Religion is evil
Christianity is a religion
Therefore Christianity is evil

This seems to be the logic offered in the recent books attacking theism or belief in God. The error in logic should be obvious. The major premise that religion is evil is a product of generalization from the worst examples and the coloring of all forms of religious expression with the same brush. Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens want to take suicide bombers as the religious proto-type and infer from their behavior that all religions are equally evil. In the interest of fairness, I must admit that they attempt to provide historical documentation for characterizing Christianity as evil.

Dawkins especially is fond of illustrating the evils of Christianity by appealing to examples that the vast majority of Christians would view as extreme distortions of the Christian faith.
Dawkins produced a television documentary ROOT OF ALL EVIL and in it he interviews "Christians" He acknowledges that he has come under criticism for interviewing those that many Christians would label extremists. He responds to his critics with the following: "It sounds like a fair criticism--except that, in early 21st-century America, what seems extreme to the outside world is actually mainstream". One of his interviewees is "Pastor Keenan Roberts" who operates "Hell houses". In a hell house actors play abortionists and homosexuals. A scarlet-clad devil is present. Sulphurous smells and burning limestone are accompanied by agonizing screams of the forever damned. I know nothing of these Hell Houses except what Dawkins describes, but I wonder how many normal Christian families send their children to enjoy this experience. Call me stupid, but I doubt that most Christians would call this typical of most Christians or churches. Yet its from these kind of practices that Dawkins and others draw their conclusions about Christians in general.

When they do provide substantial reasons for labeling Christianity as evil, it usually is based upon the crusades, the spanish iquisition, the Salem witch trials, the treatment of native Americans and discriminatio against women and homosexuals. Of course slavery is also blamed on Christians. With such a shotgun approach, the hope is that some will stick.

To adequately address all of these issues would require a book rather than a blog, but I will try to address a few of their most common examples of corrupt, evil Christianity.

First, I nor any other writer would try to defend all that's been done in the name of Christ. Even in the first century, the writers of scripture point out that at that time much was being done in the name of Christ that deserved to be denounced not only by critics of Christians, but by Christians themselves. Read 2 Peter chapter 2 and the book of Jude. One thing the Bible makes clear is that we remain sinners even after becoming Christians and therefore, not all that we do brings honor to God or expresses the will of God as taught in scripture.

Second, the evils done by christendom have often been exaggerated. While we would never defend the crusade carried on by the Catholic church, nor the Spanish inquisition or witch trials, still the number killed in these combined efforts were far less than are often quoted in the writings of critics of Christianity. For instance Gore Vidal, the well known atheist, wrote that "more people have been killed in the name of Jesus Christ than any other name in the history of the world." For an effective rebuttal of such unwarranted hyperbole, one should read CHRISTIANITY ON TRIAL by Carroll and Shiflett.

The bloodiest century on record was not characterized by religious wars, but millions died at the hands of atheists. Communism killed as many as 100 million people. Hitler who was by no stretch of the imagination a dedicated Christian, was just as deadly, but his reign of terror was shorter lived. The fact is that war seems to be typical rather than exceptional in the history of humanity. Some religions have without question fostered war, but I would argue that Christian initiation of war has been the exception and that Christianity is better known for peace than war.

Read the Koran and then read the New Testament. Do they sound alike when it comes to fighting to promote their religion? Jesus said "my kingdom is not of this world, if it were my servants would fight". He told Peter to put his sword up. Wars of the Old Testament deserve discussion, but since atheists want to criticize Christians then they must consider the teachings of Jesus. It wasn't until about AD 175 that we have any historical data confirming a Christian becoming a soldier for the Roman Empire. It wasn't until about 400 that Augustine presented an argument supporting Christians participation in warfare and only if the war could pass a number of criteria that would classify it as a just war. Does the world have more hope from a leader who is called "the Prince of Peace" or from a leader such as the atheist Karl Marx who called for revolution. The evidence is overwhelming in favor of Christianity.

Just as the works of Dawkins, Hitchens and Harris exaggerate the evil done by Christianity, they minimize or hardly mention at all the good done by Christians. How many atheist organizations were at the forefront of efforts to relieve the suffering of the victims of Katrina? Churches sent trucks with food and clothing from all over the country. Christians went to New Orleans by the hundreds to help distribute relief and rebuild the city. Churches and Christian families opened their doors to vicitims of the catastrophe. I don't remember reading about atheist organizations and families participating in this relief effort. I'm sure there were some who did, but my point is that it is the calling of Christians to do so. Who were those who volunteered to work in leper colonies, Christians. Who led the way in building hospitals, Christians. Today one third of all hospitals in America are operated by Catholics. Baptists, Mehodists, Presbyterians and others have been a part of the effort to provide health care to neighbors, friends, and fellow Americans. Exactly how many hospitals have been built by atheists?

God told His people that His name would at times be blasphemed because of their behavior(cf. Rom. 2:17ff). Some of the criticism of Christianity is understandable because Christians are sinners, but when put in perspective, Christianity is not the terrible evil atheists would have us believe that it is. A balanced perspective would admit our wrongs, but critics who are honest with the evidence would have to admit that no movement has brought more good to the world in the last 2000 years than Christianity and Christians.