The Challenge Blog 21

So, in studying abroad I've learned a lot about the history of Christianity.  Between the end of the Bible and the time when Christianity would reach America there are over 1000 years, a lot happened in those years, and a lot of it took place in Europe.

I visited a Church, built in the times of the Roman Empire, and it is still standing today!  But there was something about this church that I found disturbing...  The center of the church had this room, or area, that was stunningly decorated and beautiful, but the average person was not allowed to go inside.  That area, the middle of the church, was reserved for the Bishop and other important people.  That struck me as very very odd...there is no heiarchy in Christianity...when Jesus died, the veil that separated the Holy of Holies (the place where only the priests could go) was torn, meaning everybody had direct access to God.  There should not be a place where only the ''really good'' Christians should be able to go.

But it isn't just that.  Christianity has a rough history.  There are the Crusades, but the Bible says to love our enemies, to love sinners, not kill them.  There was a time in the history of the Church where priests were selling forgiveness???  Grace is free, always, otherwise it isn't grace.  It says that so many times in the Bible.  And then there were all those Catholic/Protestant wars...could people be any more stupid?  Half the prisoners who died in the Tower of London were there because they believed in the ''true Christianity'' whether it was Catholicism or Protestantism.  The Bible clearly says that we should not fight over little differences like that, for some people it is ok to eat unclean food, not for others, so love eachother, be understanding and try not to lead your Christian brothers and sisters into temptation.

But I've figured it out.  I know why Christianity got so off track = illiteracy.  The people couldn't read for themselves what the Bible said, they had to trust the religious leaders to tell them.  It's like playing telephone for hundreds of years, the story is bound to change.  If the people could have read God's Word for themselves, maybe they would have seen what was going on, maybe history would have been different.

So that brings us to today...when we are literate, educated, and probably each own a Bible, or two, or three, I think I have five or six actually.

But how much do we read them?  We are so privelaged to be able to study God's Word for ourselves...we are so blessed...

So that is the challenge:  Let's prevent history from repeating itself by knowing what we believe and why we believe it.  Let's commit to read, whether it be everyday or every week.  The horrors that the church has commit in Europe are unbelievable, and should never happen again, this is serious business, let's get serious about our faith!