap of faith with regard to the things that I don’t understand. To put my trust in Jesus and that he was exactly the person that the Bible says that he was. And that he did exactly what the Bible says that he did. 

What I want to say with the rather lengthy discussion, is that none of it rules out that God used a faulty institution in service of a higher good. It also does not mean that things couldn’t have played out another way. On the contrary, if we add free will into the equation, things could have probably played out in an infinite number of ways. What cannot be altered is just the end goal of God’s plan. It is written out in clear language in the Book of Revelation. And the signs of the end is drawing near (wars, rumors of war, famine, godlessness, idolatry, rampant sexual immorality, a legion of false prophets, the rise of a one satanic world government etcetera) are written out clearly in that book. And in the gospels and letters of the New Testament. But in the end “God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away (Revelation 21:4).

The discussion above does also in no way give legitimacy to the actions of the corrupt institution. That God can use evil to do good does not make evil good. But free will in a fallen world implies corruption, power hunger, greed and all of the other human vices that plague the our lives today. 

If you’ve understood the discussion of this post, how can you blame Christianity for the evils that has been done in its name? The Bible and Jesus are central to the whole of the Christian faith. Nothing that runs contrary to the Bible, as understood through Jesus, can be true Christianity. This is not some arbitrary standard. This is the foundation that the whole of Christianity rests on.

If actions taken in the name of Christian faith blatantly run contrary to the message of Jesus and the Bible, how can they be seen as expressions of true Christianity? Christianity has grown ever more peaceful, as its message has become more and more known to more and more people. Let me repeat and rephrase this: The more people learn what the Bible actually says, the better its fruits become. And when we try to understand what the Bible actually says, we always need to start with the life and message of Jesus. This is important. All of the rest of scripture has to be read using Jesus as a lense. This is so abundantly clear that a child can understand it. And if Jesus wouldn’t have approved of something done in his name, it clearly cannot be true Christianity.