Disclaimer : I do not approve of Christianity, because it does not satisfy my criteria of rationality and logics. I also think that the moral values conveyed by the Bible are ambiguous, sometimes self-contradicting, and even immoral by my own standards at times (e.g. why should God ever condone slavery ?). However, I understand that some people need to believe in something irrational, or belong to some kind of spiritual community to fulfil themselves. In this thread, I will compare 3 main branches of Christianity, and judge from my "outsider's point of view" the strengths and weaknesses of each. The purpose is not to offend anyone, but to help undecided people who cannot cope with the "rigours" of Atheism, to choose the "least bad" of the three. I will also judge past achievements and mistakes of each. The three branches are : Catholicism, Liberal Protestantism and Conservative Protestatism, which I will call here Fundamentalism.
Dogma
Catholics have added a lot of new beliefs to the original Bible. Among them, the Saints and the 7 sacraments are the most obvious. The Saints are somehow a continuity of the Roman Polytheist religion. Catholic churches are named in honour to one particular saint, the way temples were dedicated to one particular Roman god. The fact that the Catholic Church has been based in Rome since the age of the Roman Empire, and latter emperors converted to Christianity, further emphasises this continuity. After all, the Pope also crowned the Holy German Emperor, heir to the Ancient Roman Emperors, up to the early 19th century. I therefore see Catholicism has a kind of polytheist religion, with an almighty "King of the Gods" that created the universe.
Protestants have much more monotheistic beliefs, as they do not give any importance to the saints or Virgin Mary. Their beliefs is also more "pure" as they got rid of any "added beliefs" not present in the Bible. This is good because it is more truly Christianity, but bad because contrarily to the Catholic Church, there is no top committee to tell the fidels to accept new (usually metaphorical) interpretations of the Bible, for example regarding the place of the earth at the center of the Universe, or the theory of evolution, which have both been accepted by the Catholic Church nowadays, but not by Fundamentalist Protestant, who won't accept anything that contradicts the literal interpretation of Bible. Liberal Protestants though, often understand the Bible is a metaphorical way, which allow them to reconcile science and religion.
Past achievements & mistakes
Catholicism is the oldest of the three, and it is therefore normal that it should have the most achievements & mistakes. It managed to built a huge, well-structured, world-wide organisation. I would say that this is both a positive and negative achievement. It is positive because it unifies the beliefs of the followers, and has a "team" of specialists to interpret the Bible, but negative because it is too dependent on these specialists (especially the Pope).
Among the mistakes were in fact decision from the Church in Rome to persecute people who did not follow exactly their interpretations of the Bible. The most famous was the 650-year-long Inquisition, which only ended in the late 19th century. There are many more events that can be blamed on the Catholic Church, such as the crusades, the "witch hunts", the conversion of "barbarians" in the New World by the force, and the persecution of scientists and philosophers through the ages.
Protestants do not have as much blood on their hands, except some Fundamentalists who have founded the Ku Klux Klan, a Protestant-based white supremacist organisation engaged in the killing of non whites and non Protestants.
One of the major Catholic achievements in my eyes, is their sponsoring of the arts. Many beautiful churches, statues, paintings and pieces of music, have been created thanks to the patronage or the Catholic Church. But where did this money come from, but from the often already impoverished believers...
Organisation & Liberalism
Another thing that can be reproached to the Catholic Church, is to have become extremely rich, and giving little back to its poorest followers, despite some of the most fundamental values of Christianity. Others will see in the Roman Catholic Church just an old-fashioned and despotic organisation. Compared to Protestants, though, it stands in between liberals and conservatives in its policies, and actually slightly more on the liberal side (for example, it recognises evolution).
Protestants do not have a central organisation, and also benefit from a more democratic discussion system within each community. It is not the priest who "sermons" the fidels and tell them how to think, but the whole church community that discusses together. Protestant pastors can marry and can be female, which is clearly more liberal than the Catholic stance.
However, Fundamentalists regard homosexual as sinners, and all non-Protestants as "lost souls" that need to be saved, while the Catholics nowadays have accepted homosexuals as "normal people". Catholics are also generally more tolerant of people of other religions. Liberal Protestants are usually as tolerant or more tolerant than Catholics.
Overall, the Liberal Protestant seem like the best alternative from every perspective. They are the least despotic, most tolerant, do not follow old-fashioned traditions, and tend to proselytise less.
