Freethought & Rationalism Archive

Enai · 06-05-2004, 09:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by itsdatruth

You could try Fox's book of martrs, an extensive compilation of Early Christian persecutions. Shows an accuarate of how the existing social and govermental institutions delt with the Christains.

Anything you read should be cross read with the Book of Acts to get an idea of how the early Church functioned.

Should I also read the history of scientology in light of Battlefield Earth?

Enai

EssEff · 06-05-2004, 12:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Enai

Hello Guys,

I was wondering: Does a book exist that deals scientifically with the origins of christianity? By scientifically I mean without an apparent bias toward the story of the gospels, preferably written by non-christian scholars. I'm intersted in a look at christianity as a societal phenomenon. For instance, I know how scientology was started: basically, L. Ron Hubbard spewed forth a lot of rubbish and wowed peolpe with it. But with regard to christianity, I know nothing but the story of the believers themselves.

Enai

I've read part of Callahan's Secret Origins of the Bible. It's a study of the relationship of biblical themes to myths of the region. It's a little dry but then again I'm not that interested in the bible. You might find it more interesting.

Toto · 06-05-2004, 01:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by itsdatruth

You could try Fox's book of martrs, an extensive compilation of Early Christian persecutions. Shows an accuarate of how the existing social and govermental institutions delt with the Christains.

Anything you read should be cross read with the Book of Acts to get an idea of how the early Church functioned.

Fox's Book of Martyrs is online or at Amazon.

Quote:

This is a book that will never die -- one of the great English classics. . . . Reprinted here in its most complete form, it brings to life the days when "a noble army, men and boys, the matron and the maid," "climbed the steep ascent of heaven, 'mid peril, toil, and pain."

"After the Bible itself, no book so profoundly influenced early Protestant sentiment as the Book of Martyrs. Even in our time it is still a living force. It is more than a record of persecution. It is an arsenal of controversy, a storehouse of romance, as well as a source of edification."

Note that there is a lot of controvery between Catholics and Protestants around this book.

This humanist webpage claims:

Quote:

Fox's Book of Martyrs may have helped encourage centuries of persecution and killing of Catholics (which continues in Ulster today), but it also documents a long history of violence and murder against free thinkers by Rome.

As I noted before, the Book of Acts is an interesting historical novel, not a record of what actually happened. I would read Fox with a similar carload of salt.

Vorkosigan · 06-05-2004, 02:53 PM

[QUOTE=itsdatruth]You could try Fox's book of martrs, an extensive compilation of Early Christian persecutions. Shows an accuarate of how the existing social and govermental institutions delt with the Christains.

Quote:

Anything you read should be cross read with the Book of Acts to get an idea of how the early Church functioned.

Alas, the Book of Acts is almost entirely fiction, and Fox's Book of Martyrs is centuries out of date and reflects a very low level of historical research. It is online here.

Vorkosigan

Thread Tools	Search this Thread
Show Printable Version	Search this Thread: Advanced Search

Freethought & Rationalism Archive

The archives are read only.