This is a deep question with a somewhat simple answer.
Yes, Christian theology was perverted.
There are two main branches of Christianity. Orthodox / Catholics share one of the main branches, and they are, by FAR, the most numerous. Their core philosophy is that tradition, not the Bible, is the governing authority of the church. In other words, "this is what we do because this is what we have always done."
It's REALLY hard to subvert such a system, provided the people inside take the time to learn how it was done in the past. For the most part, Orthodox and Catholics are pretty good at this. Not the lay people (in the case of the Catholics, but to a degree the Orthodox), but the people who hold actual power within the church and have the actual ability to change things.
Do not think that the "modern" Catholic church is going to last much longer. There are major cracks showing, and the powerful forces that keep the Catholic church tradition are at work even now.
The OTHER branch of Christianity are those who take the text of the Bible as their governing authority. These people were hopeless to begin with, for reasons that should be readily discernable by anyone with a modest amount of intelligence. If you don't understand, then let me tell you that the Bible cannot interpret itself. It requires some external information to make it understandable.
These are people found largely in the US as protestants or evangelicals. They are falling apart. They have been falling apart since the beginning. They are the ones who give Christianity a bad name. What did you think would happen when you reject tradition and embrace someone's opinion of what the Bible means?
There is a third way, but it is not yet ready for global leadership. These are people who have actual revelation from God through a called prophet that has actual authority. We're still hanging in the shadows and on the outskirts of Christianity cleaning up the mess people are leaving behind and biding our time while making an insane number of babies.
Give it another 90 years, and I think it will be clear that there are only two churches: Our church and the Catholic / Orthodox. I don't even think we'll have a beef with each other, since we genuinely do not care what church people belong to as long as they serve Jesus Christ alone.
Now, comparing Christianity to any other world religion, Christianity even in its degenerate, broken form is WAY better than anything else out there. You might think Islam or Hinduism has their act together but they are complete disasters and it shows in the people that belong to those religions. Once you dig below the surface layer to see how these people think and operate, you'll realize why colonizing India was probably a mistake, and why oil is probably not worth showing Arabs how guns work.
The Bible is quite clear about all that stuff, you just have to read it first.
Yes, Christian theology was perverted.
There are two main branches of Christianity. Orthodox / Catholics share one of the main branches, and they are, by FAR, the most numerous. Their core philosophy is that tradition, not the Bible, is the governing authority of the church. In other words, "this is what we do because this is what we have always done."
It's REALLY hard to subvert such a system, provided the people inside take the time to learn how it was done in the past. For the most part, Orthodox and Catholics are pretty good at this. Not the lay people (in the case of the Catholics, but to a degree the Orthodox), but the people who hold actual power within the church and have the actual ability to change things.
Do not think that the "modern" Catholic church is going to last much longer. There are major cracks showing, and the powerful forces that keep the Catholic church tradition are at work even now.
The OTHER branch of Christianity are those who take the text of the Bible as their governing authority. These people were hopeless to begin with, for reasons that should be readily discernable by anyone with a modest amount of intelligence. If you don't understand, then let me tell you that the Bible cannot interpret itself. It requires some external information to make it understandable.
These are people found largely in the US as protestants or evangelicals. They are falling apart. They have been falling apart since the beginning. They are the ones who give Christianity a bad name. What did you think would happen when you reject tradition and embrace someone's opinion of what the Bible means?
There is a third way, but it is not yet ready for global leadership. These are people who have actual revelation from God through a called prophet that has actual authority. We're still hanging in the shadows and on the outskirts of Christianity cleaning up the mess people are leaving behind and biding our time while making an insane number of babies.
Give it another 90 years, and I think it will be clear that there are only two churches: Our church and the Catholic / Orthodox. I don't even think we'll have a beef with each other, since we genuinely do not care what church people belong to as long as they serve Jesus Christ alone.
Now, comparing Christianity to any other world religion, Christianity even in its degenerate, broken form is WAY better than anything else out there. You might think Islam or Hinduism has their act together but they are complete disasters and it shows in the people that belong to those religions. Once you dig below the surface layer to see how these people think and operate, you'll realize why colonizing India was probably a mistake, and why oil is probably not worth showing Arabs how guns work.