Post by timoneill on Jan 21, 2011 6:22:15 GMT
I just ordered a copy of Defending Constantine: The Twilight of an Empire and the Dawn of Christendom by Peter J. Leithart. I often have to counter some of the sillier claims about Constantine ("he was really a pagan and the Christian thing was all a politcal ruse!") but the reviews I have seen of it - all by theologians, which is ringing some warning bells - make this book sound potentially problematic from a purely historical point of view.
Of course, I'll reserve judgement until I've read it, but it sounds a bit like something an "anti-Charles Freeman" would produce in Seinfeld's 'Bizarro World". And no, that isn't an endorsement.
As I said, most of the reaction to it I have come across is about whether Constantine was or wasn't a "good thing" for modern Christianity. As an atheist, that's of peripheral interest to me. I'm more interested in how the book has been received by historians - so far the answer seems to have been that it hasn't been.
Anyone know of this book and how solid the author's history is?
Of course, I'll reserve judgement until I've read it, but it sounds a bit like something an "anti-Charles Freeman" would produce in Seinfeld's 'Bizarro World". And no, that isn't an endorsement.
As I said, most of the reaction to it I have come across is about whether Constantine was or wasn't a "good thing" for modern Christianity. As an atheist, that's of peripheral interest to me. I'm more interested in how the book has been received by historians - so far the answer seems to have been that it hasn't been.
Anyone know of this book and how solid the author's history is?
