Starting from a neutral position, this book looks at claims made by Christian leaders over the centuries and analyses them in the light of modern scholarship. Erudite yet mischievous, the book s scope is wide, from early history to the present day, from America to China, and spanning many different disciplines. Many of the conclusions reached will shock devout believers, though all of them can be verified with reference to sympathetic works by biblical scholars and theologians. A recurring theme is that of open secrets facts well known to historians and other academics in the Church, but kept from the faithful masses. These open secrets are not actively denied, just avoided so as not to cause offence to those who are familiar only with the Sunday-School version of events. Many Christians see their system of belief as dating from the earliest times, but this idea becomes difficult to sustain in the light of when and how key doctrines were established. Many ordinary Christians would be shocked to discover, for example, the prominent role played by violence and forgery in developing and promoting Christian doctrine. Whatever one s own religious beliefs, the Christian Churches provide huge amounts of material for the enquiring mind. Repercussions from crusades that happened over 900 years ago are still in evidence today. The division of the Roman Empire in early Christian times also reverberates to the present day. To a large extent, the history of the Western World over the last 2,000 years is the history of the Christian Church. Without a proper understanding of the role of the Church, it is not possible to truly understand the history of Europe, the Middle East, or indeed the Americas.
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About the Author
The author, James McDonald, spent 20 years researching this book, and his research has taken him from America to Europe, through Turkey and the Middle East to Iran, Pakistan and Central Asia, and on to India and China - all places where Christianity has taken root at one time or another. A Fellow of the Royal Geographic Society in England, he holds an MSc and an MA from Oxford University and now lives in France where he is researching his next book, on the Cathar religion.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
By lizsmith
Format:Hardcover
I found this a fascinating, thought-provoking, and thoroughly entertaining tome. It deals at length with such matters as the origins and authorship of various books of the Bible (not what you would imagine); the degree to which biblical texts can be considered free of editorial interference (not much it seems - people have been tampering and manipulating them from the start to fit with their own views); as well as such questions as who really founded christianity (includes some decidedly dodgy characters), the extent to which modern christian doctrines, teachings and attitudes are supported by what is actually said in the Bible (very little in many cases), the reasons why there are so many Christian denominations, the various areas of conflict between christianity and science, and a great deal else. This is a scholarly work and the author has obviously done a tremendous amount of research, but it is by no means dry and contains considerable doses of humour, as in the description of the astonishingly deviant careers of various popes. I'd thoroughly recommend it to anyone who like to delve a little into the true story of the development of christianity rather than the sanitised verson that Christian groups themselves prefer to present.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Beyond Belief in an impressively comprehensive, encyclopaedic survey of the history of Christianity and an examination of its key doctrines. Structured and written to be accessible to the layman, it also has over 400 references for those who want to go into the topics in more detail.
Many facts are presented which may surprise: the role of orthography in the development of orthodoxy; the fulfilment of revelation which was never revealed; the problems with popes (not just a little jobsharing with Avignon or a couple of bad Borgias).
The author takes an analytical approach to discussions of doctrine - the section on Transubstantiation is particularly good - and although we can see what his own viewpoint is, presents the facts and analysis to us clearly, then stands back to allow us to make up our own minds. Overall a fascinating book with an original approach.
Many facts are presented which may surprise: the role of orthography in the development of orthodoxy; the fulfilment of revelation which was never revealed; the problems with popes (not just a little jobsharing with Avignon or a couple of bad Borgias).
The author takes an analytical approach to discussions of doctrine - the section on Transubstantiation is particularly good - and although we can see what his own viewpoint is, presents the facts and analysis to us clearly, then stands back to allow us to make up our own minds. Overall a fascinating book with an original approach.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By Colinski
Format:Paperback
The subtitle of this book makes clear from the outset what its author thinks of Christianity and, one suspects, of all proselytising and institutional religions. But we need not expect bias from him. He builds his arguments on tireless research and scrupulous objectivity, sets them out in simple language we can all understand, and tempers the outrage and the shock with gentle irony and wit. He fearlessly demolishes great swathes of received wisdom and punctures holy bladders full of gas. But there is no roaring here, no spittle or nastiness, just admirable scholarship and a forensic handling of the corpse.
This is a big book dealing at times with quite obscure material. We learn for example of Pope Leo X calculating that a pious German who collected over 17,000 holy relics had saved himself 694,779,550.5 days in Purgatory. Where else could I have learned this? But the glorious obscurities are delivered in an easy flowing narrative. The author's love of history and scolarship propel us down the centuries and through the book to its very satisfying end.
Mr. McDonald may not have got out much in the last twenty years but his generosity has given us a unique, provocative and vastly informative book. I wonder if his favourite film is "Monty Python's Life of Brian"?
This is a big book dealing at times with quite obscure material. We learn for example of Pope Leo X calculating that a pious German who collected over 17,000 holy relics had saved himself 694,779,550.5 days in Purgatory. Where else could I have learned this? But the glorious obscurities are delivered in an easy flowing narrative. The author's love of history and scolarship propel us down the centuries and through the book to its very satisfying end.
Mr. McDonald may not have got out much in the last twenty years but his generosity has given us a unique, provocative and vastly informative book. I wonder if his favourite film is "Monty Python's Life of Brian"?
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This is an interesting beautifully written book, meticulously researched, yet fresh and engaging.A surprising page turner, it has a good narrative style from a natural teacher. Read more
Published 2 days ago by Fertility in Mind
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Good, comprehensive read
Good stuff for the Kindle. When I think that all the aspects have been covered I see that we are only at 15% of the book!
Published 4 months ago by Colin Herbert
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A serious study for those in search of the truth of and about...
This account of a scientist’s twenty year trawl through a mass of evidence relating to the compilation of the Holy Bible should be required reading for all ordinands and bishops. Read more
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Who was the historical Jesus?
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