- Title:
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The Darkening Age: The Christian Destruction of the Classical World (MP3)
- Written by:
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Catherine Nixey
- Read by:
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Lalla Ward
- Format:
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Unabridged MP3 CD Audio Book
- Number of CDs:
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1
- Duration:
-
9 hours 20 minutes
- MP3 size:
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387 MB
- Published:
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December 28 2018
- Available Date:
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December 28 2018
- Age Category:
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Adult
- ISBN:
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9781509899821
- Genres:
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Non-fiction; Ancient; Middle Ages; Religious
- Publisher:
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Bolinda/Macmillan audio
Qty
Format
Price
Bolinda price
A gripping account of how the early Christians annihilated the art and teachings of the Classical world from a brilliant young historian
The Darkening Age is the largely unknown story of how a militant religion deliberately attacked and suppressed the teachings of the Classical world, ushering in centuries of unquestioning adherence to 'one true faith'.
Despite the long-held notion that the early Christians were meek and mild, going to their martyr's deaths singing hymns of love and praise, the truth, as Catherine Nixey reveals, is very different. Far from being meek and mild, they were violent, ruthless and fundamentally intolerant. Unlike the polytheistic world, in which the addition of one new religion made no fundamental difference to the old ones, this new ideology stated not only that it was the way, the truth and the light but that, by extension, every single other way was wrong and had to be destroyed. From the first century to the sixth, those who didn't fall into step with its beliefs were pursued in every possible way: social, legal, financial and physical. Their altars were upturned and their temples demolished, their statues hacked to pieces and their priests killed. It was an annihilation.
Authoritative, vividly written and utterly compelling, this is a remarkable debut from a brilliant young historian.
'This book uncovers what was lost when Christianity won ... a delightful book about destruction and despair. Nixey combines the authority of a serious academic with the expressive style of a good journalist.'
The Times
'With passion, wit and thunderous eloquence, Nixey throws everything she has against the bishops, monks and Christian emperors of late antiquity ... The Darkening Age rattles along at a tremendous pace, and Nixey brilliantly evokes all that was lost with the waning of the classical world.'
The Sunday Times
'Clever, compelling ... Readers raised in the milky Anglican tradition will be surprised to learn of the savagery of the early saints and their sledgehammer-swinging followers ... exceptionally well written.'
The Spectator