How the shoot was better and worse than you ever imagined.
The history of the church offers plenty of ammunition to its critics. Crusades, inquisitions, witch hunts, the oppression of women ...
For the Love of God: How the church is better and worse than you ever imagined,
a documentary by the Centre for Public Christianity, confronts the worst of what Christians have done - and also traces the origins of Western values like human rights, charity, humility, and non-violence back to the influence of Jesus.
How the shoot was better and worse than you ever imagined.
The Crusades are one of the most notorious episodes of Christian history.
Few ideas have changed our world more profoundly than this one.
How can we take Christianity seriously, if Christians have so often departed from the tune of Jesus?
Jesus’ most famous parable had a big influence on the early church – and the world.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer is a rare example of someone whose faith prompted him to stand up to Hitler.
Jesus dramatically changed how Western culture thinks about power and service.
From Emperor Constantine onwards, the church has had a fraught relationship to power.
The Jewish and early Christian insistence on care for the poor transformed the ancient world.
Not all Crusades were against Muslims, or in the Middle East.
We head to George Washington’s house for a concrete take on a big philosophical concept.
What happened when Christians started acting like every person was made in God’s image?
Can we be good without God?
Jesus preached a radical ethic of non-violence – one the early church took very seriously.
Modern ideas of charity were an anomaly in Greece and Rome.
Jesus accorded women dignity and opportunity. The church hasn’t always followed suit.
The secret history of a cherished concept.
How the Bible was used to support a system of profound oppression and dehumanisation.
As Christians gained influence, they came up with ideas like “Just War” and the “Peace of God”.
The medieval papacy offers a vivid picture of a church corrupted by wealth.
Misogyny took a deadly turn in the witch hunts that swept early modern Europe and America.
William Wilberforce’s campaign to abolish the slave trade changed the course of history.
The Old Testament is full of violence. Does that mean God himself is violent?
What happened when “Christian” Europe began to extend its influence globally, in the Age of Empire?
We take it for granted that caring for the sick is a good thing. Why?
Father Damien of Molokai showed the true meaning of “compassion”: to suffer with the afflicted.
The Spanish Inquisition offers a vivid picture of a church interested in control and coercion.
The idea that everyone should be able to read the Bible had a huge impact on our world.
Few people have done more to lessen human misery and increase human happiness than Lord Shaftesbury.
The Troubles in Northern Ireland are often cited as evidence that Christianity leads to conflict.
Would the world be a more peaceful place without Christianity?
Is it just the outliers, the extraordinary individuals, who influence history?
Martin Luther King Jr opposed a racist, unjust system – but sought to love those within it.
The Selma to Montgomery marches of 1965 showed how effective peaceful resistance can be.
Recent research challenges the stereotype of the imperialist, destructive colonial missionary.
