Candida Moss

That I picked up this book was mostly on the basis of the cryptic title, and the question as to whatever could the author be writing about.

It turns out that Moss has mostly written a sociological take on how the gospels came to be a physical object, as most of scribes and secretaries of the Roman empire at the time in question were slaves, before looking at the nature of how that reality would condition the work of the apostles. This is as the original apostles do not seem to be literate show more men, apart from Paul, who had to dictate their thoughts for transmission to a broader community, and it seems likely that the literary works of the early Church are best regarded as collaborative efforts.

Suffused through all this are the realities of Roman slavery, how that is a background to the New Testament, and how this impacted what was really being preached in the early Church. This is as new believers were being called to be slaves of God, with manumission only coming with the resurrection.

Seeing as we really only have fragments of Roman history that have been teased out over time, Moss makes no apologies for turning the mismatched pieces into a construct of her imagination; this is merely the job of the historian. She also makes no apologies for contesting what she sees as the misuse of the Bible, as a tool to justify the self-serving behavior of the self-anointed "saved" at the expense of those whom they would exploit.

Finally, Moss also has little use for the notion that the Bible is effectively written in stone, but is a lived tradition that is rewritten as need calls for, be it for better or worse. She also makes a plea for more imagination in our social relations, as imagination is what leads to empathy, which leads to the sense of mercy that those of us who call ourselves Christians should be trying to exercise. So yes, this book is as much an exercise in advocacy as it is a work of history.

How to rate this book was a tough call, as it is rather speculative and it is a polemic. Moss mostly conducts herself with enough care that I'm inclined to give her the benefit of the doubt. show less

Are the stories of Christian persecution during Christianity’s early years really true? Or should we recognize them as apologetic exaggeration?

Candida Moss takes a hard look at how such stories are derived, and she has high standards for what counts as persecution. Execution for merely refusing to recant one’s Christian beliefs doesn’t measure up (prosecution is not persecution, any more than prejudice is persecution). Yet she makes her point strongly that widespread, repeated show more persecution of Christians before the time of Constantine is no more than a myth.

There is much at stake in this discussion, because it is a common apologetic tactic to claim “proof” of Jesus’ resurrection by referring to his followers’ willingness to die for their beliefs. But what if this willingness to sacrifice for one’s principles, in the few cases where it is genuine, differs little from the principles of many other philosophers of the day? Socrates, for example, was equally willing to die for his principles.

Moss writes with intelligence and deep research as she presents her case that Christian martyrdom stories are distorted by their chroniclers, often presented with unsubtle motives. Eusibus, who played a key role in defining orthodoxy, very effectively employed martyrdom stories to further his own theological agendas.

But is there an even darker side to exaggerating the stories of our martyrs? Does an over-admiration for martyrdom promote an us-versus-them atmosphere that encourages polarization? More than a rhetorical question, Moss fears that overplaying martyrdom does Christianity a disservice. It leads us to believe persecution (perceived or real) is evidence of God’s approval. Evidence that we are the chosen ones. Maybe we should quit playing our martyr cards and instead pay a little more attention why Christians were so despised. Moss pulls no punches as she explains why Christians didn’t fit in with either Gentile or Jew.

I remember growing up with 1 Peter 4:12 in mind: “Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you.” Are we as Christians supposed to ignore such advice? Perhaps Moss was never teased as a child for professing Christian beliefs. Perhaps she’s simply telling us it’s time to grow up. Perhaps she’s insinuating that the reward isn’t worth the suffering. Whatever your personal experience in “carrying your cross” and “suffering for Christ,” you can bet this controversial book will provoke emotions. Moss writes bluntly, unafraid to step on a few toes. But maybe it is time to grow up. show less

First off: I'm disappointed that Goodreads got this title, and its subtitle, flat-out wrong. It's printed correctly on the cover they show; but in case you can't see that, the actual title of this book is: The Myth of Persecution: How Early Christians Invented A Story Of Martyrdom. And that's important, because Candida Moss is making a strong case against popularly accepted ideas of Christian persecution, past and present. [UPDATE: GR corrected the title after I first posted this review. show more Thank you, watchful GR librarians!]

Moss is Catholic, and professor of New Testament and Early Christianity at the University of Notre Dame. She starts off with some anecdotes about contemporary American Christians who claim to be persecuted -- Rush Limbaugh's brother David, for instance, who published a book titled Persecution: How Liberals Are Waging War Against Christianity. She goes on to ask a few simple questions:

"If there had never been an Age of Martyrs, would Christians automatically see themselves as engaged in a war with their critics? Would Christians still see themselves as persecuted, or would they try to understand their opponents? Would the response to violence be to fight back or to address the causes of misunderstanding? Would we be more compassionate? Would we be less self-righteous? The history of Christianity is steeped in the blood of the martyrs and set as a battle between good and evil. How would we think about ourselves if that history were not true?"

She goes on to present solid, detailed evidence for the case that claims of constant anti-Christian persecution are exaggerated at best. To be blunt: not only is the body count significantly lower than the ancient stories would lead us to believe, but the definition of persecution has to be examined.

"Just because Christians were prosecuted or executed, even unjustly, does not necessarily mean that they were persecuted. Persecution implies that a certain group is being unfairly targeted for attack and condemnation, usually because of blind hatred. We have to know, then, why Christians were being arrested and executed and whether the reasons were a part of general legal practice or whether the Christians were being singled out. As we look at episodes of 'persecution,' we need to constantly ask ourselves: Is this religious persecution or is this ancient justice?"

Moss' prose is smooth and her writing voice quite natural; she is at once scholarly, engaging, and a good read even for non-academics. She has occasional spikes of humor. When discussing ancient rumors about those scary, baby-eating, incest-committing Christians, she points out that if you want to discredit a group, you have to be willing to go all the way. "For slander to be effective it has to have some teeth -- there's no point in accusing someone of going over the speed limit."

I guess I could have kept this review shorter and more effective by simply pointing out that Sister Simone Campbell, one of those fantastic Nuns On The Bus, gave it a glowing back-cover review. If she liked it, you should read it. I don't believe in God. I do believe in nuns. show less

I saw this at work, and was hoping that it would be a comprehensive story about their illegal importation of religious tablets labeled as "tile samples" and their lies about the country of origin that I was interested in. However, it was written right as that was breaking, and only alluded to it. It still was a great story about their questionable practices of buying up religious artifacts and "religious artifacts" for The Museum of The Bible and authenticating them. I had to stop reading show more the book several times, as I was infuriated at how unethical and lax and destructive their processes were in their accumulation of exhibits for the museum. But it still is a great story that I would recommend as an eye opening read. show less