Passwords are now required to access your library account. To create a password, select "Reset my Password" from the Login screen (email address required). For further assistance, please contact the library.

The Myth of Persecution: How Early Christians Invented a Story of Martyrdom
(Adobe EPUB eBook, Kindle Book, OverDrive Read)

Book Cover
Average Rating
Author:
Moss, Candida
Published:
HarperCollins 2013
Format:
Adobe EPUB eBook, Kindle Book, OverDrive Read
ISBN:
9780062104540
Status:
Available from OverDrive
Description

In The Myth of Persecution, Candida Moss, a leading expert on early Christianity, reveals how the early church exaggerated, invented, and forged stories of Christian martyrs and how the dangerous legacy of a martyrdom complex is employed today to silence dissent and galvanize a new generation of culture warriors.

According to cherished church tradition and popular belief, before the Emperor Constantine made Christianity legal in the fourth century, early Christians were systematically persecuted by a brutal Roman Empire intent on their destruction. As the story goes, vast numbers of believers were thrown to the lions, tortured, or burned alive because they refused to renounce Christ. These saints, Christianity's inspirational heroes, are still venerated today.

Moss, however, exposes that the "Age of Martyrs" is a fiction—there was no sustained 300-year-long effort by the Romans to persecute Christians. Instead, these stories were pious exaggerations; highly stylized rewritings of Jewish, Greek, and Roman noble death traditions; and even forgeries designed to marginalize heretics, inspire the faithful, and fund churches.

The traditional story of persecution is still taught in Sunday school classes, celebrated in sermons, and employed by church leaders, politicians, and media pundits who insist that Christians were—and always will be—persecuted by a hostile, secular world. While violence against Christians does occur in select parts of the world today, the rhetoric of persecution is both misleading and rooted in an inaccurate history of the early church. Moss urges modern Christians to abandon the conspiratorial assumption that the world is out to get Christians and, rather, embrace the consolation, moral instruction, and spiritual guidance that these martyrdom stories provide.

Also in This Series
Formats
Adobe EPUB eBook
Works on all eReaders (except Kindles), desktop computers and mobile devices with reading apps installed.
Sample 
Kindle Book
Works on Kindles and devices with a Kindle app installed.
Sample 
OverDrive Read
Sample 
Need Help?
If you are having problem transferring a title to your device, please fill out this support form or visit the library so we can help you to use our eBooks and eAudio Books.
More Like This
More Copies In Prospector
Loading Prospector Copies...
Subjects
Subjects
History
Religion & Spirituality
Nonfiction
More Details
Street Date:
03/05/2013
Language:
English
ASIN:
B0089LOOF4
Borrower Reviews
Librarian Reviews
Published Reviews
Reviews from GoodReads
Loading GoodReads Reviews.
Citations
APA Citation (style guide)

Candida Moss. (2013). The Myth of Persecution: How Early Christians Invented a Story of Martyrdom. HarperCollins.

Chicago / Turabian - Author Date Citation (style guide)

Candida Moss. 2013. The Myth of Persecution: How Early Christians Invented a Story of Martyrdom. HarperCollins.

Chicago / Turabian - Humanities Citation (style guide)

Candida Moss, The Myth of Persecution: How Early Christians Invented a Story of Martyrdom. HarperCollins, 2013.

MLA Citation (style guide)

Candida Moss. The Myth of Persecution: How Early Christians Invented a Story of Martyrdom. HarperCollins, 2013.

Note! Citation formats are based on standards as of July 2022. Citations contain only title, author, edition, publisher, and year published. Citations should be used as a guideline and should be double checked for accuracy.
Copy Details
LibraryOwnedAvailable
Shared Digital Collection11
Pitkin County Library00
Staff View
Grouped Work ID:
fc052b83-a0c5-a3fd-d5f4-121e750683bc
Go To Grouped Work
Needs Update?:
No
Date Added:
Dec 28, 2017 11:28:04
Date Updated:
Mar 20, 2024 14:31:36
Last Metadata Check:
Apr 14, 2024 08:49:31
Last Metadata Change:
Mar 22, 2024 18:56:51
Last Availability Check:
Apr 14, 2024 08:49:35
Last Availability Change:
Apr 08, 2023 06:10:01
Last Grouped Work Modification Time:
Apr 19, 2024 20:55:21

