Tom Holland is currently preparing a new book in which he fleshes out what he says in this video. Is Paul really like a “depth charge” in history, ultimately responsible for ripples that brought about the Enlightenment itself?
If one says that one’s inheritance is Christian what do we mean by Christian? Has not Christianity itself (including its use of Paul) been shaped according to shifting circumstances and ideologies through the ages?
Neil Godfrey
Latest posts by Neil Godfrey (see all)
- Jesus Mythicism and Historical Knowledge, Part 4: Did Jesus Exist? - 2024-11-27 08:20:47 GMT+0000
- Jesus Mythicism and Historical Knowledge, Part 3: Prediction and History - 2024-11-24 09:10:07 GMT+0000
- Jesus Mythicism and Historical Knowledge, Part 2: Certainty and Uncertainty in History - 2024-11-18 01:15:24 GMT+0000
If you enjoyed this post, please consider donating to Vridar. Thanks!
This guy’s an idiot :p Or rather, probably just someone trying to get attention. I do agree with him that Paul had a huge impact on western civ, but not for the better. IMO, the only way one can hold this position is if one is completely ignorant of Greek and Roman thought prior to Christianity. The idea that Paul was responsible for the Enlightenment is just asinine. The Enlightenment was brought about by the rediscovery of pre-Christian literature. And most of the good aspects of Christian thought have little to do with Paul himself and much more simply to do with general Jewish thought, in terms of care for the poor and downtrodden, etc.
Actually the book I’m working on now is a follow-up to my current book, and the working title is Christianity’s 2,000 Year War on Science, Reason and Happiness.
A large part of that was the close to a millennium when Christianity was the only game in town when you wanted to learn how to conduct your life. The Pauline letters had a huge influence.
Carrier has an interesting post about Christianity not inventing charity and philanthropy. See: https://www.richardcarrier.info/archives/12453
• If Holland claims the rise of Christianity correlates to the erosion of slavery, then he needs to demonstrate causation.
Scheidel, Walter, The Comparative Economics of Slavery in the Greco-Roman World. Princeton/Stanford Working Papers in Classics Paper No. 110504. SSRN:1096417
Scheidel, Walter (2010). “Slavery in the Roman Economy”. SSRN Electronic Journal. doi:10.2139/ssrn.1663556
My knowledge of history, while better than the average layman’s, isn’t even close to what I would need to formulate a cogent rebuttal, but my gut feeling is: No way in hell.
Why did not Holland say that he is ethically Jewish, rather than Christian?
Does not Holland think that Paul/Saul was Jewish?
Holland has received some attention for his TV presentation on Islam. While I appreciate his take on Islam, I wonder if somehow there is an identity crisis that study (of Islam) has sowed in Holland?