Christians Persecuting Christians

Halloween is tonight! And living in Boston, we're not far from one of history's most infamous witch hunts: the Salem witch trials. But today I want to tell you about another kind of “witch hunt”. More than 30 years before the Salem Witch Trials, Massachusetts authorities had targeted the Quakers.

The Puritans considered Quakers heretics. They passed increasingly harsh laws against them, eventually executing some.

Mary Dyer was an English-born settler who became a Quaker. Despite being arrested and banished, she kept returning to Massachusetts to support fellow Quakers facing persecution. In 1659, she was sentenced to death alongside two Quaker men. Both men were hanged, but Mary received a last-minute reprieve. She could live if she stayed out of Massachusetts.
 
But Mary wasn't finished. She returned to stand against the persecution of her fellow Quakers. This time, there was no reprieve. On June 1, 1660, Mary Dyer was hanged on Boston Common.

Here's the irony: The Puritans had come to the New World to escape religious persecution, yet they persecuted others for their beliefs.

Now, this is just one example of Christians doing terrible things in the name of Christ. History is full of them. So, what are we supposed to do with that?

Should we excuse these actions because the people involved claimed to follow Jesus? Absolutely not. But should we reject Jesus because of the terrible things done in his name?

That's what we're exploring this Sunday in our How (Not) to Read the Bible series. We’re asking the question, "Why Is Christianity the Cause of So Much Suffering?"
 
If you've struggled with the church's history, been hurt by Christians, or wondered how Jesus' followers could do such terrible things, I hope you'll join us.

We're not going to excuse the church's failures. We're going to look at them honestly, but finish by looking to Jesus.

Because the best way to evaluate Christianity isn't to ignore the failures of Christians, but to examine what Jesus says about them.