Bleak

Not a good account of the early church, though I dare say it's mostly true. Too much attention paid to ancient scholars who were anti Christian in my opinion. I guess that's the whole point of the book however. Yes, I am sure that the early church authorities acted like the Stasi or KGB &c. enforcing the rule of probably the world's first one party dictatorship, but it was a great disappointment for me to hear it in such bleak, harsh terms, though in recognition of the work put in by the author who may be passionate about her subject I have given it a high star rating. I hesitate to recommend though as I don't know who might enjoy this type of thing. Certainly not a Christian like myself and probably not anyone anti Christian either because it's not scholarly enough or doesn't go far enough.

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2 people found this helpful

Deeply troubling to listen to

I don't think I have ever enjoyed being made so angry, until starting this book. Very well read, very well written. Currently feeling numb at the senseless losses described within.

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2 people found this helpful

Outstanding

A huge eye opener on the 'dark ages' and why it so named. Really challenging the perception we have of those times and subsequent history into early medieval period. Would like to read more...

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Wonderful conveying of the holocaust of wisdom

Beautiful narration of the greatest destruction of wisdom in the history of humanity. As the author states, the book is not a chronological history, it succeeds in taking the reader into many places and events, each one building on the next giving a sense of the growing threat this zealous and infantile faith was to become.

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Outstanding

I was fascinated from start to finish with the depth of this book. So much I didn’t know! It was wonderful to be entertained, saddened, angered, and educated - all at once. The author is outstanding, the narrator I could listen to all day, everyday - a happy mix of all the elements required for a great audiobook.

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Fascinating

This book was a real education for me . It explains how history has been manipulated. It is extremely thought-provoking. I can not recommend it highly enough. Gripping , so much information- I may re read it .

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5 people found this helpful

the succinct narrative by Lala Ward

a fascinating glimpse into the world of theocracy and its destruction of cultures and people

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So enlightening

This book is so provoking with its information about the persecution BY the Christian in the Centuries.

If Jesus did say all the things that the Bible tells us about, he must have been heartbroken and devastated at what went on in his name.

As someone who grew up in a fundamental Christian household, I can hear shadows to this day of the Dogma and sheer arrogance of these early Christians. I have also been under the false impression that they were the persecuted and even taught that it was good to be so. Even in this day and age.

This is one of the reasons why I have turned my back on any church. Especially Fundamentalist movements.

Thank you Catherine for writing this book. I hope I’m among many readers who have been enlightened.

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2 people found this helpful

Interesting portrait

I really enjoyed the book. It is clearly well researched on a subject that gets far too little coverage. I have three comments to make though: 1) it is a subjective portrait of early christianity, not a balanced analysis, despite being informative. For example, the gruesome graphic murder of Hypatia could be seen as a power struggle between elements of christianity rather than an assault on philosophy. 2) it is somewhat repetitive: lots of statues (nearly all) were torn down and destroyed, but we dont need to hear about each individually 3) the decision to jump around dates makes it a confusing structure as an audio book. This is less confusing as a print book. Nonetheless, it was very informative and a pleasure to listen to.

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4 people found this helpful

A must read book

The triumph of Christianity, the violent and intolerant religion. One can see the imposition of unique thinking that’s spreads all over the words nowadays.

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3 people found this helpful