The Rise and Fall of the Christian Myth

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Author :
Publisher : Yale University Press
ISBN 13 : 0300227892
Total Pages : 320 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (2 download)

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Book Synopsis The Rise and Fall of the Christian Myth by : Burton L. Mack

Download or read book The Rise and Fall of the Christian Myth written by Burton L. Mack and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2017-02-07 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is the culmination of a lifelong scholarly inquiry into Christian history, religion as a social institution, and the role of myth in the history of religions. Mack shows that religions are essentially mythological and that Christianity in particular has been an ever-changing mythological engine of social formation, from Roman times to its distinct American expression in our time. The author traces the cultural influence of the Christian myth that has persisted for sixteen hundred years but now should be much less consequential in our social and cultural life, since it runs counter to our democratic ideals. We stand at a critical impasse: badly splintered by conflicting groups pursuing their own social interests, a binding common myth needs to be established by renewing a truly cohesive national and international story rooted in our democratic and egalitarian origins, committed to freedom, equality, and vital human values.

Exposing Myths About Christianity

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Author :
Publisher : InterVarsity Press
ISBN 13 : 0830866876
Total Pages : 362 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (38 download)

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Book Synopsis Exposing Myths About Christianity by : Jeffrey Burton Russell

Download or read book Exposing Myths About Christianity written by Jeffrey Burton Russell and published by InterVarsity Press. This book was released on 2012-05-15 with total page 362 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Renowned historian, Jeffrey Burton Russell, famous for his studies of medieval history, turns to the serious questions that confront Christianity in contemporary culture. Russell examines a wide array of common mispercerptions, characterizations, stereotypes, caricatures and outright myths about Christianity that circulate heavily within today?s society, and are even believed by many Christians. In a succinct and engaging manner, Russell discusses these errors and provides thoughtful, even-handed, carefully researched and sharp-witted responses. The author sets the record straight against the New Atheists and other cultural critics who charge Christianity with being outdated, destructive, superstitious, unenlightened, racist, colonialist, based on fabrication, and other significant false accusations.

The Myth of American Religious Freedom

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Author :
Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 9780199793112
Total Pages : 368 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (931 download)

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Book Synopsis The Myth of American Religious Freedom by : David Sehat

Download or read book The Myth of American Religious Freedom written by David Sehat and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2011-01-14 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the battles over religion and politics in America, both liberals and conservatives often appeal to history. Liberals claim that the Founders separated church and state. But for much of American history, David Sehat writes, Protestant Christianity was intimately intertwined with the state. Yet the past was not the Christian utopia that conservatives imagine either. Instead, a Protestant moral establishment prevailed, using government power to punish free thinkers and religious dissidents. In The Myth of American Religious Freedom, Sehat provides an eye-opening history of religion in public life, overturning our most cherished myths. Originally, the First Amendment applied only to the federal government, which had limited authority. The Protestant moral establishment ruled on the state level. Using moral laws to uphold religious power, religious partisans enforced a moral and religious orthodoxy against Catholics, Jews, Mormons, agnostics, and others. Not until 1940 did the U.S. Supreme Court extend the First Amendment to the states. As the Supreme Court began to dismantle the connections between religion and government, Sehat argues, religious conservatives mobilized to maintain their power and began the culture wars of the last fifty years. To trace the rise and fall of this Protestant establishment, Sehat focuses on a series of dissenters--abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison, suffragist Elizabeth Cady Stanton, socialist Eugene V. Debs, and many others. Shattering myths held by both the left and right, David Sehat forces us to rethink some of our most deeply held beliefs. By showing the bad history used on both sides, he denies partisans a safe refuge with the Founders.

