Christianity Today - Issues and Controversies (enduring issues)
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Dominion by Tom HollandA "marvelous" (Economist) account of how the Christian Revolution forged the Western imagination. Crucifixion, the Romans believed, was the worst fate imaginable, a punishment reserved for slaves. How astonishing it was, then, that people should have come to believe that one particular victim of crucifixion-an obscure provincial by the name of Jesus-was to be worshipped as a god. Dominion explores the implications of this shocking conviction as they have reverberated throughout history. Today, the West remains utterly saturated by Christian assumptions. As Tom Holland demonstrates, our morals and ethics are not universal but are instead the fruits of a very distinctive civilization. Concepts such as secularism, liberalism, science, and homosexuality are deeply rooted in a Christian seedbed. From Babylon to the Beatles, Saint Michael to #MeToo, Dominion tells the story of how Christianity transformed the modern world.
Call Number: 271 HOL
ISBN: 9780465093502
Publication Date: 2019-10-29
History of Christianity by Paul JohnsonFirst published in 1976, Paul Johnson's exceptional study of Christianity has been loved and widely hailed for its intensive research, writing, and magnitude--"a tour de force, one of the most ambitious surveys of the history of Christianity ever attempted and perhaps the most radical" (New York Review of Books). In a highly readable companion to books on faith and history, the scholar and author Johnson has illuminated the Christian world and its fascinating history in a way that no other has. Johnson takes off in the year AD 49 with his namesake the apostle Paul. Thus beginning an ambitious quest to paint the centuries since the founding of a little-known 'Jesus Sect', A History of Christianity explores to a great degree the evolution of the Western world. With an unbiased and overall optimistic tone, Johnson traces the fantastic scope of the consequent sects of Christianity and the people who followed them. Information drawn from extensive and varied sources from around the world makes this history as credible as it is reliable. Invaluable understanding of the framework of modern Christianity--and its trials and tribulations throughout history--has never before been contained in such a captivating work.
Call Number: 270 JOH
ISBN: 9780684815039
Publication Date: 1979-08-01
Christianity by Matt Stefon; Britannica Educational Publishing Staff (Contribution by)Arguably one the greatest influences on the Western world, if not the world as a whole, the Christian faith can be described as a cultural and religious colossus for the tremendous effect it has had on the development of civilization as we know it. Although centered around the figure of Jesus of Nazareth, Christianity evolved rapidly, leading to the creation of various sects and traditions that have come to represent different peoples around the world. This compelling tome examines the philosophy, history, dogma, and socio-cultural aspects of a religion that has been found at the heart of both conflict and peace. Sidebars brim with interesting facts and stories that support the main narrative.
Call Number: 230 CHR
ISBN: 1615304932
Publication Date: 2011-08-30
Zealot by Reza AslanTwo thousand years ago, an itinerant Jewish preacher walked across the Galilee, gathering followers to establish what he called the "Kingdom of God." The revolutionary movement he launched was so threatening to the established order that he was executed as a state criminal. Within decades after his death, his followers would call him God. Sifting through centuries of mythmaking, Reza Aslan sheds new light on one of history's most enigmatic figures by examining Jesus through the lens of the tumultuous era in which he lived. Balancing the Jesus of the Gospels against the historical sources, Aslan describes a man full of conviction and passion, yet rife with contradiction. He explores the reasons the early Christian church preferred to promulgate an image of Jesus as a peaceful spiritual teacher rather than a politically conscious revolutionary. And he grapples with the riddle of how Jesus understood himself, the mystery that is at the heart of all subsequent claims about his divinity. Zealot yields a fresh perspective on one of the greatest stories ever told even as it affirms the radical and transformative nature of Jesus' life and mission.