How an obscure cult grew to become the dominant religion of the Western world
Very well written article.
On a social note, it does feel as though (and I could be wrong) the seeming uptick in discussion about Christianity is because it is associated with the Trump&#x2F;Republican&#x2F;&quot;How on earth did so many people vote for him?&quot; question regarding US politics. As the article alludes:<p>&gt; How Christianity went on to become not just a state religion, but the central fact of political life, and how Christian institutions of the Middle Ages both maintained and distorted the legacy of the ancient world, is another, different story.<p>That Christianity and its adherents are manipulated for political ends is a sad fact of life. This doesn&#x27;t change whether or not Christianity is true, it simply confirms the biblical assertion that people are potentially naive<p>As a reflective person who reads Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris and has become a follower of Jesus (Christian) I find the political association of Christianity and certain spheres of politics disheartening for the cause of logical discourse about the matter. In considering whether or not Christianity is true it is hard to ignore the actions of those who claim to be its adherents.<p>Yes, it seems an unusual number of people who support Trump identify as Christian - isn&#x27;t that more likely to do with recent demographics than hypotheses about the lack of reliability of the biblical narrative about Jesus of Nazareth?<p>Where I am from (New Zealand) a lot of Christians I have spoken with are appalled by Trump and don&#x27;t buy into the whole &quot;Gawd Bless Americuh&quot; narrative that Trump seems to use to persuade a certain demographic into voting for him.<p>No political agenda can encapsulate who Jesus of Nazareth was and what he came to do. If it could, that would render the notion of Christianity absurd in the first place.<p>EDIT: Clarity