The Rise and Fall of Adam and Eve

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Author :
Publisher : W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN 13 : 0393634582
Total Pages : 368 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (936 download)

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Book Synopsis The Rise and Fall of Adam and Eve by : Stephen Greenblatt

Download or read book The Rise and Fall of Adam and Eve written by Stephen Greenblatt and published by W. W. Norton & Company. This book was released on 2017-09-12 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Endlessly illuminating and a sheer pleasure to read.” —Jack Miles, author of God: A Biography Daring to take the great biblical account of human origins seriously, but without credulity The most influential story in Western cultural history, the biblical account of Adam and Eve is now treated either as the sacred possession of the faithful or as the butt of secular jokes. Here, acclaimed scholar Stephen Greenblatt explores it with profound appreciation for its cultural and psychological power as literature. From the birth of the Hebrew Bible to the awe-inspiring contributions of Augustine, Dürer, and Milton in bringing Adam and Eve to vivid life, Greenblatt unpacks the story’s many interpretations and consequences over time. Rich allegory, vicious misogyny, deep moral insight, narrow literalism, and some of the greatest triumphs of art and literature: all can be counted as children of our “first” parents.

6 Modern Myths About Christianity & Western Civilization

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Author :
Publisher : InterVarsity Press
ISBN 13 : 083082281X
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (38 download)

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Book Synopsis 6 Modern Myths About Christianity & Western Civilization by : Philip J. Sampson

Download or read book 6 Modern Myths About Christianity & Western Civilization written by Philip J. Sampson and published by InterVarsity Press. This book was released on 2001-01-11 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this book Philip J. Sampson dispels six myths about Christianity and Western civilization and results in unsettling conven-tional wisdom and providing an enlightening look at truth.

The Myth of the Dying Church

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Author :
Publisher : Worthy Books
ISBN 13 : 1546015167
Total Pages : 224 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (46 download)

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Book Synopsis The Myth of the Dying Church by : Glenn T. Stanton

Download or read book The Myth of the Dying Church written by Glenn T. Stanton and published by Worthy Books. This book was released on 2019-06-18 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: False news is not limited to politics. There is a pervasive myth circulating that says the church is dying. GLENN STANTON rebuts that fake news and paints a truly positive picture of America's churches. Much has been made of the so-called "nones" - those who claim no spiritual affiliation. Media has spun the nones into a chicken-little the sky is falling narrative. The nones are an infamously difficult subsection to understand and there is a lot of false information on them. Glenn Stanton believes the nones story has become overblown and has become "a thing" due to curiosity and repetition of their supposed irreligiosity. THE MYTH OF THE DYING CHURCH digs deeply into the research concerning spirituality in America and reveals the hope and truth about the vitality and future of the church.

The Founding Myth

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Author :
Publisher : Sterling
ISBN 13 : 9781454943914
Total Pages : 368 pages
Book Rating : 4.9/5 (439 download)

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Book Synopsis The Founding Myth by : Andrew L. Seidel

Download or read book The Founding Myth written by Andrew L. Seidel and published by Sterling. This book was released on 2021-10-12 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Was America founded on Judeo-Christian principles? Are the Ten Commandments the basis for American law? In the paperback edition of this critically acclaimed book, a constitutional attorney settles the debate about religion's role in America's founding. In today's contentious political climate, understanding religion's role in American government is more important than ever. Christian nationalists assert that our nation was founded on Judeo-Christian principles, and advocate an agenda based on this popular historical claim. But is this belief true? The Founding Myth answers the question once and for all. Andrew L. Seidel builds his case by comparing the Ten Commandments to the Constitution and contrasting biblical doctrine with America's founding philosophy, showing that the Declaration of Independence contradicts the Bible. Thoroughly researched, this persuasively argued and fascinating book proves that America was not built on the Bible and that Christian nationalism is un-American. Includes a new epilogue reflecting on the role Christian nationalism played in fomenting the January 6, 2021, insurrection in DC and the warnings the nation missed.

