The Myth of Persecution
Subtitle: how early Christians invented a story of martyrdom
Publisher: HarperOne
Published: 2013
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Format: Hardcover
Number of pages: 308
ISBN-13: 9780062104526
Description: A leading scholar on Christian history reveals how the early church forged stories of Christian martyrs and how the legacy of martyrdom is used today to condemn others as enemies and opponents.
Table of contents: title: Martyrdom before Christianity; title: Christian borrowing of Jewish and pagan martyrdom traditions; title: Inventing martyrs in early Christianity; title: How persecuted were the early Christians?; title: Why did the Romans dislike Christians?; title: Myths about martyrs; title: The invention of the persecuted church; title: The dangerous legacy of a martyrdom complex