The Triumph Of Christianity by Rodney Stark

In this highly readable history of Christianity, Rodney Stark is not afraid to challenge popular beliefs. He argues that Jesus and most of His disciples were middle-class or wealthy, not poor as commonly believed. This is partly supported by the fact that several disciples were successful businessmen with employees, and Matthew was a tax collector, a lucrative profession. He offers several thought-provoking points in support of this, which deserve consideration. He also contends that the number of converts recorded in Acts is exaggerated. On this, I would disagree.

He debunks the myth of the Dark Ages as a period created by atheist writers. The so-called Dark Ages have been historically shown to be a time of innovation. “Instead, human effort and ingenuity turned to better ways to farm, to sail, to transport goods, to conduct business, to build churches, to make war, to educate, and even to play music.” Rome had hindered progress, and with its fall, human creativity was unleashed, laying the foundation for Western Civilization. It was “during the ‘Dark Ages’ Europe took the great technological and intellectual leap forward that put it ahead of the rest of the world.”

Rodney Stark further exposes many popular historical myths. These myths have been repeated so often and by some prominent historians that they have become accepted as facts, even though new evidence suggests otherwise. For example, he demonstrates that the horrors of the Spanish Inquisition have been greatly exaggerated. According to detailed records, we see that many more people were released than convicted. Often, those executed had been convicted multiple times. In fact, in some cases, the Spanish Inquisition worked to protect those accused of witchcraft from overzealous church officials. The persecutions and tortures in other parts of Europe were just as terrible, and often worse, than what occurred here.

The Crusades, Reformation, Enlightenment, and other historical periods are examined by Rodney Stark, who is the Distinguished Professor of Social Sciences and co-director of the Institute for Studies of Religion at Baylor University.

Purchase your copy from Amazon here.