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Average rating4.3
A historian of antiquity shows how the Christian Revolution forged the Western imagination Crucifixion, the Romans believed, was the worst fate imaginable. It was this that rendered it so suitable a punishment 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-had been 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. Our morals and ethics are not universal. Instead, they are 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 world.
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We are often sculpted by our rivals, perhaps more so even than our allies. I would say this is the idea that Holland explores as he presents a view of Christian history that often takes the time to look to the peripherals of burgeoning Christianity and point out its influence on its opponents. Any pop history book covering such an extensive time range will have large gaps, so it would be easy to quibble about what was left out, but I personally felt that Holland's selection of people and events contributed well to this sub-theme.