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A History of Christendom #1
The Founding of Christendom
This series is the only comprehensive narration of Western history written from the orthodox Catholic perspective still in print. How would a historical narrative read if the author began with these first principles: Truth exists; the Incarnation happened? This series is essential reading for those who consider the West worth defending.
605 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 1985
41 people are currently reading
859 people want to read
About the author
Warren H. Carroll
29 books103 followersDr. Warren H. Carroll was a leading conservative Catholic historian and author, and the founder of Christendom College.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
August 10, 2016
Read all five volumes of this history over the course of a year, thirty-five hundred some odd pages or so. One of the first histories that I have read outside the classroom after having finished my undergraduate work. Written from the Catholic perspective, the narrative is heavily political, emphasizing war or political leadership instead of social history or the history of ideas.
In addition to writing history, Carroll analyzed Soviet propaganda for the CIA and founded a college in Front Royal that I attended for a semester in graduate school. These texts largely led me there.
I suppose that I can say that I encountered the full scope of Western history for the first time through Carroll’s eyes. I was impressed when I read the series and still reference the text in my mind often when thinking of facts. Having read many other interpretations of history since, my one critique is that Carroll ignores significant parts of history in his ambitious desire to write a comprehensive master narrative from the Catholic point-of-view.
The first volume is the most interesting in my opinion. In the end, not many other histories like the Founding of Christendom exist that I have run across. Otherwise, I found the 2nd and the 5th volumes the slowest.
In addition to writing history, Carroll analyzed Soviet propaganda for the CIA and founded a college in Front Royal that I attended for a semester in graduate school. These texts largely led me there.
I suppose that I can say that I encountered the full scope of Western history for the first time through Carroll’s eyes. I was impressed when I read the series and still reference the text in my mind often when thinking of facts. Having read many other interpretations of history since, my one critique is that Carroll ignores significant parts of history in his ambitious desire to write a comprehensive master narrative from the Catholic point-of-view.
The first volume is the most interesting in my opinion. In the end, not many other histories like the Founding of Christendom exist that I have run across. Otherwise, I found the 2nd and the 5th volumes the slowest.
reference
September 15, 2008An excellent resource for those undertaking a study of our Western heritage -- especially if you want to be sure to be true to its Christian foundations -- or just to have on hand for reference. Wonderful to just pick up and read in sections as well.
February 2, 2016
Great read. Takes you through human history from the Catholic's perspective from the beginning through Constantine. Very comprehensive and well researched with literally thousands of footnotes. I especially enjoyed reading as historical fact those things doubted by those not Catholic, including the resurrection, the Institution of the Eucharist, and the story of the Virgin Mary. As a modern (not Modernist) Catholic, I am most well versed in the New Testament, but less so with the Old Testament. I've always felt that the Old Testament was more of a series of vignettes, than a true history, with stories with a true beginning, middle and end. This book fleshes out the history and characters of both books of the bible, along with growth, and decline of the Roman and other empires, all of which is important to know to truly understand the founding of Christendom.
While this was a great book to read through, it is also a valuable reference book to which I expect I will refer often. This is the first of a series of books by Warren Carroll, taking Christian history through its many periods from its founding. I thoroughly enjoyed it and will be reading all of remaining volumes.
While this was a great book to read through, it is also a valuable reference book to which I expect I will refer often. This is the first of a series of books by Warren Carroll, taking Christian history through its many periods from its founding. I thoroughly enjoyed it and will be reading all of remaining volumes.
December 6, 2010
The first 100 pages or so became difficult for me due to my lack of knowledge of the old testament. As we approached the Incarnation, the book became alive for me and continued all the way through to Constantine. Many topics I plan to do further study on - specifically the Dispersion of the Apostles (and Paul). I'd love to be a fly on the wall when they made those decisions. The book is terrific and the only shortcoming is my lack of knowledge of the old testament. Looking forward to the continuing volumes.
August 19, 2017
I enjoyed finding so much information regarding the foundations of Christianity in one book. The author writes from a Catholic perspective, and is very up front about it. He documents and supports everything he writes. The bibliography is one of the most extensive to be found in any prior history book that I have read.
Christianity forms the basis for so much of western civilization that every Christian owes it to their education to reflect upon a book such as this.
Christianity forms the basis for so much of western civilization that every Christian owes it to their education to reflect upon a book such as this.
October 6, 2024
The Founding of Christendom by Warren H. Carroll is a history book that covers the history of the world from the beginnings of human history up to the time of the Roman Emperor Constantine in the early 4th century. Warren H. Carroll was a professional historian and, sadly, a Novus Ordite. Many of the typical errors of the Vatican II sect are to be found in this book. For an exposé on the truth about what really happened to the Catholic Church after Vatican II and what the errors of Vatican II are, see this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VB_hU...
