I'm absolutely glued to Derek Leman's blog. His recent post, a review of Barry Horner's Future Israel book, manifests some somber realities for members of the Christian faith:
When those of us who love Israel and who call Christians back to the Jewish origins of our common Jesus-faith make statements like the above [speaking of the church's shift from its Judaic background to a Greco-Roman/anti-Judaic stream], I know that some people feel as though something they love deeply is being insulted. It is insulting to think that Christianity has strong roots in a kind of theological racism.
This is not to denigrate the beauty and grace brought to the world through Christian teaching, writing, and action. Absolutely there is beauty.
But there is far more to repent for than to rejoice about in Christian history. Sorry, but this is an indisputable fact.
Christianity may have brought to the world hospitals for treating lepers and other good things, but the larger legacy has been Crusades, Inquisitions, wars, and an evil blend of religion and state seeking power to rule and dominate.
I sometimes point out to people that Christianity’s record is not any better than Israel’s record in the Bible. I’ve heard plenty of sermons and talk about Israel’s very public failures, that Israel’s history is recorded to show us how NOT to live, and so on. I’ve heard almost no talk and definitely no sermons about Christianity’s failures.