Well, it certainly isn't old age Christianity that demonized those who disagreed with it.
I don't believe that any one religion has a monopoly on the truth.
Although Christianity started quite well in the first century AD, it drifted into authoritarian dogmatism after the apostles left. The primitive view of Earth at the center of the universe and a heaven above and a hell below lasted well into the 16th century.
Various Catholic councils from the 5th to the 9th centuries ruled on what was orthodox and what was heresy(e.g. past lives).
Martin Luther took the Christian Church out of the box for awhile, but Christianity went back to selling "Afterlife Insurance" rather than personal enlightenment. Below are more views on where Christianity has come from and where it's going:
1. Past Lives 2. New Age Christianity 3. Is It The End Of Churchianity? 4. The Mormon Planet Of Kolob 5. Creationism Versus Evolution 6. The Names Of God 7. A History Of The Christian Church
Posted by qualteam
at 9:20 PM EST
Updated: Sunday, 14 March 2004 2:39 PM EST
St Johns