I want real facts, not biased pages as to why or why it isn't true. I want to know the history of what they believe, why they believe what they do, who started it, all that good stuff. I don't want "it is true because..." I want facts supported by historical events. If anyone knows where I can find these answers, please let me know. It is very hard to find a web page without a biased tone behind it. I would like web pages, names of books, anything so that I may educate myself this world religion.
2007-02-22 05:06:59 · 21 answers · asked by Nikki 2 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
I am not a Christian, I just want to be fully educated on world religions. I never said I was a Christian. I don't want my information from the bible because it is bias. It isn't fact, just someone's religious belief. I want the start, I want Crusades, I want names of people (not just writers of it.) My plan is to be a well rounded person, and to do that, I need the facts on all religions. Christianity just seems to be the hardest to find facts on because they take JUST the bible as fact and not historical proof as well. I am not insulting Christianity, I just want a true, unbiased education on it. The good and the bad.
2007-02-22 11:14:34 · update #1
A good place to start are places like Historychannel.com. What you are looking for is the historie of Egypt, Babylon, Greece, Rome, Medieval Europe, then Europeans countries (mostly England, Germany, Italy, France) and finally "modern history" of the last 200-400years of the changes just before and after the Industrial Revolution.
The truth of Christian history is told in the histories of these cultures. There are very few unbiased descriptions of Christian history by itself, you have to pick it out of world history to get an unbiased view. The bible offers only religious doctrine not history.
You will find that the history of Christianity has some moments that are not so pretty,you will also find that it is intertwined with the history of Judaism and Islam so you will get more than you mean to but I think this is what you are looking for.
2007-02-22 05:27:11 · answer #1 · answered by Huggles-the-wise 5 · 1⤊ 1⤋
I applaud your efforts at erudition. It may be difficult to provide a pure history because so much of Christianity has less to do with events (other than the obvious ones) and more to do with movements, ideas, abstract concepts felt more deeply in the heart than could ever be put to paper.
Here are some books I've found to be unbiased (or at least relatively so). You may wish to set aside a few months:
"Early Christian Writings: The Apostolic Fathers" by A. Louth
"The Early Church" by H. Chadwick
"Origen: An exhortation to Martyrdom, Prayer, and selected works" by R. A. Greer and H. U. Von Balthasar
"The History of the Church: From Christ to Constantine" by Eusebius (4th century), translation A. Louth
"The Orthodox Church in the Byzantine Empire" by J.Hussey
"The New Concise History of the Crusades" by T. F. Madden
"The Spanish Inquisition: A Historical Revision" by H. Kamen
"The Reformation" by D. MacCulloch
"The Ascent to Truth" by T. Merton
"America's God" by M. A. Noll
"Reclaiming the Great Tradition" by J. S. Cutsinger
To offer a "fair" balance, one that reflects a perhaps more hostile tone, I offer the following:
"A History of God" by K. Armstrong
"The Jesus of History, the Christ of Faith" by J. R. Porter
"Constantine's Sword" by J. Carroll
Anything by Shelby Spong
I'm not a fan of the above four because I find them to be hostile in tone and incomplete in coverage, but they offer an opposing viewpoint.
2007-02-22 13:51:51 · answer #2 · answered by Veritatum17 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Forget the Bible; it's been translated over and over and was written at least 70 years after the events.
Begin with wikipedia.com, and then go on to:
The Secret Origins of the Bible by Tim Callahan
Gospel Fictions by Randel Helms
The Jesus Puzzle: Did Christianity Begin with a Mythical Christ? Challenging the Existence of an Historical Jesus by Earl Doherty,
The Book Your Church Doesn't Want You to Read by Tim C. Leedom
Good Luck!
2007-02-22 13:30:00 · answer #3 · answered by adphllps 5 · 1⤊ 2⤋
History of Christianity by Paul Johnson
A History of Christianity by Owen Chadwick
A History of Christianity in the United States and Canada by Mark A. Noll
A Short History of Christianity by Stephen Tomkins
A World History of Christianity by Adrian Hastings
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If you want no-bias, don't read the bible lol (actually, I would suggest also reading the bible so that you have an understanding of what christians believe and why they do the things they do.)