Myth & Christianity

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Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9781591022916
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (229 download)

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Book Synopsis Myth & Christianity by : Karl Jaspers

Download or read book Myth & Christianity written by Karl Jaspers and published by . This book was released on 2005 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Two of the most brilliant German thinkers of the twentieth century were Karl Jaspers and Rudolf Bultmann. Jaspers, the philosopher, and Bultmann, the theologian, were both influenced by the philosophy of Martin Heidegger and the rise of the existentialist movement. Late in their careers they interacted on the subject of Bultmann's attempt to divest Christianity of its mythical components and make sense of it in more modern terms. This work is a compilation of articles by Jaspers and Bultmann that formed a running debate originally published in various scholarly journals. The first half of the book is Jaspers' lengthy and critical analysis of Bultmann's interpretation of Christianity, in which Jaspers essentially rejects the premise that Christianity or any other religion can or should be understood without its mythical framework. Jaspers charges that Bultmann has radically misunderstood the nature of myth and that myth is an irreplaceable form of symbolic communication. In the second part, Bultmann defends his approach, suggesting that Jaspers has not really understood his intent or meaning. Contemporary people today, schooled in the scientific tradition, are likely to reject the biblical texts because of their miraculous claims and supernatural content. Bultmann insists that the scholarly, scientific study of the Bible is a legitimate way to reveal its true message, apart from all the supernatural trappings. Finally, in response, Jaspers accepts some of Bultmann's clarifications but takes him to task on the subject of justification by faith, which he feels Bultmann defines too narrowly and too exclusively. This stimulating work by two penetrating minds will give anyone interested in perennial philosophical and theological questions much to ponder.

The Myth of Persecution

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Author :
Publisher : Harper Collins
ISBN 13 : 0062104543
Total Pages : 247 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (621 download)

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Book Synopsis The Myth of Persecution by : Candida Moss

Download or read book The Myth of Persecution written by Candida Moss and published by Harper Collins. This book was released on 2013-03-05 with total page 247 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.

The Christ Myth

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Author :
Publisher : Litres
ISBN 13 : 5040829744
Total Pages : 407 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (48 download)

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Book Synopsis The Christ Myth by : Arthur Drews

Download or read book The Christ Myth written by Arthur Drews and published by Litres. This book was released on 2021-12-02 with total page 407 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

The Christian Myth

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Author :
Publisher : Burns & Oates
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 248 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (91 download)

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Book Synopsis The Christian Myth by : Burton L. Mack

Download or read book The Christian Myth written by Burton L. Mack and published by Burns & Oates. This book was released on 2001 with total page 248 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Mack rejects depictions of Jesus that have emerged from the quest for the historical Jesus--peasant teacher, revolutionary leader, mystical visionary or miracle-working prophet--on the grounds that they are based on a priori assumptions about Jesus, and are therefore contradictory. In addition, he argues, these portrayals are untrue to the many images of Jesus produced by the early Christians. Using systematic analysis, Mack seeks to describe and understand the cultural and anthropological influences on the conception and adoption of Christian myths and rituals.

Why There Is No God

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Publisher : Atheist Republic
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 64 pages
Book Rating : 4./5 ( download)

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Book Synopsis Why There Is No God by : Armin Navabi

Download or read book Why There Is No God written by Armin Navabi and published by Atheist Republic. This book was released on 2014-10-06 with total page 64 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Science can't explain the complexity and order of life; God must have designed it to be this way.""God's existence is proven by scripture.""There's no evidence that God doesn't exist.""God has helped me so much. How could none of it be true?""Atheism has killed more people than religion, so it must be wrong!" How many times have you heard arguments like these for why God exists? Why There Is No God: Simple Responses to 20 Common Arguments for the Existence of God provides simple, easy-to-understand counterpoints to the most popular arguments made for the existence of God. Each chapter presents a concise explanation of the argument, followed by a response illustrating the problems and fallacies inherent in it. Whether you're an atheist, a believer or undecided, this book offers a solid foundation for building your own inquiry about the concept of God.

Christian Mythology

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Author :
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
ISBN 13 : 1620553694
Total Pages : 224 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (25 download)

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Book Synopsis Christian Mythology by : Philippe Walter

