I think David Bentley Hart makes a similar argument in his "Atheist Delusion," albeit coming from an Orthodox perspective.
Ehrman is an interesting case; despite being an unbeliever, some of his work, like his argument for the existence of a historical Jesus, cuts against the expectations of the materialist fundamentalists he's often lumped with. Will have to check out this new book.
The institutional churches of this world are inevitably products of this world, and that means accruing power. Power attracts creeps. So it's not surprising that many of these organizations are plagued by the same sort of evils that infiltrate any institution.
I had the pleasure (?) of playing "Bad Dudes" again recently, but I'm said to say apart from that cut screen it didn't hold up, for me, anyway. Christ, on the other hand, abides.
It's true, and it also seems that power can turn decent people into creeps, even if maybe they weren't creeps to begin with. We should be more on guard against that. I'm sorry to hear about Bad Dudes. Did you play the arcade version or a console version? I always found the console iteration to be very disappointing compared to the machine I'd visit at the boardwalk arcade down in Ocean City.
I really like Bart Ehrman's work. I've read Misquoting Jesus and Heaven & Hell. While I appreciate the arguments and criticisms of "outsiders," I've always valued the honest assessments of Christianity by those who are/were intimately a part of the community. Ehrman has some great video series as well.
Jesus and John Wayne by Kristin Kobes Du Mez is also a really great look at how Christianity was coopted for political gain in the US and how it got enmeshed in some of the parts of our culture.
Strange, though, to think that if the Roman Empire didn't recognize (co-opt? exploit?) the unifying value of Christianity, the religion would probably not have spread around the globe the way it did. It probably would have gone the way of Zoroastrianism. Also, I think you allude to the fact that Christianity was shaped hugely by the letters of that Roman citizen, Paul, as opposed to the second/3rd/nth-hand gospel testaments we have.
Religions always seem to be more of a reflection of the societies and sub-groups that practice them rather than any sort of orthodox, unchanging, unadulterated artifact. While it was not flawed people espousing Christian beliefs that pushed me out, I certainly don't miss the level of explanation and equivocating that was necessary when I claimed to be one of them.
Thanks for reading Paul and yes I believe Ehrman deals with the influence of the Roman Empire, though I think he suggests that Christianity kind of grew up from the masses and was adopted by the Empire rather than being handed down from the Empire to the people, at least to begin with. I really loved Jesus and John Wayne and how she dispassionately yet brutally exposes how politics and patriarchal thinking have corrupted American Christianity in particular, which as you point out is very much a reflection of American Values like freedom, family, and individualism that you'd be hard-pressed to find stressed in the teachings of Jesus. I hate to see people throw Jesus' teachings out with the American Evangelical bathwater, so to speak.
Good article. If Christian teaching states as a pillar of belief that Man is hopelessly corrupt, why do we lament that people who work in service of the Christian churches are often exposed as corrupt? It's a gotcha conceived by the godless. Don't fall for it.
I think David Bentley Hart makes a similar argument in his "Atheist Delusion," albeit coming from an Orthodox perspective.
Ehrman is an interesting case; despite being an unbeliever, some of his work, like his argument for the existence of a historical Jesus, cuts against the expectations of the materialist fundamentalists he's often lumped with. Will have to check out this new book.
The institutional churches of this world are inevitably products of this world, and that means accruing power. Power attracts creeps. So it's not surprising that many of these organizations are plagued by the same sort of evils that infiltrate any institution.
I had the pleasure (?) of playing "Bad Dudes" again recently, but I'm said to say apart from that cut screen it didn't hold up, for me, anyway. Christ, on the other hand, abides.
It's true, and it also seems that power can turn decent people into creeps, even if maybe they weren't creeps to begin with. We should be more on guard against that. I'm sorry to hear about Bad Dudes. Did you play the arcade version or a console version? I always found the console iteration to be very disappointing compared to the machine I'd visit at the boardwalk arcade down in Ocean City.
The arcade one, believe it or not! Bad Dudes reigns in my imagination, but was, to me, less compelling when you actually play it.
Ah that's disappointing but not surprising. Sometimes the sweet tinge of nostalgia should not be disturbed.
Nice piece, Jon!
I really like Bart Ehrman's work. I've read Misquoting Jesus and Heaven & Hell. While I appreciate the arguments and criticisms of "outsiders," I've always valued the honest assessments of Christianity by those who are/were intimately a part of the community. Ehrman has some great video series as well.
Jesus and John Wayne by Kristin Kobes Du Mez is also a really great look at how Christianity was coopted for political gain in the US and how it got enmeshed in some of the parts of our culture.
Strange, though, to think that if the Roman Empire didn't recognize (co-opt? exploit?) the unifying value of Christianity, the religion would probably not have spread around the globe the way it did. It probably would have gone the way of Zoroastrianism. Also, I think you allude to the fact that Christianity was shaped hugely by the letters of that Roman citizen, Paul, as opposed to the second/3rd/nth-hand gospel testaments we have.
Religions always seem to be more of a reflection of the societies and sub-groups that practice them rather than any sort of orthodox, unchanging, unadulterated artifact. While it was not flawed people espousing Christian beliefs that pushed me out, I certainly don't miss the level of explanation and equivocating that was necessary when I claimed to be one of them.
Thanks for reading Paul and yes I believe Ehrman deals with the influence of the Roman Empire, though I think he suggests that Christianity kind of grew up from the masses and was adopted by the Empire rather than being handed down from the Empire to the people, at least to begin with. I really loved Jesus and John Wayne and how she dispassionately yet brutally exposes how politics and patriarchal thinking have corrupted American Christianity in particular, which as you point out is very much a reflection of American Values like freedom, family, and individualism that you'd be hard-pressed to find stressed in the teachings of Jesus. I hate to see people throw Jesus' teachings out with the American Evangelical bathwater, so to speak.
Good article. If Christian teaching states as a pillar of belief that Man is hopelessly corrupt, why do we lament that people who work in service of the Christian churches are often exposed as corrupt? It's a gotcha conceived by the godless. Don't fall for it.
https://brianhoward.substack.com/p/godlessness-is-not-a-virtue