OverDrive Product Record

images
    • cover:
        • href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-100/2363-1/{70960652-7939-40EB-9378-DF6289A8C81C}IMG100.JPG
        • type: image/jpeg
    • thumbnail:
        • href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-200/2363-1/{70960652-7939-40EB-9378-DF6289A8C81C}IMG200.JPG
        • type: image/jpeg
    • cover150Wide:
        • href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-150/2363-1/{70960652-7939-40EB-9378-DF6289A8C81C}IMG150.JPG
        • type: image/jpeg
    • cover300Wide:
        • href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-400/2363-1/{70960652-7939-40EB-9378-DF6289A8C81C}IMG400.JPG
        • type: image/jpeg
formats
      • identifiers:
            • type: ISBN
            • value: 9780062104540
      • name: Adobe EPUB eBook
      • id: ebook-epub-adobe
      • identifiers:
            • type: ASIN
            • value: B0089LOOF4
      • name: Kindle Book
      • id: ebook-kindle
      • identifiers:
            • type: ISBN
            • value: 9780062104540
      • name: OverDrive Read
      • id: ebook-overdrive
otherFormatIdentifiers
      • type: ISBN
      • value: 9780062104557
mediaType
eBook
primaryCreator
    • role: Author
    • name: Candida Moss
isOwnedByCollections
True
title
The Myth of Persecution
dateAdded
2017-12-28T23:08:38.29Z
contentDetails
      • href: https://link.overdrive.com?websiteID=162&titleID=1042759
      • type: text/html
      • account:
          • name: Marmot Library Network (CO)
          • id: 1201
sortTitle
Myth of Persecution How Early Christians Invented a Story of Martyrdom
crossRefId
1042759
subtitle
How Early Christians Invented a Story of Martyrdom
id
70960652-7939-40EB-9378-DF6289A8C81C
starRating
3.2

OverDrive MetaData

isPublicDomain
False
formats
      • fileName: TheMythofPersecution_9780062104540_1042759
      • partCount: 0
      • fileSize: 656830
      • identifiers:
            • type: ISBN
            • value: 9780062104540
      • rights:
            • type: Copying
            • value: 0
            • type: Printing
            • value: 0
            • type: Lending
            • value: 0
            • type: ReadAloud
            • value: 1
            • type: ExpirationRights
            • value: 0
      • name: Adobe EPUB eBook
      • isReadAlong: False
      • id: ebook-epub-adobe
      • onSaleDate: 3/19/2024
      • samples:
            • source: From the book
            • formatType: ebook-overdrive
            • url: https://samples.overdrive.com/myth-of-persecution?.epub-sample.overdrive.com
      • fileName: TheMythofPersecution_1042759
      • partCount: 0
      • fileSize: 0
      • identifiers:
            • type: ASIN
            • value: B0089LOOF4
      • name: Kindle Book
      • isReadAlong: False
      • id: ebook-kindle
      • onSaleDate: 3/19/2024
      • samples:
            • source: From the book
            • formatType: ebook-overdrive
            • url: https://samples.overdrive.com/myth-of-persecution?.epub-sample.overdrive.com
      • fileName: TheMythofPersecution_9780062104540_1042759
      • partCount: 0
      • fileSize: 0
      • identifiers:
            • type: ISBN
            • value: 9780062104540
      • name: OverDrive Read
      • isReadAlong: False
      • id: ebook-overdrive
      • onSaleDate: 3/19/2024
      • samples:
            • source: From the book
            • formatType: ebook-overdrive
            • url: https://samples.overdrive.com/myth-of-persecution?.epub-sample.overdrive.com
creators
      • role: Author
      • fileAs: Moss, Candida
      • bioText:

        Candida Moss is professor of New Testament and Early Christianity at the University of Notre Dame. A regular contributor to The Daily Beast, Moss has appeared on The O'Reilly Factor, CBS News, FOX News, the History Channel, National Geographic, and the Travel Channel, and has served as an expert commentator for the Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal, and other national media outlets.

