THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH?

By JOSEPH HARRIS

I just read a news item about the Christian church repenting of its sins, atrocities, and overall anti-Semitism against the Jewish people on Holocaust Day in Israel. The Holocaust in this past century and other horrible crimes and sins against Jewish people for the past 2000 years are  terrible and not to be minimized in any way, so apologies are certainly in order. However, the ones doing the apologizing in the article gave the impression they were officially speaking for all of Christendom.

The hard truth is, to my knowledge, no true, Christian New Testament church has ever led or followed in the persecution or slaughter of the Jews, "Heretics," or any group that disagreed with them in doctrine or practice. What is considered to be the Christian Church of antiquity by the media and society, is at best, an apostate institution known as Roman Catholicism. The Christians on Holocaust Day apologized mainly for the Spanish Inquisition, the Crusades and the anti-Semitic writings of Martin Luther.

Of course, the first two mentioned, the Inquisition and the Crusades, were contrived and carried out by the Catholic Institution. Martin Luther, a former Catholic, came into the light of salvation, thank God, but just didn’t come far enough in all doctrines. He also carried over with him a view of intolerance and persecution against those who didn’t agree with him, as did John Calvin, John Knox and some other great men of the Reformation.

True New Testament Bible churches, which have always existed since Christ, do not have a history of forcing their beliefs on those who disagreed with them, nor did they persecute, torture and kill their opposers. They simply preached and lived the Bible. According to church history, true Bible believers were the ones usually persecuted, along with Jews who have always been persecuted.

Again, the point is, true Biblical Christianity did not harass, harangue and hang those who differed. They prayed for them and preached to them. That’s the Christian way. I will give credit where it is due though: the Pope himself did earlier apologize for these sins committed by his church. Let’s just don’t let the line of demarcation that has been drawn be erased. True Biblical Christianity existed long before Catholicism and the Reformation and was guided by the love and longsuffering of Christ.

Now, don’t get mad because I’ve called names. This is not about specific Catholic people, but about the historical actions and practices of the Catholic institution which is  verified in the history books.  I don’t hate anyone nor am I persecuting anyone.  You can do only one of  two things with the truth of history: (1) choose to believe it, or (2) choose to not believe it, but you can never change it. Thanks Dr. Gerald Kellar for teaching to me the true history of Christianity.

 

Joseph Harris is the Vice President of Southeastern Baptist College in Laurel, MS. (This article may be reprinted in whole, as long as the name Joseph Harris and

www.miniedition.net also appear)