P.S. : Anglicans are like Catholics in every respect, except that they have a bit less blood on the hands, and their "artistic achievements" are mostly limited to the UK (e.g. St Paul's in London, the world's 2nd largest cathedral, and one of the most sumptuous). We could see Anglicanism as a sort of "Independant Catholicism", autonomous from Rome, but with basically the same beliefs, organisation and political involvement (in fact maybe even greater, as the King or Queen of England heads the Anglican Church).
Orthodox Christians are also considered as a form of Catholicism autonomous from Rome, although with more differences in practices and organisation than the Anglicans.
Dogma
Catholics have added a lot of new beliefs to the original Bible. Among them, the Saints and the 7 sacraments are the most obvious. The Saints are somehow a continuity of the Roman Polytheist religion. Catholic churches are named in honour to one particular saint, the way temples were dedicated to one particular Roman god. The fact that the Catholic Church has been based in Rome since the age of the Roman Empire, and latter emperors converted to Christianity, further emphasises this continuity. After all, the Pope also crowned the Holy German Emperor, heir to the Ancient Roman Emperors, up to the early 19th century. I therefore see Catholicism has a kind of polytheist religion, with an almighty "King of the Gods" that created the universe.
Protestants have much more monotheistic beliefs, as they do not give any importance to the saints or Virgin Mary. Their beliefs is also more "pure" as they got rid of any "added beliefs" not present in the Bible. This is good because it is more truly Christianity, but bad because contrarily to the Catholic Church, there is no top committee to tell the fidels to accept new (usually metaphorical) interpretations of the Bible, for example regarding the place of the earth at the center of the Universe, or the theory of evolution, which have both been accepted by the Catholic Church nowadays, but not by Fundamentalist Protestant, who won't accept anything that contradicts the literal interpretation of Bible. Liberal Protestants though, often understand the Bible is a metaphorical way, which allow them to reconcile science and religion.
Past achievements & mistakes
Catholicism is the oldest of the three, and it is therefore normal that it should have the most achievements & mistakes. It managed to built a huge, well-structured, world-wide organisation. I would say that this is both a positive and negative achievement. It is positive because it unifies the beliefs of the followers, and has a "team" of specialists to interpret the Bible, but negative because it is too dependent on these specialists (especially the Pope).
Among the mistakes were in fact decision from the Church in Rome to persecute people who did not follow exactly their interpretations of the Bible. The most famous was the 650-year-long Inquisition, which only ended in the late 19th century. There are many more events that can be blamed on the Catholic Church, such as the crusades, the "witch hunts", the conversion of "barbarians" in the New World by the force, and the persecution of scientists and philosophers through the ages.
Protestants do not have as much blood on their hands, except some Fundamentalists who have founded the Ku Klux Klan, a Protestant-based white supremacist organisation engaged in the killing of non whites and non Protestants.
One of the major Catholic achievements in my eyes, is their sponsoring of the arts. Many beautiful churches, statues, paintings and pieces of music, have been created thanks to the patronage or the Catholic Church. But where did this money come from, but from the often already impoverished believers...
Organisation & Liberalism
Another thing that can be reproached to the Catholic Church, is to have become extremely rich, and giving little back to its poorest followers, despite some of the most fundamental values of Christianity. Others will see in the Roman Catholic Church just an old-fashioned and despotic organisation. Compared to Protestants, though, it stands in between liberals and conservatives in its policies, and actually slightly more on the liberal side (for example, it recognises evolution).
Protestants do not have a central organisation, and also benefit from a more democratic discussion system within each community. It is not the priest who "sermons" the fidels and tell them how to think, but the whole church community that discusses together. Protestant pastors can marry and can be female, which is clearly more liberal than the Catholic stance.
However, Fundamentalists regard homosexual as sinners, and all non-Protestants as "lost souls" that need to be saved, while the Catholics nowadays have accepted homosexuals as "normal people". Catholics are also generally more tolerant of people of other religions. Liberal Protestants are usually as tolerant or more tolerant than Catholics.
Overall, the Liberal Protestant seem like the best alternative from every perspective. They are the least despotic, most tolerant, do not follow old-fashioned traditions, and tend to proselytise less.
P.S. : Anglicans are like Catholics in every respect, except that they have a bit less blood on the hands, and their "artistic achievements" are mostly limited to the UK (e.g. St Paul's in London, the world's 2nd largest cathedral, and one of the most sumptuous). We could see Anglicanism as a sort of "Independant Catholicism", autonomous from Rome, but with basically the same beliefs, organisation and political involvement (in fact maybe even greater, as the King or Queen of England heads the Anglican Church).
Orthodox Christians are also considered as a form of Catholicism autonomous from Rome, although with more differences in practices and organisation than the Anglicans.
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