The Dark Side of Christian History


Book Description

By denying evil we do harm. By denying darkness we obscure the light. Over a period of almost two millennia, the Christian Church has oppressed and brutalized millions of individuals in an attempt to control and contain spirituality. The Dark Side of Christian History reveals in painstaking detail the tragedies, sorrows and injustices inflicted upon humanity by the Church. This expose is a compelling and passionate cry for human dignity and spiritual freedom. Book jacket.




A History of Catholic Antisemitism


Book Description

Moving from the Catholic Church's pagan origins, through the Roman era, middle ages, and Reformation to the present, Robert Michael here provides a definitive history of Catholic antisemitism.




The Dark Side of the Purpose Driven Church


Book Description

Without doubt, the Purpose Driven Church has become a tremendous force in the world, but Noah Hutchings sees a dark side to this force. The Purpose Driven Church religion at best is a distortion of the gospel; at worst, a movement to unite all religions to produce a one-world church. - back cover




A People's History of Christianity


Book Description

For too long, the history of Christianity has been told as the triumph of orthodox doctrine imposed through power and hierarchy. In A People's History of Christianity, historian and religion expert Diana Butler Bass reveals an alternate history that includes a deep social ethic and far-reaching inclusivity: "the other side of the story" is not a modern phenomenon, but has always been practiced within the church. Butler Bass persuasively argues that corrective—even subversive—beliefs and practices have always been hallmarks of Christianity and are necessary to nourish communities of faith. In the same spirit as Howard Zinn's groundbreaking work The People's History of the United States, Butler Bass's A People's History of Christianity brings to life the movements, personalities, and spiritual disciplines that have always informed and ignited Christian worship and social activism. A People's History of Christianity authenticates the vital, emerging Christian movements of our time, providing the historical evidence that celebrates these movements as thoroughly Christian and faithful to the mission and message of Jesus.




Vicars of Christ


Book Description




The Evil That Men Do


Book Description

This book considers the Church's past failings and fills a gap in our understanding of what it means to be a Christian in the twenty-first century.




The Dark Side of Catholicism


Book Description

The book you are about to read is a compilation from many sources. It is not an indictment of Catholics as individuals but on the role of the papacy down through the ages as she (mis)guided the faithful deliberately or unknowingly in the path of (un)righteousness. As one living in a predominantly Catholic country, most of my friends and acquaintances are Catholics and many of them are ignorant of the unbiblical practices being taught by the magisterium. The fear imposed upon the faithful regarding conversation with other groups of Christians and the reading of books written by them makes it almost impossible reach them. Behind the many traditional practices are untold stories of lies and deceits whose only purpose was to lead the faithful astray. Salvation is given to those who trust in the saving grace of God through the acceptance of Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior when He died on the cross to save us from our sins. It is not by joining a church as Roman Catholic Church and other churches have taught. Many Catholics are not aware that they are being fed with beliefs and practices unsanctioned by God. Some of them are just plain heresy that could easily sway the undiscerning faithful as they follow unquestionably the teachings imposed on them. Many Catholics given an opportunity to hear the gospel preached by orthodox Protestants find new understanding and often turn away from the Catholic faith. The Bible contains everything necessary to save souls without going through rituals as imposed by the Church. The Church even goes on to add new doctrines that are contrary to the Bible. The faithful are taught other elaborate ways which they need to do to gain salvation contrary to the simple truth taught by Jesus. Most Catholics have no idea of how their religion has slowly developed from true orthodox Christianity based on the Bible into a religion that has some resemblance to the Bible teachings yet on closer study turns out to be quite different. This is because the Bible, especially the New Testament, had been deliberately distorted, extended, omitted, perverted, twisted and/or misinterpreted to make them mean whatever the Pope wants them to mean. She also refuses to accept and mend her ways in the light of a better understanding of the Bible. By proclaiming herself infallible, she puts herself into a bind that she cannot get out of. Now she is forced to continue the charade unmindful of the effects on the souls of the faithful. In all regions where she predominates, as she did during the Middle Ages, she is able to impose her will not only on her own faithful, but also on all others that refuse to adhere to her teachings. The Church is intolerant of anyone writing about her history and wrongdoings. History has shown that she will through great lengths to suppress anything that remotely resembles anything written against her. Even in tbis age of openness and free information, she finds it difficult to be enlightened to allow all views especially on the very important matter of individual salvation.




