god-free

What is a good, objective history of the Catholic Church currently in print?

Thanks.

god-free

Amos

There is none. She is, inspired, infallible and beyond comprehension.

Yellum Notnef

lets take another caller.

The Admiral

god-free

There are hundreds if not thousands. For starters you might try "The Gospel and the Church" by Alfred Loisy. He was a Catholic priest but used his brain to much and got himself de-frocked. It is not exactly an easy read. At least it wasn't for me.

The Admiral

The Admiral

If we were having a contest to select the most arrogant remark by a xtian I'd vote for this one.

<<There is none. She is, inspired, infallible and beyond comprehension. >>

The Admiral

Stephen Maturin

The "beyond comprehension" part I believe.

G V

<strong>What is a good, objective history of the Catholic Church currently in print?</strong>

Thank you god-free, for a very good, almost impossible to answer question.

One key word [ OBJECTIVE ] makes me doubt there is a single volume which is both good and objective history.

Any short history will miss many vital details.
Any long set of history books will cover more than you may want. If written by an "expert", it will have a point of view which we might not call objective.

Add to that the vast mountains of secret documents archived all over the world and I doubt if there will ever be an objective history of the RCC. <img src="graemlins/banghead.gif" border="0" alt="[Bang Head]" />

The Admiral

Oh come now Gorvy, it's not quite as bad as all that.

The Admiral

Buffman

Sorry, Admiral.

Personally I found that to be one of the most hilarious posts (Amos)I have read in ages...especially considering the evolution of the author's personal religious philosophy.

Please note his use of the female designation for this all-male, garbed in the colorful "dresses" of office and bedecked in the "icons" of rank, military organization in an attempt to soften its historically intransigent, authoritative, often belligerent and always arrogant activities and image. Tell me if you can find anything in their, self-designated as divinely inspired, collection of goat-herder tales that even comes close to the teachings of their so-called true prophet that "her" hierarchy truly believes to be honest and accurate. It is all smoke (white) and mirrors (magic). They are the sheperds of the flock, and often the wolves, who "prey" upon "her" either financially or physically for their own sustenance or amusement. They have spent nearly 1650 of their 2000+ years making sure that any scientifically accurate history of their organization has disappeared. But then, show me how any organized religion is any different. Organized religion must grow or die. Once it contributed to the survival of humankind. Today it is identical to any other living organism. It fights for its own survival at the expense of humankind. The bigger the organism, the greater is the hunger.

Martin Luther was a raving lunatic bigot of the worst expression of Roman Catholicism and one of "her" products; and that was after "she" had controlled the minds of "her" herd for around 1500 years of western society and culture. The Reformation was inevitable just as the fracturing of Protestanism was inevitable as humankind slowly and haltingly struggled out of the mind numbing clutches of the ages of darkness and superstition.

god-free: How can any book written about religion be considered objectivewhen the author is not in possession of all the historically accurate facts/evidence or has been conditioned by their own subjective (conditioned) perceptions of objectivity? People under the influence of religion are not ignorant or necessarily bad people. Many have been the most intelligent, compassionate and gifted of our species because religion helped to fan the embers of their individual genius...to the greater glory of that religion's supernatural Gods. The followers of most organized religions are merely duped into living in the future or the past rather than the present.

[ December 19, 2002: Message edited by: Buffman ]</p>

god-free

Thanks for all the (thoughtful) responses.

Let me re-word my question. Are there any good books on things such as the Crusades, the Spanish Inquisition, or the Church during World War II?

Thanks.

god-free