The Founding of Christendom also favors the idea of an old earth and theistic evolution. See this video for the scientific case for a young earth: https://endtimes.video/amazing-eviden...
Despite the Novus Ordo positions sometimes articulated by Carroll in the book, I still found it to be a very informative read that covered many topics of great interest to me as a traditional Catholic curious about history. While reading The Founding of Christendom, I found out about many sources and historical facts that favor the Bible as real history which I was not previously aware of, such as the fact that Shalmaneser's “Black Obelisk” is an extra-biblical source that mentions an Israelite historical figure, Jehu, or the fact that (from page 68):
“The Ten Commandments were the heart of the covenant of Sinai and of the faith which sprang from that covenant, then and since. In the text which has come down to us- though not in any of the scholarly reconstructions based on the documentary hypothesis- the Decalogue and the Book of the Covenant immediately following it, together with corresponding chapters in the Book of Deuteronomy, show a very close resemblance in form and structure to treaties between kings dating from the late second millennium (1500-1000) B.C., but not to such treaties of later date. This is one of the clearest proofs that the account of the Sinai covenant in the Book of Exodus does in fact go back to this period and not to a “redactor” at the time of the Babylonian exile in the sixth century (600-500) B.C., as many “higher critics” have held.”
Carroll also includes copious notes about what was then, in the late twentieth century, the latest scholarly debate. For example, on page 75 we read:
“For the archaeological evidence of the date of the Israelite conquest of central Palestine, see Chapter Four, Note 5, below; for the inscription of Merneptah, see Wright, Biblical Archaeology, pp. 70-71, which quotes it in full, and Ricciotti, History of Israel, I, 191-192. Kitchen, Ancient Orient and Old Testament, pp. 59-60, demolishes the arguments which Martin Noth and Otto Eissfeldt of the German school of higher Biblical criticism have advanced in an attempt to cast doubt on the Merneptah inscription as a specific reference to Biblical Israel.”
However, not all of the notes reflect the latest scholarship. For example, Carroll states on pages 55-56:
“The narrative of the birth of Ishmael in Genesis 16, in which Sarah urges Abraham to have a child by a slave-girl when she failed to bear him a child herself and to all human appearance and knowledge is too old ever to do so, but later abuses the slave-girl after she bears Ishmael, is further confirmation of the historical accuracy of the patriarchal material in Genesis since the Hurrian laws of Nuzi, widely followed in Mesopotamia in the second millennium B.C., required a barren wife to provide her husband with another wife to give him an heir. (Speiser, Genesis, pp. 119-121; Bright, History of Israel, pp. 78-80; Kitchen, Bible In Its World, pp. 68-70).”
But, a quick search for laws of Nuzi on wikipedia yields this statement (based on a statement from a scholarly publication), "They have previously been viewed as evidence for the age and veracity of certain parts of the Old Testament, especially of the Patriarchal age, but that attribution is now doubted by most scholars." I haven't studied enough history to know what all is up-to-date and what is not in Carroll's notes, but I do think that Carroll's notes and bibliography in The Founding of Christendom provide a great starting point for the person who wants to make a serious study of history.
Besides Biblical history, Carroll offers a brief overview of much extra-biblical history as well, including the history of India, Mesopotamia, Egypt, China, and of ancient Greece and Rome. He provides some valuable insights, such as on pages 185-186 where he explains why Athens failed to become the political leader of the world in the 5th century BC:
“For Athens alone among the Greek city-states of the fifth century B.C. had the wealth, population, and sea power sufficient to unify all or most of the far-flung Greek peoples under her leadership. Despite the heroism of her soldiers, Sparta was too small, too poor, and, in maritime Greece, too exclusively a land power to do so. The failure of Athens meant that ultimately unification must be imposed from without; that Greece, while still the teacher, would never be the political leader of the ancient world. Athens failed because of her own greed and lack of imagination: the cities under her were treated as subjects instead of allies. The idea of a common citizenship, such as Rome later developed in Italy, never seems to have occurred to any Athenian.”
