The Myths of Christian History
There are some claims about Christianity that continue to make their way into popular books, movies, and TV, but are simply not true. For example, the Gospels were written too long after Jesus. Or that early Christianity was progressive. Or that Christianity was spread by force. Or that the Church was anti-science and brought on the Dark Ages.
According to the Apostle Paul, Christians should be ready to speak the truth at all times. The Apostle Peter exhorts believers to be ready with an answer when asked about the hope that should define our lives. Though the task of “defending the faith” may seem overwhelming, there have never been more resources available to Christians than right now. And, of course, Christ fulfilled his promise to give the Holy Spirit.
We have every good reason to trust the four Gospels as reliable sources of information about who Jesus was and what He taught. The scholarship on the Gospels is extensive. A great place to start are the books of J. Warner Wallace, especially Cold Case Christianity and Person of Interest. Also, Dethroning Jesus by Darrell Bock and Daniel Wallace refutes the revisionist view of Christ as only a political reformer or mystic.
Or consider the claim that early Christianity was basically a new-agey religion until a group of men changed it in a bid to establish their power. No. As Alister McGrath put it in his book, Heresy, the central tenets of the Christian faith were established from the beginning and not in dispute:
Christian writers were perfectly aware that the death and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth had transformed the human situation; their task was to explore patiently and thoroughly every conceivable way of making sense of this.
Also consider that the earliest documents from the apostles all warned against false doctrine. When false teachers did propose ideas outside of the faith, the Christian community rejected them based on “rules of faith” that formed the basis of the first creeds.
The idea that Christianity spread by force also doesn’t hold up. After all, for its first three centuries, it was illegal. When Christianity became more tolerated in the Roman Empire, the problem wasn’t conversions by sword but too many people joining up because it was the new, shiny religion. Besides, as Rodney Stark argued in The Triumph of Christianity, the Church spread widely in Asia, outside of any political protection, for centuries before Islam persecuted it into a tiny minority. Today, arguably the strongest parts of the Church are in places like Africa, South America, and East Asia, generations after colonialism came to its end.
Instead of being a culturally imperialist force, Christianity became the first truly global religion. Much of its success is its adaptability. Rather than imposing culture, like Islam does, Christianity was able to adapt to various customs and languages.
And the claim that Christianity caused the Dark Ages is a zombie idea that only lives with popular-level skeptics. It is difficult to find a decent historian anymore who believes there was a Dark Ages. In reality, the “Dark Ages” was an innovation by Renaissance and Enlightenment scholars to elevate their own eras. Far from suppressing intellectual development, the Church was at the forefront of literacy, scholarship, and scientific innovation. Universities and hospitals were birthed from cathedrals and monasteries. And the Scientific and Industrial Revolutions wouldn’t exist without first the centuries of Christian meditation on the personal God who created an orderly universe.
While refuting these claims does not necessarily prove that Christianity is true, we should not allow these myths to stand unchallenged. Believers should speak of our Savior, the Bible, and our faith with the confidence of both objective truth and a changed life. And unbelievers should know what it is they are not believing in, rather than basing their unbelief in falsehoods.
Photo Credit: ©iStock/Getty Images Plus/krisanapong detraphiphat
John Stonestreet is President of the Colson Center for Christian Worldview, and radio host of BreakPoint, a daily national radio program providing thought-provoking commentaries on current events and life issues from a biblical worldview. John holds degrees from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (IL) and Bryan College (TN), and is the co-author of Making Sense of Your World: A Biblical Worldview.
The views expressed in this commentary do not necessarily reflect those of CrosswalkHeadlines.
BreakPoint is a program of the Colson Center for Christian Worldview. BreakPoint commentaries offer incisive content people can't find anywhere else; content that cuts through the fog of relativism and the news cycle with truth and compassion. Founded by Chuck Colson (1931 – 2012) in 1991 as a daily radio broadcast, BreakPoint provides a Christian perspective on today's news and trends. Today, you can get it in written and a variety of audio formats: on the web, the radio, or your favorite podcast app on the go.
