How Christianity Saved Civilization... And Must Do So Again

Fascinating point of view. Perhaps we should go to Jesus Direct for our moral inspiration skip the 2000 years of interpretation

Great read, thought provoking and learned alot

I learned so much about ancient Roman civilization and how Christianity brought love into their society, especially in the families.

A great read...I learned so much of the history of Christianity and how we have steadily returned to our pagan roots,; however, there is hope if we will return to the gospel.

What a great book.... I found it fun to survey and in the end devoured it all.

What I liked most about this book was how the information was framed in history and just how transformative the Early Church was to the Pagan world. While I had read and thought about the subject before, this book brings this into sharp focus regarding hurdles that had been overcome before. While postmodernism is in many ways returning to a form of paganism, even the arguments used in defense have been borrowed from Western Civilization and the impact of the Church.I was reminded of Julian the Apostate's attempt to bring some form of Christian charity into his vision of Paganism. He obviously liked this aspect while despising Christianity. The same thing is happening now with people wanting to imitate such charity without having the moral foundation it is based upon.The first major section of the book does cover territory that can be found in similar histories. What is different here is that it is also a call to action about what we can do regarding the current culture. Not a rant about current times, but actionable steps and the reminder that we have overcome greater odds before. The writing is engaging and informative.

This book provides an excellent survey of the revolutionary impact that Christianity had on ancient civilization. As Aquilina and Papandrea convincingly demonstrate, there are all sorts of convictions that we take for granted (e.g., about protection of the vulnerable, fidelity in marriage, freedom from coercion in matters of faith, etc.,), which were brought to the fore primarily through the influence of the Christian movement. The book ends on a sober (but hopeful) note, pointing out that Christians are being called now to preserve these ideas in the face of a dominant culture that no longer respects the dignity of each human life and that sets forth consumeristic hedonism as the primary end of living. Aquilina and Papandrea's monograph is especially to be lauded for the way that it combines meticulous historical research with crystal clear prose, ensuring that their study is readily accessible to a broad audience of readers. For all of the above reasons, I heartily recommend this title.

I learned a lot from this book.Much of what we in the 21st Century consider to be common sense or common human decency did not really exist as a system before Judeo-Christian morality was spread by Christianity. "Husbands, love your wives," commanded St. Paul the Apostle — and that was a new idea in a pagan world where husbands weren't expected to do that. Helping the less fortunate, even strangers? Again, Christians were the ones who started that. Government that must respect individual rights and conscience? Again, a Christian idea new in the world. So much of what we consider to be common human decency is, really, the working of Christian faith and morals into world history.These ideas are supported by numerous quotations from primary sources, and the book is a pleasure to read.I was provided with a copy for review by one of the authors.

I really enjoyed this book. It is the second I have read on the subject. I liked the way this was organized. I also really liked the final two chapters because they were practical in nature for those of us who love the Church and the civilization that it built.