The Jihad of Jesus


Book Description

We are caught up in the cycle of so-called "holy wars." In The Jihad of Jesus, Dave Andrews argues that while this inter-communal conflict is endemic, it is not inevitable. Depending on our understanding, our religions can be either a source of escalating conflict or a resource for overcoming inter-communal conflict; and for our religions to be a resource for overcoming conflict, we need to understand the heart of all true religion as open-hearted compassionate spirituality. In the light of an open-hearted compassionate spirituality, we can reclaim the word "jihad" from extremists who have (mis)appropriated it as a call to "holy war," and reframe it, in truly Qur'anic terms, as a "sacred nonviolent struggle for justice"; and we can reconsider Jesus, as he is in the Gospels, not as a poster boy for Christians fighting crusades against Muslims, but as "a strong-but-gentle Messianic figure" who can bring Christians and Muslims together. As this book shows, many Christians and Muslims have found Isa (Jesus) and the Bismillah (celebrating the mercy, grace, and compassion of God) as common ground upon which they can stand and work for the common good. The Jihad of Jesus is a handbook for reconciliation and action: a do-it-yourself guide for all Christians and Muslims who want to move beyond the "clash of civilizations," join the jihad of Jesus, and struggle for justice and peace nonviolently side by side.




Shattering the Christian Looking Glass


Book Description

Shattering the Christian Looking Glass dismembers the towering edifice of Catholic dogma. Short, highly readable, but immensely powerful, Shattering challenges the Church to defend its dogma and the Church's legitimacy.




A Corrupt Tree: An Encyclopaedia of Crimes committed by the Church of Rome against Humanity and the Human Spirit


Book Description

‘A Corrupt Tree’ is a unique, extensively researched, four volume exposé of the dark side of the Church of Rome. It reveals that for nearly two thousand years the Church’s fundamental characteristic has been its self-serving abuse of religio-corporate power. A large proportion of this first volume provides a detailed catalogue of the multitude of unholy popes. Included, are those who were immature, capricious, corrupt, lascivious, fanatical, senile, truly mad, megalomanic, tyrannical, murderous, and wholesale killers. It confirms that for many, many centuries the popes were corrupt, cruel, inhumane, and despotic. In an age of savagery they were the leaders in barbarity; in the subsequent age of enlightenment they have persistently resisted the march of progress. Additionally, the popes were wholesale killers who ‘made the principle of assassination a law of the Christian Church.’ Accordingly, the Church ‘has shed more innocent blood than any other institution that has ever existed among mankind.’ Here also are presented the cupidity, corruption, and sexual misconducts of lesser ecclesiastics, including cardinals, bishops, priests, monks and nuns. Pope Honorius III, for example, described his priests as ‘worse than beasts wallowing in their dung.’ The Church’s ruthless stranglehold on knowledge and learning is catalogued in detail. Mathematics, philosophy and science were repressed. Selected, applied theology ruled the world. ‘Everything was explained, but nothing was understood.’ The chapters on censorship reveal that even works of considerable literary or philosophical merit did not escape. A large number of writings which eventually became classics of European culture were condemned and prohibited. The Church also exhibited a vitriolic hatred of those who translated the Bible into the vernacular. Many of these men were annihilated. Holy books were burned in large numbers ‒ particularly the Jewish Talmud. It is clearly demonstrated that the Church held back civilisation for over fifteen hundred years. ‘Century after century passed away, and left the peasantry but little better than the cattle in the fields.’ Finally, the unholy behaviours of the numerous popes, cardinals, and lesser ecclesiastics are shown to establish, unequivocally, that the Church of Rome is neither holy nor apostolic. The ultimate message of these volumes is that to become an exemplary institution, and to play a truly humane role in the world’s future, the Catholic Church must change.