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A review by kukushka
The Myth of Persecution: How Early Christians Invented a Story of Martyrdom by Candida Moss
4.0
The central argument of the book is that, while there were some periods of actual persecution of Christians in the early centuries, they were very few. Most of the martyrdom accounts we have are unsubstantiated, or refer to prosecution (where Christians were breaking laws that were not drawn or enforced with Christians specifically in mind).
And this matters because it is the narrative of martyrdom that excuses horrifically callous behaviour. Specifically, the fudging between disagreement and persecution. If Christians are always and have always been under attack from worldly forces, and people wanting to get gay-married is an attack on Christianity, then the Christian fight against gay marriage becomes a fight of self-defence.
I would also add, though Moss doesn't, that there is also a fudging between chosen martyrdom and imposed martyrdom. Part of the veneration of martyrs also promises greater heavenly reward for greater earthly suffering, which is the logic used by people like Mother Teresa in denying palliative care to terminal patients. By increasing their suffering in their last days - without their consent (informed or otherwise) - Mother Teresa sought to purify their souls.
The book does have some weaker moments, such as when Moss hitches much of her argument against the reality of persecution in the earliest period on the fact that the group in question was not yet called Christians (largely around p.130-134). Which is just an argument from semantics, and not particularly useful.
But for the most part, Moss constructs her arguments well, She also strikes a good balance between being readable and being informative.
I think that much of this book will appeal to the "New Atheist" types, who will make much of the occasional 'gotcha' sound bites. I also think it's a valuable (though perhaps uncomfortable) read for Christians who currently believe that early Christians were persecuted, especially if they believe that this persecution has been ongoing. This book won't hold any hands, though, so I suspect that most readers from this group will simply dismiss it.
And this matters because it is the narrative of martyrdom that excuses horrifically callous behaviour. Specifically, the fudging between disagreement and persecution. If Christians are always and have always been under attack from worldly forces, and people wanting to get gay-married is an attack on Christianity, then the Christian fight against gay marriage becomes a fight of self-defence.
I would also add, though Moss doesn't, that there is also a fudging between chosen martyrdom and imposed martyrdom. Part of the veneration of martyrs also promises greater heavenly reward for greater earthly suffering, which is the logic used by people like Mother Teresa in denying palliative care to terminal patients. By increasing their suffering in their last days - without their consent (informed or otherwise) - Mother Teresa sought to purify their souls.
The book does have some weaker moments, such as when Moss hitches much of her argument against the reality of persecution in the earliest period on the fact that the group in question was not yet called Christians (largely around p.130-134). Which is just an argument from semantics, and not particularly useful.
But for the most part, Moss constructs her arguments well, She also strikes a good balance between being readable and being informative.
I think that much of this book will appeal to the "New Atheist" types, who will make much of the occasional 'gotcha' sound bites. I also think it's a valuable (though perhaps uncomfortable) read for Christians who currently believe that early Christians were persecuted, especially if they believe that this persecution has been ongoing. This book won't hold any hands, though, so I suspect that most readers from this group will simply dismiss it.