What’s So Great About Christianity, Chapters 18,19

This class covers section VI of D’Souza’s book, titled “Christianity and Suffering”. In this section, D’Souza reviews authors that suggest the Christianity is a force for war and evil. His conclusion is that while there has certainly been evil acts committed in the name of Christianity, Christian led regimes do not reach the level of evil that those let by atheist leaders. In this class Pastor Dan reviews two infamous events in Christian history – the Crusades and the Spanish Inquisition – and the motivations for these actions. He also briefly discusses three mass murder events in world history: Stalinist Russia, the Chinese Cultural Revolution and Mao Zedong, and Hitler’s persecution of the Jews. Pastor Dan sums this section up by repeating a quote from the Russian author Dostoevesky – “If there is no God, everything is permitted”. The practical role of the church in society is to teach values and prevent evil from taking over.