The record of the Church is often cited to support arguments that underpin Christianity. For example Christians are frequently assured that their morality is superior to the morality of others and are taught a version of history that appears to verify this view. According to this version of history, Christians suffered great persecution with almost supernatural forbearance, while they themselves were always merciful to others. Furthermore, for centuries the Church kept learning alive and provided education while holding at bay the twin threats of the heathen barbarians and the Muslims. Christianity was a great respecter of other civilisations, cultures and beliefs. Christianity led mankind out of darkness and into light, taking the prime role in a long series of social reforms. It protected the weak. It championed justice. It had a consistently positive influence in areas such as education, legal reform, political reform, human rights and medicine. It was far superior in all respects to the intellectual conceit of selfish godlessness. Such views are still central to many Christian denominations. We are taught them at school. We hear them in churches. We hear them confirmed every Sunday night on the wireless and the television.

But not everyone shares this view. Some educated people hold views about Christianity that contradict all of the assertions just made. Some hold views not far from those of Nietzsche, who, in The Antichrist, expressed himself as follows:

I call Christianity the one great curse, the one enormous intrinsic perversion, the one great instinct of revenge, for which no means are too venomous, too underhand, too underground and too petty — I call it the one immortal blemish of mankind.

It seems hardly credible that Nietzsche could be talking about the same great faith that we hear so much about throughout our lives. How could he have formed such a negative view of Christianity?

Mention of historical Christian enormities has been rare until recent years, and every mention by a public figure still raises storms of protest even in the twenty first century. Even relatively anodyne assertions of well established facts raise protests, as when Barack Obama, President of the USA, said at a prayer meeting on 5 February, 2015*.

From a school in Pakistan to the streets of Paris, we have seen violence and terror perpetrated by those who profess to stand up for faith, their faith, professed to stand up for Islam, but, in fact, are betraying it. We see ISIL, a brutal, vicious death cult that, in the name of religion, carries out unspeakable acts of barbarism -- terrorizing religious minorities like the Yezidis, subjecting women to rape as a weapon of war, and claiming the mantle of religious authority for such actions.

We see sectarian war in Syria, the murder of Muslims and Christians in Nigeria, religious war in the Central African Republic, a rising tide of anti-Semitism and hate crimes in Europe, so often perpetrated in the name of religion.

So how do we, as people of faith, reconcile these realities - the profound good, the strength, the tenacity, the compassion and love that can flow from all of our faiths, operating alongside those who seek to hijack religious for their own murderous ends?

Humanity has been grappling with these questions throughout human history. And lest we get on our high horse and think this is unique to some other place, remember that during the Crusades and the Inquisition, people committed terrible deeds in the name of Christ. In our home country, slavery and Jim Crow all too often was justified in the name of Christ.

The President was massively understating the case both against Islam and Christianity, yet his words still drew a storm of protest.

In this section we review the Christian record, and compare it to that of freethinkers, and see if we can find a clue as to why Nietzsche formed the view he did, and also what the President of the USA was hinting at.