188
THE DARK SIDE OF CHRISTIAN HISTORY
behavior. There have been countless Christians who valued love and forgiveness over fear and punishment, who encouraged personal empowerment and understanding over submission and blind faith. The dark side of Christian history was not an unavoidable result of human nature; it was the result of a very specific ideology and belief structure. As we have ignored the horror of Christian history, so we have ignored scrutiny of Christian beliefs and their pervasiveness in our seemingly godless modern world. Without scrutiny, the destructive patterns have continued to alienate people from God, the natural environment, and each other. Yet, with understanding and attention, we can stop such harmful patterns. We can recognize that efforts to convince us that God demands our fear and unquestioning submission are in fact efforts to control us and to contain our spirituality. We can recognize that the belief in a singular supremacy lies at the root of chauvinism, racism and totalitarianism. We can move towards a world that values diversity, freedom and human dignity. And we can embrace the hope and pursue the dream that humanity can be free to act humanely.