Download or read book Christian Mythology written by Philippe Walter and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2014-11-20 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Reveals how Christian mythology has more to do with long-standing pagan traditions than the Bible • Explains how the church fathers knowingly incorporated pagan elements into the Christian faith to ease the transition to the new religion • Identifies pagan deities that were incorporated into each of the saints • Shows how all the major holidays in the Christian calendar are modeled on pagan rituals and myths, including Easter and Christmas In this extensive study of the Christian mythology that animated Europe in the Middle Ages, author Philippe Walter reveals how these stories and the holiday traditions connected with them are based on long-standing pagan rituals and myths and have very little connection to the Bible. The author explains how the church fathers knowingly incorporated pagan elements into the Christian faith to ease the transition to the new religion. Rather than tear down the pagan temples in Britain, Pope Gregory the Great advised Saint Augustine of Canterbury to add the pagan rituals into the mix of Christian practices and transform the pagan temples into churches. Instead of religious conversion, it was simply a matter of convincing the populace to include Jesus in their current religious practices. Providing extensive documentation, Walter shows which major calendar days of the Christian year are founded on pagan rituals and myths, including the high holidays of Easter and Christmas. Examining hagiographic accounts of the saints, he reveals the origin of these symbolic figures in the deities worshipped in pagan Europe for centuries. He also explores how the identities of saints and pagan figures became so intermingled that some saints were transformed into pagan incarnations, such as Mary Magdalene’s conversion into one of the Celtic Ladies of the Lake. In revealing the pagan roots of many Christian figures, stories, and rituals, Walter provides a new understanding of the evolution of religious belief.

Myths America Lives By

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Author :
Publisher : University of Illinois Press
ISBN 13 : 0252050800
Total Pages : 272 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (52 download)

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Book Synopsis Myths America Lives By by : Richard T. Hughes

Download or read book Myths America Lives By written by Richard T. Hughes and published by University of Illinois Press. This book was released on 2018-09-05 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Six myths lie at the heart of the American experience. Taken as aspirational, four of those myths remind us of our noblest ideals, challenging us to realize our nation's promise while galvanizing the sense of hope and unity we need to reach our goals. Misused, these myths allow for illusions of innocence that fly in the face of white supremacy, the primal American myth that stands at the heart of all the others.

Reinventing Jesus

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Publisher : Kregel Publications
ISBN 13 : 0825497566
Total Pages : 350 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (254 download)

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Book Synopsis Reinventing Jesus by : J. Ed Komoszewski

Download or read book Reinventing Jesus written by J. Ed Komoszewski and published by Kregel Publications. This book was released on with total page 350 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Reinventing Jesus cuts through the rhetoric of extreme doubt to reveal the profound credibility of historic Christianity. Meticulously researched yet eminently readable, this book invites a wide audience to take a firsthand look at the primary evidence for Christianity's origins.

Resetting the Origins of Christianity

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Publisher : Cambridge University Press
ISBN 13 : 1009290487
Total Pages : 419 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (92 download)

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Book Synopsis Resetting the Origins of Christianity by : Markus Vinzent

Download or read book Resetting the Origins of Christianity written by Markus Vinzent and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2022-12-31 with total page 419 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How do we know what we know about the origins of the Christian religion? Neither its founder, nor the Apostles, nor Paul left any written accounts of their movement. The witnesses' testimonies were transmitted via successive generations of copyists and historians, with the oldest surviving fragments dating to the second and third centuries - that is, to well after Jesus' death. In this innovative and important book, Markus Vinzent interrogates standard interpretations of Christian origins handed down over the centuries. He scrutinizes - in reverse order - the earliest recorded sources from the sixth to the second century, showing how the works of Greek and Latin writers reveal a good deal more about their own times and preoccupations than they do about early Christianity. In so doing, the author boldly challenges understandings of one of the most momentous social and religious movements in history, as well as its reception over time and place.

The Myth of the Non-Christian

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Author :
Publisher : InterVarsity Press
ISBN 13 : 0830844503
Total Pages : 243 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (38 download)

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Book Synopsis The Myth of the Non-Christian by : Luke Cawley

Download or read book The Myth of the Non-Christian written by Luke Cawley and published by InterVarsity Press. This book was released on 2016-02-12 with total page 243 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Evangelism is not one-size-fits-all. In this book Luke Cawley shows how we can contextualize the gospel in different ways to connect with three key demographics: the spiritual but not religious, committed atheists and nominal Christians. Filled with real-life stories of changed lives, this book is a practical and hopeful resource for helping people to encounter God.