Almost a thousand people gathered across Tasmania last week to determine whether they’re better off without Christianity.

In an event sponsored by Bible Society Australia to see people re-engage with the Bible, Centre for Public Christianity’s Dr John Dickson spoke in Launceston and Hobart, challenging audiences to think through the claim that historic Christianity has done more harm than good.

Claire van Ryn, Christian columnist at the Examiner attended the event in Launceston, and said Dickson spoke with clarity and grace, emboldening Christians to articulate and defend their faith.

“I think that any sceptic in the audience would have been challenged not only by the facts Dr Dickson presented, but by the truth he spoke of Jesus’ life and the goodness that has flowed from his example ever since.”

According to Dickson, the claim that Christianity has done more harm than good is one of the most cited reasons why people choose not to be Christian. “There’s no avoiding the fact that Christians have done despicable things,” he says.

“Yet Christians are the ones with a radical view of human nature – that allows them to say that we are wicked.”

Dickson ran through the historical events of human history commonly thrown up as examples of Christianity playing havoc in the world, suggesting that retellings of the “evils of Christendom” usually involve gross exaggerations. He used the Spanish Inquisition as one such example. “Yes, it was bad, but only 5000-6000 people were executed in 350 years. That’s 18 people a year.”

Compare that and other religious conflicts like possibly that of Northern Island (3,500 killed in 30 years), to the World Wars and “the violence of Christendom is dwarfed in comparison with non-religious conflicts and irreligious, atheistic regimes.”

When looking at Jesus’ answer to the problem of religious violence, Dickson says it’s clear that “Christians have not been Christian enough”. Jesus demanded humility, service and non-violence, as in Luke 6: “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also…Do to others as you would have them do to you.”

The solution to religious violence, says Dickson, “oddly, is more Christianity, not less!”

“Dismissing Christianity because of the churches’ failure to live Christianly is like dismissing Johann Sebastian Bach after hearing my 8-year-old daughter attempting one of his cello suites…you must distinguish between the beautiful composition and the poor performance.”

The events provided many opportunities to reflect both on the prejudices of the current debate and also failures of the Church in the past, said Anglican Dean of Hobart, the Very Revd Richard Humphrey.

“[Dickson’s] call that we be better followers of Jesus, that there be more true Christianity rather than less is a challenge that the Church needs to hear and act upon and so reengage with our culture with humility.”