hinduwoman

I met an American convert to Hinduism. She was a Roman Catholic. But until she was over forty she did not know about the Inquisition or witch trials and how Latin American natives were treated by the Church. When she did so it was such a big shock that she ended up being a Hindu.

That makes me curious. I would have thought she would have learnt such things in school.

So much does the average Christian actually know about the history of Christianity?

cydonia

They only know what the church tells them. Anything uncomfortable is quickly glossed over or explained away, the best thing to do is not even get into that crazy historical stuff. That's where Satan is, in the history and facts and questioning.

general_koffi

Not knowing about the Inquisition or witch/heretic trials is just being criminally ignorant.

It's in popular culture, dammit. The only way you could NOT know is if you don't own a TV or a computer and you never socialise with ANYONE except your church.

It's kind of akin to never having heard of the French Revolution or Apartheid. I'd say the American Revolutionary War too, but surely even the thickest of the thick in America have heard of that...

mindovermyth

(bolded, highlighted by MoM)

No disrespect, this is a very good line.
I am sure there was more to the conversion but the way you expressed it is quite funny (I am a python fan).

Thor Q. Mada

The average xian only knows the short time span described in the bible. They know virtually nothing about the behavior and power wielding of the church as from the alleged birth of jezus till now.
This knowledge should have come to them during the history lessons. Unfortunately history as a subject has been scaled down in the schools and in xian schools of course the history is colored.
Virtually nobody apart from looking at a movie knows the start-up history of the church. How the church was hijacked by the worldly powers and then transformed into an effective instrument of control is not common knowledge.
Almost nobody understands that the grip of the church on learning has caused a 500 year delay in science and technological development.
Most people also don't know about the religious repression of any kind of heretics and the inquisition as the in house gestapo.
Most people don't know that the crusades was a part of history to be ashamed for and not a source of pride.
Most people don't understand that 400 years ago, a cartoon such as the Danish one would have ended anyone of us on the stake.
Have a look a following website.
http://essenes.crosswinds.net/m23.htm

cydonia

What are some movies that deal with the negative history of the church?

Thor Q. Mada

Have a look at the "Kingdom of Heaven". Not too bad. And not too far from reality. And there are a few that deal with Galileo, but I forgot the names.

MarkB4

She bacame a Hindu? Discovering something about injustice and inhumanity done in the name of Christ she then chose Hinduism? So... did she choose to be a Dalit? I hope you made that up. She is your evidence? To suggest that followers of Christ are unaware of history or the atrocities done in the name of Christ is simply wrong. Where do you get this stuff? Please provide some evidence of the followers of Christ who champion the Crusades or who are supportive of the Spanish Inquisition? And please relate such atrocities to the central tenants of Christianity as one might relate Mao's mass killings to the central tenants of atheism. I don't know of any but the most aberant Christians or atheists who would make a case for these things. You are not making an argument - you are making an unfounded accusation.

southernhybrid

What is the average American Xian? Is there really such a person? Xians in this country vary from illiterate, ignorant people who live in isolated areas, and have dropped out of high school to sophisticated urban residents with graduate degrees. I don't really think it's fair to make generalizations about what they might know about the history of the church.

When I was a young Xian, I was aware of much of the dark history of the church but it never really felt like a part of my particular brand of Xianity. The one thing my church never told me was how cruel and immoral John Calvin was. My church was somewhat Calvinistic and they painted a positive picture of that man. It was not until a few years ago, decades after becoming an atheist, that I read the truth about John Calvin. I was amazed and disgusted that any church would identify with that bastard. Why would any church take his ideas and adopt them when he was such an evil person! I doubt that many Calvinistic Xians have a clue about who the man really was.

SkepticBoyLee

I was always just told "It was the Mary worshipping heathen half pagan Catholics not us Protestants".