The Myth of Persecution - read free eBook in online reader or directly download on the web page. Select files or add your book in reader. Download and read online ebook The Myth of Persecution write by Candida Moss. This book was released on 2013-03-05. The Myth of Persecution available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. In The Myth of Persecution, Candida Moss, a leading expert on early Christianity, reveals how the early church exaggerated, invented, and forged stories of Christian martyrs and how the dangerous legacy of a martyrdom complex is employed today to silence dissent and galvanize a new generation of culture warriors. According to cherished church tradition and popular belief, before the Emperor Constantine made Christianity legal in the fourth century, early Christians were systematically persecuted by a brutal Roman Empire intent on their destruction. As the story goes, vast numbers of believers were thrown to the lions, tortured, or burned alive because they refused to renounce Christ. These saints, Christianity's inspirational heroes, are still venerated today. Moss, however, exposes that the "Age of Martyrs" is a fiction—there was no sustained 300-year-long effort by the Romans to persecute Christians. Instead, these stories were pious exaggerations; highly stylized rewritings of Jewish, Greek, and Roman noble death traditions; and even forgeries designed to marginalize heretics, inspire the faithful, and fund churches. The traditional story of persecution is still taught in Sunday school classes, celebrated in sermons, and employed by church leaders, politicians, and media pundits who insist that Christians were—and always will be—persecuted by a hostile, secular world. While violence against Christians does occur in select parts of the world today, the rhetoric of persecution is both misleading and rooted in an inaccurate history of the early church. Moss urges modern Christians to abandon the conspiratorial assumption that the world is out to get Christians and, rather, embrace the consolation, moral instruction, and spiritual guidance that these martyrdom stories provide.
Early Christian Martyr Stories
Early Christian Martyr Stories - read free eBook in online reader or directly download on the web page. Select files or add your book in reader. Download and read online ebook Early Christian Martyr Stories write by Bryan M. Litfin. This book was released on 2014-09-30. Early Christian Martyr Stories available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Personal narratives are powerful instruments for teaching, both for conveying information and for forming character. The martyrdom accounts preserved in the literature of early Christianity are especially intense and dramatic. However, these narratives are not readily available and are often written in intimidating prose, making them largely inaccessible for the average reader. This introductory text brings together key early Christian martyrdom stories in a single volume, offering new, easy-to-read translations and expert commentary. An introduction and explanatory notes accompany each translation. The book not only provides a vivid window into the world of early Christianity but also offers spiritual encouragement and inspiration for Christian life today.
Ancient Christian Martyrdom
Ancient Christian Martyrdom - read free eBook in online reader or directly download on the web page. Select files or add your book in reader. Download and read online ebook Ancient Christian Martyrdom write by Candida R. Moss. This book was released on 2012-06-26. Ancient Christian Martyrdom available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Using perspectives on death from ancient Greek, Roman and Jewish traditions, a theology professor discusses the history of Christian martyrdom and challenges the traditional understanding of the spread of Christianity.
Christian Persecution, Martyrdom, and Orthodoxy
Christian Persecution, Martyrdom, and Orthodoxy - read free eBook in online reader or directly download on the web page. Select files or add your book in reader. Download and read online ebook Christian Persecution, Martyrdom, and Orthodoxy write by Geoffrey Ernest Maurice De Ste. Croix. This book was released on 2006-09-28. Christian Persecution, Martyrdom, and Orthodoxy available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. This volume brings together seven seminal papers by the great radical historian Geoffrey de Ste. Croix, who died in 2000, on early Christian topics, with an especial focus on persecution and martyrdom. Christian martyrdom is a topic which conjures up ready images of inhumane persecutors confronted by Christian heroes who perish for the instant but win the long-term battle for reputation. In five of these essays Ste. Croix scrutinizes the evidence to reveal the significant role ofChristian themselves, first as volunteer martyrs and later, after the triumph of Christianity in the early fourth century, as organizers of much more effective persecutions. A sixth essay pursues the question of the control of Christianity through a comprehensive study of the context for one of theChurch's most important and divisive doctrinal decisions, at the Council of Chalcedon (AD 451); the key role of the emperor and his senior secular officials is revealed, contrary to the prevailing interpretation of Church historians. Finally the attitudes of the early Church towards property and slavery are reviewed, to show the divide between the Gospel message and actual practice.
The Book of Christian Martyrs
The Book of Christian Martyrs - read free eBook in online reader or directly download on the web page. Select files or add your book in reader. Download and read online ebook The Book of Christian Martyrs write by Bruno Chenu. This book was released on 1990. The Book of Christian Martyrs available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle.
