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chris2110's review against another edition
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
3.5
rei_terblanche's review against another edition
5.0
What a book! Tom Holland takes the reader on a journey through time and points out the tectonic shifts of culture and thought along the way, starting from Ancient Greece and tracing all the way to the modern Western world we inhabit today. The author does this with an agenda, to show the reader that the proverbial water we swim in today, at least in the West, is Christian in every way.
quaerentia's review against another edition
5.0
This is a brilliant book, as many have noted. Holland is a popular historian of the first order and he has mastered vast swathes of church history to such an extent that he is able to pick out not simply ‘les mots justes’ but ‘les scènes justes’ which epitomise an era or major shift.
There are times of possible if not probable overreach, especially towards the conclusion, and it’s a moot point whether or not the progression towards what is best about modern society (in his view) is all down to Christianity’s influence or more the ideals of a contemporary, metropolitan, liberal-inclined historian who is rediscovering his faith. And that's totally fine if it is clear that's what it is.
Nevertheless, this is a tour de force and is so wonderfully readable. I learned a huge amount, especially about the early mediaeval worlds of Charlemagne and Co. This is one of Holland's periods of particular expertise (eg [b:Millennium: The End of the World and the Forging of Christendom|5574571|Millennium The End of the World and the Forging of Christendom|Tom Holland|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1329377253l/5574571._SY75_.jpg|5745769]) And his overarching thesis is hard to dispute, despite what sceptics will insist. The contemporary clarion call to defend the rights of all, the weak, marginalised and outcast, as well as the strong and powerful, has only one root: the crucified carpenter from Nazareth. Nietzsche saw that all too clearly. Which is, of course, why he utterly despised him.
There are times of possible if not probable overreach, especially towards the conclusion, and it’s a moot point whether or not the progression towards what is best about modern society (in his view) is all down to Christianity’s influence or more the ideals of a contemporary, metropolitan, liberal-inclined historian who is rediscovering his faith. And that's totally fine if it is clear that's what it is.
Nevertheless, this is a tour de force and is so wonderfully readable. I learned a huge amount, especially about the early mediaeval worlds of Charlemagne and Co. This is one of Holland's periods of particular expertise (eg [b:Millennium: The End of the World and the Forging of Christendom|5574571|Millennium The End of the World and the Forging of Christendom|Tom Holland|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1329377253l/5574571._SY75_.jpg|5745769]) And his overarching thesis is hard to dispute, despite what sceptics will insist. The contemporary clarion call to defend the rights of all, the weak, marginalised and outcast, as well as the strong and powerful, has only one root: the crucified carpenter from Nazareth. Nietzsche saw that all too clearly. Which is, of course, why he utterly despised him.
janefc's review against another edition
challenging
dark
hopeful
informative
reflective
tense
slow-paced
4.0
perfect_peter98's review against another edition
challenging
medium-paced
5.0
Covers a grand sweep of history. From BC to present. The influence of Christ on our every way of thinking and being is palpable!
tritlo's review against another edition
5.0
How Christianity has shaped Western Thought
An insightful book on the influence that Christianity has had on our society and furthermore how it has escaped the throes of religion and been exported throughout the world. Makes you think about the assumptions we make about other societies (such as ancient Rome) and to be vary of assuming the framework of thought was at all the same! I wish though to hear the other side of the coin: which implicit assumptions have we in the west imported from other societies?
An insightful book on the influence that Christianity has had on our society and furthermore how it has escaped the throes of religion and been exported throughout the world. Makes you think about the assumptions we make about other societies (such as ancient Rome) and to be vary of assuming the framework of thought was at all the same! I wish though to hear the other side of the coin: which implicit assumptions have we in the west imported from other societies?
zchaira's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
5.0
Brilliant work of Christian history done by an atheist.
pjackson's review against another edition
challenging
funny
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
4.5