      • name: Candida Moss
imprint
HarperOne
publishDate
2013-03-05T00:00:00-05:00
isOwnedByCollections
True
title
The Myth of Persecution
fullDescription

In The Myth of Persecution, Candida Moss, a leading expert on early Christianity, reveals how the early church exaggerated, invented, and forged stories of Christian martyrs and how the dangerous legacy of a martyrdom complex is employed today to silence dissent and galvanize a new generation of culture warriors.

According to cherished church tradition and popular belief, before the Emperor Constantine made Christianity legal in the fourth century, early Christians were systematically persecuted by a brutal Roman Empire intent on their destruction. As the story goes, vast numbers of believers were thrown to the lions, tortured, or burned alive because they refused to renounce Christ. These saints, Christianity's inspirational heroes, are still venerated today.

Moss, however, exposes that the "Age of Martyrs" is a fiction—there was no sustained 300-year-long effort by the Romans to persecute Christians. Instead, these stories were pious exaggerations; highly stylized rewritings of Jewish, Greek, and Roman noble death traditions; and even forgeries designed to marginalize heretics, inspire the faithful, and fund churches.

The traditional story of persecution is still taught in Sunday school classes, celebrated in sermons, and employed by church leaders, politicians, and media pundits who insist that Christians were—and always will be—persecuted by a hostile, secular world. While violence against Christians does occur in select parts of the world today, the rhetoric of persecution is both misleading and rooted in an inaccurate history of the early church. Moss urges modern Christians to abandon the conspiratorial assumption that the world is out to get Christians and, rather, embrace the consolation, moral instruction, and spiritual guidance that these martyrdom stories provide.

popularity
37
links
    • self:
        • href: https://api.overdrive.com/v1/collections/v1L1ByAAAAA2r/products/70960652-7939-40eb-9378-df6289a8c81c/metadata
        • type: application/vnd.overdrive.api+json
id
70960652-7939-40eb-9378-df6289a8c81c
starRating
3.2
images
    • cover:
        • href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-100/2363-1/{70960652-7939-40EB-9378-DF6289A8C81C}IMG100.JPG
        • type: image/jpeg
    • thumbnail:
        • href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-200/2363-1/{70960652-7939-40EB-9378-DF6289A8C81C}IMG200.JPG
        • type: image/jpeg
    • cover150Wide:
        • href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-150/2363-1/{70960652-7939-40EB-9378-DF6289A8C81C}IMG150.JPG
        • type: image/jpeg
    • cover300Wide:
        • href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-400/2363-1/{70960652-7939-40EB-9378-DF6289A8C81C}IMG400.JPG
        • type: image/jpeg
isPublicPerformanceAllowed
False
languages
      • code: en
      • name: English
subjects
      • value: History
      • value: Religion & Spirituality
      • value: Nonfiction
publishDateText
03/05/2013
otherFormatIdentifiers
      • type: ISBN
      • value: 9780062104557
mediaType
eBook
shortDescription

In The Myth of Persecution, Candida Moss, a leading expert on early Christianity, reveals how the early church exaggerated, invented, and forged stories of Christian martyrs and how the dangerous legacy of a martyrdom complex is employed today to silence dissent and galvanize a new generation of culture warriors.

According to cherished church tradition and popular belief, before the Emperor Constantine made Christianity legal in the fourth century, early Christians were systematically persecuted by a brutal Roman Empire intent on their destruction. As the story goes, vast numbers of believers were thrown to the lions, tortured, or burned alive because they refused to renounce Christ. These saints, Christianity's inspirational heroes, are still venerated today.

Moss, however, exposes that the "Age of Martyrs" is a fiction—there was no sustained 300-year-long effort by the Romans to persecute Christians. Instead, these stories were pious exaggerations;...

sortTitle
Myth of Persecution How Early Christians Invented a Story of Martyrdom
crossRefId
1042759
subtitle
How Early Christians Invented a Story of Martyrdom
publisher
HarperCollins
bisacCodes
      • code: HIS002020
      • description: History / Ancient / Rome
      • code: REL015000
      • description: Religion / Christianity / History
      • code: REL108020
      • description: Religion / Christian Church / History