Thirty million people, give or take. In less than four hundred years. That’s the mark of Christianity, according to Ehrman. Christianity didn’t have to become a massive moment. It could have been like the Sadducees or Essenes - simple footnotes in history. Instead, it was the massive movement that neither the Jews or Romans wanted at the time. Ironic, in a way. Christianity, the early hated religion, became the largest influence and transformation in the world, touching art, philosophy, ethics, and so much more.

Ehrman has made an indelible impact on my life. During my early doctoral thesis work, I stumbled upon the historical facts of Christianity that clashed with my faith. Even further, the theological assumptions I made unraveled when I tried to prove my own beliefs beyond reasonable doubt. That is what led to my abandonment of the evangelical fold and walk to return my family line to an Orthodox Jewish observance. Soon after fateful meetings with local rabbis and a move into the community, I discovered Bart Ehrman. My dissertation is littered with his impact as I critically evaluated the impact of Christianity and its triumph, including how it simply fails to address the Jewish needs or complete a Jewish theological view of a messianic era. All this just to say that Ehrman is an academic that logically and masterfully weaves his works to explore the topic at hand and reveal his renowned expertise in the field. This work is no different.

The timeline starts at 0, the “reset” that the Gregorian calendar follows. That’s around 3760 on the Jewish calendar. The conversion of Constantine marks where Christianity made the leap to the big screen, so to say: national religion. Most of Ehrman’s work focuses on the thesis: how Christianity became an empire. He looks at the pagan beliefs at the time and the political upheaval that enabled the unlikely success of a small religious sect. Ehrman even spends time discussing Christian martyrdom and persecution on the path to nationwide election. At the end, though, the book is about the triumph of Christianity as a nationwide religion and major player in history to become one of the “big three” religions of contemporary times (Islam, Christianity, and Buddhism) and monotheistic faiths (Judaism, Islam, and Christianity).

Suffice it to say, evangelicals will outright dismiss this work. Some will even write apologetics against it. None, however, will successfully refute the archeology and anthropological history that Ehrman metaphorically and literally digs up. Then there’s the other side of the scale: those who outright support the book without deep evaluation and those who consider and weigh the facts and arguments. Ehrman isn’t perfect, and he makes mistakes. His mistakes, though, help prove the point of humanity and our need to grow throughout history.


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Bart Ehrman's "The Triumph of Christianity" is another Tour de Force! His breadth of knowledge of Christian history is unmatched. What I love about this book is that he doesn't give the answers people want to hear; either those on the side of Christianity or those against it. He follows his own wisdom, knowledge, and passion and gives every reader nuanced and intriguing food for thought. Well done, Ehrman!

Ehrman is a person to read because you have skeptical friends who read him. He's a great resource in that sense. He's thorough (if not....dense at times), and part of the greater conversation on textual criticism and Christian history.

The Triumph of Christianity tells how Christianity spread from a small sect to a world religion that dominates the globe. I found this book to be interesting and informative.

The Triumph of Christianity

How a Forbidden Religion Swept the World

by Bart D. Ehrman

Simon & Schuster
Christian

Pub Date 13 Feb 2018

I am reviewing a copy of The Triumph of Christianity through Simon & Schuster and Netgalley:
In this book the New York Times best selling authority on Christianity explains how Christianity grew from around twenty Peasants in rural Galilee, to the dominant religion of the west in less than four hundred years.

In this book we are reminded that the earliest Christians were Jews. We learn to that Christianity did not start out as a global religion but it took only four centuries for it to spread throughout the West. We are reminded too that Christianity wasn't really tolerated at first, in fact proclaiming Christ as your Savior could lead to Martyrdom.

I give The Triumph of Christianity five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

BookFilter review link:
http://bookfilter.com/2017/10/10/the-triumph-of-christianity/

BookFilter Review: In this work of scholarship for the general reader, author Bart D. Ehrman spells out why and how Christianity managed to become so remarkably popular in an age where polytheism ruled the world. Ehrman uses everything from basic math to the allure of marketing to tell his story, which sets aside at the start any supernatural advantages (if God wants your religion to succeed, well by God it's GOING to succeed) and focuses on the practical real world questions that are raised by the amazing success of a faith which began with about 20 poor people in a rural community at the time of Christ's death. Ehrman is best at putting Christianity in context, lucidly explaining that antipathy towards Christians wasn't knee-jerk prejudice but inevitable. In a world where virtually everyone believed that if the gods weren't properly honored that disaster would strike in the form of war or famine or disease or natural disaster and the like, a new religion that insisted all the other gods simply didn't exist or were demons wasn't just "different" but a genuine threat to everyone's existence. And how did it grow so quickly? Looking close at the best available data shows it was not so spectacular but more an example of recruitment at a reasonable but exponentially big amount. And the appeal of Christianity? Ehrman suggests its unique desire to proselytize and ground-breaking promise of a blissful life after death combined to make it a giant killer. Or in this case, a god(s)-killer. Ehrman runs out of steam towards the end and this is truly a work of scholarship rather than a compelling story. But for those with an interest, it is clearly laid out and useful for placing a new faith squarely in its time and place. -- Michael Giltz

I have read quite a few books on church history and this one was yet another. The Triumph of Christianity is a book that spends most of its time during the period of ancient Christianity and the years of BC and up to Constantine also continuing through the 4th and 5th centuries. I would say 90 percent of the book is geared towards the conversion of paganism to Christianity not just in Constantine time but in other Roman periods. You'll read about characters such as Jovian, Julian, Diocletian, The Caesars. Its an easy read if you like the Roman period with Christianity tossed in. I found it to be very informative as I was aware of what Constantine had done and also know some of the Diocletian tortures. Most of the book discusses why the world turned away from paganism and towards Christianity with the who, what, wheres or responsibility of this turning point in history. After reading this book being free I would definitely purchase to read. Very interesting church history story.