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Constantine’s Sword
- The Church and the Jews; A History
- Narrated by: John Lescault
- Length: 27 hrs and 21 mins
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Publisher's summary
National Jewish Book Award
National Book Award
New York Times best seller
In a bold and moving book that is sure to spark heated debate, the novelist and cultural critic James Carroll maps the profoundly troubling 2,000-year course of the Church’s battle against Judaism and faces the crisis of faith it has provoked in his own life as a Catholic. More than a chronicle of religion, this dark history is the central tragedy of Western civilization, its fault lines reaching deep into our culture.
The Church’s failure to protest the Holocaust—the infamous “silence” of Pius XII—is only part of the story: the death camps, Carroll shows, are the culmination of a long entrenched tradition of anti-Judaism. From Gospel accounts of the death of Jesus on the cross, to Constantine’s transformation of the cross into a sword, to the rise of blood libels, scapegoating, and modern anti-Semitism, Carroll reconstructs the dramatic story of the Church’s conflict not only with Jews but with itself. Yet in tracing the arc of this narrative, he implicitly affirms that it did not necessarily have to be so. There were roads not taken, heroes forgotten; new roads can be taken yet. Demanding that the Church finally face this past in full, Carroll calls for a fundamental rethinking of the deepest questions of Christian faith. Only then can Christians, Jews, and all who carry the burden of this history begin to forge a new future.
Drawing on his well-known talents as a storyteller and memoirist, and weaving historical research through an intensely personal examination of conscience, Carroll has created a work of singular power and urgency. Constantine’s Sword is a brave and affecting reckoning with difficult truths that will touch every listener.
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In The Story of Christianity, Vol. 1, Justo L. González, author of the highly praised three-volume History of Christian Thought, presents a narrative history of Christianity from the early church to the dawn of the Protestant reformation. From Jesus' faithful apostles to the early reformist John Wycliffe, González skillfully traces core theological issues and developments within the various traditions of the church, including major events outside of Europe, such as the Spanish and Portuguese conquest of the New World.
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Throughly engaging
- By Scott Pursley on 12-15-16
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A History of the Jews
- By: Paul Johnson
- Narrated by: Nadia May
- Length: 28 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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This historical magnum opus covers 4,000 years of the extraordinary history of the Jews as a people, a culture, and a nation. It shows the impact of Jewish character on the world: their genius, imagination, and, most of all, their ability to persevere despite severe persecutions. Compelling insights into events and individuals are chronologically detailed, from Moses and Jesus to Spinoza, Marx, Freud, the Rothschilds, and Golda Meir.
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Excellent History
- By Rilezmom on 06-06-09
By: Paul Johnson
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Aristotle's Children
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- By: Richard E. Rubenstein
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- Length: 13 hrs and 36 mins
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Best-selling author Richard E. Rubenstein brings the past to life in this engrossing story of social, religious, and scientific revolution during one of the darkest periods in European history. When a group of Dark Ages scholars rediscovered the works of Aristotle, the great thinker's ideas ignited a firestorm of enlightened thought. This is the endlessly fascinating account of the pivotal period in history when the modern era took root.
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Interesting story of the rediscovery of Aristotle
- By John on 12-16-04
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Medieval Christianity
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For many, the medieval world seems dark and foreign - a miraculous, brutal, and irrational time of superstition and strange relics. The pursuit of heretics, the Inquisition, the Crusades, and the domination of the "Holy Land" come to mind.
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New Standard Text for This Period
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The Reformation
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At a time when men and women were prepared to kill - and be killed - for their faith, the Protestant Reformation tore the Western world apart. Acclaimed as the definitive account of these epochal events, Diarmaid MacCulloch's award-winning history brilliantly recreates the religious battles of priests, monarchs, scholars, and politicians - from the zealous Martin Luther and his 95 Theses to the polemical John Calvin to the radical Igantius Loyola, from the tortured Thomas Cranmer to the ambitious Philip II.
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Excellent
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Who is Satan in the New Testament, and what is the evil that he represents? In this groundbreaking book, Elaine Pagels, Princeton's distinguished historian of religion, traces the evolution of Satan from its origins in the Hebrew Bible, where Satan is at first merely obstructive, to the New Testament, where Satan becomes the Prince of Darkness, the bitter enemy of God and man, evil incarnate. In The Origin of Satan, Pagels shows that the four Christian gospels tell two very different stories.
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Must read for all practicing Christians
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Protestants
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In this dazzling global history that charts five centuries of innovation and change, Alec Ryrie makes the case that Protestants made the modern world. Protestants introduces us to the men and women who defined and redefined this quarrelsome faith. Some turned to their newly accessible bibles to justify bold acts of political opposition, others to support a new understanding of who they were and what they could and should do. Above all, they were willing to fight for their beliefs.
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A secular history protestantism.
- By SakuraHB on 07-19-17
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Turning Points
- Decisive Moments in the History of Christianity
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In this popular introduction to church history, now in its third edition, Mark Noll isolates key events that provide a framework for understanding the history of Christianity. The book presents Christianity as a worldwide phenomenon rather than just a Western experience. Students in academic settings and church adult education contexts will benefit from this one-semester survey of Christian history.
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Excellent, Brief Snippet’s
- By ejb on 01-06-23
By: Mark A. Noll
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David Lynch
- The Man from Another Place (Icons)
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At once a pop culture icon, cult figure, and film industry outsider, master filmmaker David Lynch and his work defy easy definition. Dredged from his subconscious mind, Lynch's work is primed to act on our own subconscious, combining heightened, contradictory emotions into something familiar but inscrutable. No less than his art, Lynch's life also evades simple categorization, encompassing pursuits as a musician, painter, photographer, carpenter, entrepreneur, and vocal proponent of Transcendental Meditation.
