The 1776 Report: History as Political Propaganda

Thank Clio that Biden withdrew the report on his first day but I still feel some dismay after having read it right through last night. It is the American counterpart of Chairman Mao’s Little Red Book, a treatise of holy writ as sacred and unquestionable Pat Robertson’s Holy Bible. My initial curiosity was stirred by … Continue reading “The 1776 Report: History as Political Propaganda”


Christianity won over paganism by epitomizing pagan ideals

This continues my previous post, which was slightly misleadingly titled Why Christianity Spread So Rapidly . . .. It is for most part a distillation of Gregory J. Riley’s chapter, “Mimesis of Classical Ideals in the Second Christian Century”, found in Mimesis and Intertextuality edited by Dennis MacDonald. A related post is my discussion of … Continue reading “Christianity won over paganism by epitomizing pagan ideals”


Why Christianity spread so rapidly to become the main religion of the Roman empire

Why did the number of Christians go from zero in the year zero to become the numerical majority of persons in the Roman world by about the year 350? How does one account for its dramatic success? Many Christians themselves like to answer that question by appealing to the way Christian martyrdoms inspired the admiration … Continue reading “Why Christianity spread so rapidly to become the main religion of the Roman empire”


BRUNO BAUER: Christ and the Caesars – I. Seneca’s Religious Foundation

11 I. Seneca’s Religious Foundation. Before we begin, we will present the reader with the dismissive judgments passed by a newer school of history on Stoicism, the starting point of Seneca, for examination. 1. Recent judgments on Stoicism. One of the signs of the impending imperialism that dominates our present time is a fraction of … Continue reading “BRUNO BAUER: Christ and the Caesars – I. Seneca’s Religious Foundation”


Muslim Nations and the Rise of Modern Barbarism

This post is the third in my notes from Inside Muslim Minds by Riaz Hassan. The second response among Muslims to their experience of colonialism and its aftermath is salafism. Response 2: Salafism Whereas apologetics was a direct response to colonial rule, salafism emerged out of apologetics but in the post-colonial era. When independent nations … Continue reading “Muslim Nations and the Rise of Modern Barbarism”


Tom Holland: Still Wrong About Christianity

Historian Tom Holland has made a public confession that when it comes to his morals and ethics he is “thoroughly and proudly Christian”. (Tom Holland is a very talented writer and historian whose study of the rise of the Arab empire and birth of Islam I have discussed here. I was also fascinated by another … Continue reading “Tom Holland: Still Wrong About Christianity”