2007-02-22 13:11:38 · answer #4 · answered by A 6 · 2⤊ 1⤋
I think you are asking for an unbiased account, and you can't get one. Myself I am an unbeliever, so anything I would recommend would lead you toward -- say Mencken, Renard or whosever -- skepticism.
I reckon if I had to steer you to a writer with whom I disagree but find congenial, that would be C.S. Lewis, recently famous for one of his Narnia fables, but the intellectual equal of Bertie Russell.
2007-02-22 13:23:11 · answer #5 · answered by obelix 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Go to the library and look in the ancient history section. Read about the early nations and that will tell you how it started. There is also a link below.
2007-02-22 13:09:50 · answer #6 · answered by Justsyd 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Karen Armstrong writes some excellent books about religion. Why dont you start with her book "A History of God." Its fantastic.
2007-02-22 13:22:05 · answer #7 · answered by CHELLE BELLE 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
YOU WANT FACTS ON A FAIRY TALE BOOK! FOR A START CHRISTIANITY WAS STARTED BY A MAN WHO WAS BORN IN GALILEE (WHICH ISNT IN OCCUPIED ISRAEL) SO WHY IS JERUSALEM IMPORTANT AND CONSTANTLY BEING FOUGHT OVER?
THEN THE FACTS ARE HE SET OUT TO CREATE A MORALLY STRUCTURED COMMUNITY, WHICH UPSET THE THEN OCCUPIERS OF THE MIDDLE EAST THE ROMANS (ITALIAN PRINCIPALITY REGION OF ITALY,NOT EVERY ITALIAN HAS ROMAN ANCESTRY A-HOLS!!) WHO FORCED THERE WAY OF CONTROL AND ENSLAVEMENT ON A PEOPLE THEY COULDNT UNDERSTAND.WHICH RESULTED IN THE EVER INCREASING FOLLOWING OF A MAN CALLED JESUS. STORIES GOT AROUND ABOUT JESUS TO THE ROMANS WHO KILLED HIM TURNING HIM INTO A MARTYR. RESULT HUGE BACKLASH IN POWER AND NEEDING TO REGAIN IT IN THE REGION... ANSWER THE BIBLE WRITTEN BY THE ROMANS WITH A BELIEVABLE BACK LOG OF STORIES INSTRUCTING CONFORMING,NO VIOLENCE AND NO RETALIATION TO ANYONE
WHERE IS THE CATHOLIC CHURCHES "HOMELAND" VATICAN CITY ROMA.... FACT
2007-02-22 13:41:50 · answer #8 · answered by Ben Macca 1 · 0⤊ 1⤋
you can find the truth in the Quran. The Bible has been revealed by God to Jesus before the revelation of Quran to Prophet Muhammad. But some of the portion of the Bible has been changed by some christians in ancient time for their own profit. Quran is safe from any voilation and is saying something about the christian history.. Believe me go through this... you will find the answer!!!
2007-02-22 13:21:02 · answer #9 · answered by Dr. Aabroo Aman 2 · 1⤊ 4⤋
I think www.fossilizedcustoms.com is good. The liars won't tell you the truth. The Almighty YHVH set up a system. He sent His “Son” YAHOSHUA to die for the sins of mankind so they would not have to. (They could choose to, but did not have to). Any person who chooses not to allow Yahoshua to take care of their sins, chooses to remain attached to their sins. They thus will wind up in the lake of fire which is YHVH’s method of cleaning this world, and eliminating sin and sinners. The Creator set aside the Seventh day for rest and worship. Yes that is the day usually called “Saturday”. We are not saved by obedience, we are saved by faith. However we are saved FOR obedience. As He said in John 14:15 (and in many other places) “If you love me, keep my commandments.
Churchianity is a pagan religion. The only thing that will change a person is the indwelling savior Yahoshua. Obviously that is rare in this sinful world.
2007-02-22 13:25:30 · answer #10 · answered by hasse_john 7 · 1⤊ 3⤋