While there is much to admire in the core ideas of Christianity, I fear it is not so easy to separate the good aspects from the ill. The human mind can hold and follow helpful and harmful ways simultaneously. To assert that the people doing these things were hijackers misses the complexity of humanity and history. It also verges on the No True Scotsman fallacy.
Looking at the history of Christianity, one sees this admixture at all times and places. One of the most startling examples I found was in the visionary writings of Saint Hildegard of Bingen whose Christian vision of holiness contains a savage anti-Jewish vision.
The reality is that for around two thousand years, there were anti-Jewish teachings in nearly all branches of Christianity. There still are in many. Challenges to these teachings are recent. That's good; religions evolve. But it's not as if the past forms of Christianity were false, impure, hijacked forms. They were different forms of Christianity, with different admixtures of good and ill.
Ignoring that history creates bewilderment at the kind of atrocity in the OP. But to anyone who has looked at the history of Christian and Jewish relations, it's not a strange event at all. The strange and wonderful thing is how rare it is these days.
Christianity does not have a good history of tolerance. Various branches of Christianity seem to be developing more tolerance these days. That's a great thing. It does bring the religion more in line with some of its neglected ideals.
But, if people neglect the history of intolerance they may find themselves complacent with whatever level of tolerance happens to be around at the present time. They may also decide that any attempted increase of tolerance and respect for others beyond that level is an attempt to undermine Christianity. And they may take up words, and laws, and arms against that rising tolerance, in the name of their religion.
I didn’t proofread this. I just don’t have the time, so I apologize in advance.
Of course I am not saying that all different forms of Christianity are bad; I'm saying the people practicing them as a way to hate or oppress others aren't practicing them the way Jesus wanted them to teach it. There's a big difference between the Old testament and New Testament, and it's actually very easy to separate the core ideas in Christianity if you understand that the New Testament supersedes the teachings of the Old Testament. It's pretty clear if you read and study the entire Bible and not just parts of it.
Humanity is very complex and so is the human mind. Trust me, I know. I have a degree in this and as well as physical science. Some hijackers know they are hijackers. Several popes were hijackers. The second Borgia Pope followed very little of the Bible’s teachings. Unfortunately, some hijackers of religion don’t realize they are hijackers (that doesn’t make them innocent of their faults. Ignorance of the law…you know the quote). All they have to do is ignore the most important messages of Jesus. Jesus went through a lot for us, and he never preached intolerance or hatred of others and he never taught violence. The adulterous woman is one of the better known stories and is now quoted by almost everyone. He saved her life even if she didn’t fall in line with his teachings or the laws of the Old Testament. That’s a very clear line in the sand, which should have taught Christians the lesson of not putting to death those who break the laws of God. This is just one of the many examples in the Bible where the New Testament supersedes the Old Testament. Following this could have saved the lives of tens, if not hundreds of thousands burned at the stake because they didn’t follow the teachings of Jesus. Jesus taught forgiveness not only in that story but also throughout his entire live, no matter what people do to you. After being labeled a blasphemer by several Jewish high priests, the most well-known being Caiaphus who plotted his death because Jesus’s influence was spreading and he feared that Rome would turn on the Jewish people if everyone started to believe in Jesus; being betrayed by Judas (whom he knew was going to betray him); being held captive while a violent, murderous man called Barabbas was released (a tradition during Passover) instead of him by a voting system of cheers by his Jewish brethren; being whipped; being forced to wear a crown of thorns; being spit at and beat while carrying the cross through the streets; being nailed on the cross; being given salt water to drink and stabbed in the side with a spear while on the cross, he said to his Father, while he was on that cross, “Forgive them for they know not what they do.”
Jesus didn’t teach us to hate or alienate. The reality is that Saint Hildegard's vision of Christianity isn't close to what Jesus preached. The reality is that branches of Christianity that teach hate and the alienation of those who are different from you are or hold different views than you do aren’t teaching what Jesus preached. Jesus preached love and peace, not hate. Jesus preached acceptance of all people. Jesus ate with sinners; he didn’t alienate them or have some anti-vision to oppress them or kill them. He welcomed them. That’s what Christianity is supposed to be about. Where early Christians developed the ideas to oppress anyone is a puzzle to me because it’s the opposite of what Jesus preached. Christianity would have never had to evolve if people followed the teachings in the first place, but I wouldn’t be surprised if those who preached that message were burned at the stake themselves. That’s why I call these people and some branches hijackers. They twisted and manipulated the Bible to fit some crude black hole in their hearts and minds. Some did it knowingly, others didn’t. Doesn’t make it any less wrong.
Christianity does not have a good history of tolerance. I agree with you on that, but the truth is that neither do humans throughout human history and that is before and after religion was established. Humans start discriminating and mistreating others from a very early age (some studies are saying as young as a year). Many scientific studies are being done in this area, and as a science guy, it’s goes hand in hand with what I read in the Bible. Religious countries aren’t the only countries that tend to oppress others. Non-religious countries have been oppressing other since the past and in the present. China considers itself an atheist country. They have a terrible human-rights record especially against those who don’t agree with their views. North Korea is an atheist country too. I won’t even start on its abuses.
No one should neglect any part of history, especially those in which many lives were lost. Complacency is prevalent in most great tragedies—Slavery (not only the ones suffered by the Jewish people or African Americans), WII, the Holocaust, and The Trail of Tears, just to name a few. Those who fight tolerance are fighting against the very teachings that Jesus left us. There is no way to undermine Christianity, and those who say otherwise, in my opinion, are fear mongers. As long as I’m allowed to have my relationship with God and Jesus Christ, none can shake my faith, no matter if you take away my freedom, my bible, make fun of my beliefs, take away my ability to tithe, take away my place of worship. You can’t undermine the Kingdom of God because it’s bigger than just the Earth. Those who use words, laws, arms, and fear to manipulate the teachings of Jesus will be judged accordingly. Remember when Peter cut off the ear of one of the guards who came to arrest Jesus? What did Jesus say to him? To paraphrase,
those who live by the sword die by the sword. Even though Peter became of the greatest pillars of Christianity, he died exactly how Jesus said he would.
Lastly, I always say God is powerful enough to control us like robots. He can turn us to dust in a flash for not obeying his laws. He used to in the Old Testament, not so much in the New Testament, which is why it is called the New Testament of God. So if God allows us to serve or not to serve him, to obey or not obey him, why should we impose laws restricting peaceful people from doing things that don’t agree with his teachings? Why should Christians think we know better than God does? God doesn’t need us to defend or fight for him or prove his existence to others who don’t believe. God can open the eyes of people by himself through various means. All we have to is preach the message of Jesus and let things fall where they may. Preaching the message isn’t about thumbing our noses down on others or judging them (especially because no Christian is without fault) but accepting them with an open heart and mind no matter how they treat us. Christianity isn’t about being perfect; it’s about what can you do for and how you treat your fellow man before you die.