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Essential listening for Lunch fans
- By Michael P. Mesaros on 08-14-18
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Not in God's Name
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In this powerful and timely book, one of the most admired and authoritative religious leaders of our time tackles the phenomenon of religious extremism and violence committed in the name of God. If religion is perceived as being part of the problem, Rabbi Sacks argues, then it must also form part of the solution. When religion becomes a zero-sum conceit and individuals are motivated by what Rabbi Sacks calls "altruistic evil", violence between peoples of different beliefs appears to be the only natural outcome.
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excellent book
- By Trejac on 07-26-21
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What listeners say about Constantine’s Sword
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- David
- 09-11-22
important book
This book is too important to let any minor narration difficulties get in the way of listening to it.
Published in 2001 before books were being read and listened to digitally, I've been hoping for it to come out in audible form for years. I have read parts of the book several times, but it's such a tome, I think I never got all the way through it. I''m happy to start listening to it from the beginning. When they announced it was coming out on Audible, I immediately pre-ordered it.
I was disappointed when they kept postponing the release. They could have had several people read different parts of it and made it go faster.
The narrator has some glitches at the beginning, but I found the book listenable so far.
Carroll's writing is personal and insightful, vulnerable and honest. He faces difficult issues directly, exposing anti-Jewish bias in the history, scripture, and actions of the church, all while maintaining a clear position of love, concern, and respect for this institution he served as a priest.
As a pastor in a main line Protestant denomination, I was concerned that the focus on the Catholic Church would not feel relevant to my experience, but much of the history of the Catholic Church is, of course, the history of all Christian churches. Even the parts of the book that focused on suggestions for a 3rd Vatican council felt relevant and interesting.
I'm only at the beginning of listening to the book this time, but I have listened enough to sense that the narration is not an obstacle to understanding or appreciating the brilliance of this important book.
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- Old Fashioned Fan
- 11-08-23
Must-Read for most readers
James Carroll has written a book full of incredibly important and vital information. It’s not just a typical history book that contains a dry litany of Christian crimes against Jews, but instead it examines the philosophies of Christianity and its lies and misinterpretations about Judaism that have given Christians the excuse to hate and persecute Jews for 2000 years. It is part memoir, and a surprisingly honest look at the consequences of the faith he loves. Highly recommended,
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- Rizzle
- 11-20-23
Listens fine on 1.0x
I just want prospective listeners to know that despite some reviews, this book listens fine as long as you don’t listen to it with any acceleration. It seems like maybe some error related to how the reader pronounces words makes it sound ridiculous when one tries to listen at anything above 1.0 X.
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- 4wethepeople
- 09-06-22
Horrific narration of an fine work
It would be better to have a robot read this than the man who unfortunately does it. This is an important work and I’m disgusted that this man read this.
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- Sean
- 09-01-22
Brilliant book, terrible narration
This is an absolutely brilliant book. Well researched and well written. It’s an important book. I wish everyone would read it. (In full disclosure I am a James Carroll fan already.)
When I say, “I wish everyone would read it,” I mean everyone except the narrator! This honestly sounds like audible took a million snippets of the narrator’s voice and then spliced them together making this sound like an odd, automated, computer “reading” the book. It’s so distracting that (to me) it is unlistenable!
To be clear, I strongly recommend the book, just not this audio version.
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- Max
- 11-30-22
Great book, poor performance
Should be required reading for anyone who calls themselves a Christian. Unfortunately, the performance sounds like a cross between Siri and William Shatner.
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- Ally F.
- 03-15-24
Narration is nearly impossible to tolerate
The author narrates this book- a huge mistake. Huge. The story is so good, his non- speaking voice so intelligent. I listened to five hours of this and finally realized that every time I listened to this narrator’s robotic, at best Christopher walkenesque reading of his own material, I had to stop because I had a migraine. The absolute worst narration I’ve encountered on audible. Too bad. I have a headache now- argh!
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- Ronald Hockman
- 07-18-24
A Masterpiece of Research
Firstly I’d like to discuss the issue of narration. Initially, I also found that the narration sounded computer generated an impossible to listen to. That was until I discovered that the default speed was 1.3 times normal speed. I have brought this to the attention of Audible and hopefully this has been corrected. The narration is perfectly acceptable at 1.0 speed.
This is one of the most impressive books that I have ever read or listen to. The honesty, the courage the pathos, the vulnerability, and the love of the author is monumental. The research that must have gone into this book is monumental. Although I can imagine that actually reading such a book maybe difficult, I’m delighted that it came out in an audible form so that we can benefit from it.
The suffering for almost 2000 years brought about by the vilification of Judaism and Jews by the Catholic Church knows no bounds. It sheds a clear light on the origins of the rampant antisemitism that we are experiencing in the world today, and if this scourge is to stop, this book needs to be studied and taken very seriously by both Jews and Christians alike.
I note that among the keywords relating to this book, Audible has included Judaism, history, religious intolerance and holocaust but his failed to site Catholicism as a keyword, which is strange as this is essentially what the entire book is about.
I recommend this book as a “must read” for everyone since the hatred in the world simply has to stop.
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- James
- 05-06-24
Author Reinforces His Own Beliefs
The author is a catholic centrist who believes the failure of the Church is that it is not liberal enough. The monumental failure of the institution to which he has attached himself never seems to have made him reconsider his preconceived notions on a material level.
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- James C Plotz
- 09-20-22
Narrator was a disappointment
Really was hopeful but the narrator made this almost unlistenable. Disappointing as this was one of my favorite books
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