The Founding of Christendom is also a great source of history about the early church and provides many interesting historical facts, such as (from page 294):
“The full significance of this steady retreat by the critics and more toward the restoration of traditionally early dates for the composition of the gospels has not yet been sufficiently appreciated by Christian historians and apologists. Since by almost everyone's reckoning the gospels are now seen to have been written well within living memory of Christ, the capability of the authors to distort the truth about Him- even if not deliberately, even presuming that this is what they were doing- is sharply curtailed. If Christ did not claim to be God, perform miracles, rise from the dead and appear resurrected in the flesh, then there were many still alive when the gospels were first written and circulated who knew what He had really taught and done, and in faithfulness to His memory would have resisted and denounced the innovations of writers attributing to Him claims of divinity He never made. All religions and ideologies produce strong and active opposition to attempted major innovations and reinterpretations. But there is absolutely no evidence of any group in the first century which claimed to follow Christ, but did not accept His divinity. Surely in all the controversial letters of St. Paul, at least, there would have been some reference, however derogatory, to such a group and its beliefs, if it existed.”
Overall, despite of a few flaws because of his adherence to the Novus Ordo and no doubt also because of the liberal influence of academia, Warren Carroll wrote a quite enjoyable and scholarly summary of ancient history that is understandable and interesting to a general audience and a good starting point for the serious student of history.
The Founding of Christendom also favors the idea of an old earth and theistic evolution. See this video for the scientific case for a young earth: https://endtimes.video/amazing-eviden...
Despite the Novus Ordo positions sometimes articulated by Carroll in the book, I still found it to be a very informative read that covered many topics of great interest to me as a traditional Catholic curious about history. While reading The Founding of Christendom, I found out about many sources and historical facts that favor the Bible as real history which I was not previously aware of, such as the fact that Shalmaneser's “Black Obelisk” is an extra-biblical source that mentions an Israelite historical figure, Jehu, or the fact that (from page 68):
“The Ten Commandments were the heart of the covenant of Sinai and of the faith which sprang from that covenant, then and since. In the text which has come down to us- though not in any of the scholarly reconstructions based on the documentary hypothesis- the Decalogue and the Book of the Covenant immediately following it, together with corresponding chapters in the Book of Deuteronomy, show a very close resemblance in form and structure to treaties between kings dating from the late second millennium (1500-1000) B.C., but not to such treaties of later date. This is one of the clearest proofs that the account of the Sinai covenant in the Book of Exodus does in fact go back to this period and not to a “redactor” at the time of the Babylonian exile in the sixth century (600-500) B.C., as many “higher critics” have held.”
Carroll also includes copious notes about what was then, in the late twentieth century, the latest scholarly debate. For example, on page 75 we read:
“For the archaeological evidence of the date of the Israelite conquest of central Palestine, see Chapter Four, Note 5, below; for the inscription of Merneptah, see Wright, Biblical Archaeology, pp. 70-71, which quotes it in full, and Ricciotti, History of Israel, I, 191-192. Kitchen, Ancient Orient and Old Testament, pp. 59-60, demolishes the arguments which Martin Noth and Otto Eissfeldt of the German school of higher Biblical criticism have advanced in an attempt to cast doubt on the Merneptah inscription as a specific reference to Biblical Israel.”
However, not all of the notes reflect the latest scholarship. For example, Carroll states on pages 55-56:
“The narrative of the birth of Ishmael in Genesis 16, in which Sarah urges Abraham to have a child by a slave-girl when she failed to bear him a child herself and to all human appearance and knowledge is too old ever to do so, but later abuses the slave-girl after she bears Ishmael, is further confirmation of the historical accuracy of the patriarchal material in Genesis since the Hurrian laws of Nuzi, widely followed in Mesopotamia in the second millennium B.C., required a barren wife to provide her husband with another wife to give him an heir. (Speiser, Genesis, pp. 119-121; Bright, History of Israel, pp. 78-80; Kitchen, Bible In Its World, pp. 68-70).”
But, a quick search for laws of Nuzi on wikipedia yields this statement (based on a statement from a scholarly publication), "They have previously been viewed as evidence for the age and veracity of certain parts of the Old Testament, especially of the Patriarchal age, but that attribution is now doubted by most scholars." I haven't studied enough history to know what all is up-to-date and what is not in Carroll's notes, but I do think that Carroll's notes and bibliography in The Founding of Christendom provide a great starting point for the person who wants to make a serious study of history.
Besides Biblical history, Carroll offers a brief overview of much extra-biblical history as well, including the history of India, Mesopotamia, Egypt, China, and of ancient Greece and Rome. He provides some valuable insights, such as on pages 185-186 where he explains why Athens failed to become the political leader of the world in the 5th century BC:
“For Athens alone among the Greek city-states of the fifth century B.C. had the wealth, population, and sea power sufficient to unify all or most of the far-flung Greek peoples under her leadership. Despite the heroism of her soldiers, Sparta was too small, too poor, and, in maritime Greece, too exclusively a land power to do so. The failure of Athens meant that ultimately unification must be imposed from without; that Greece, while still the teacher, would never be the political leader of the ancient world. Athens failed because of her own greed and lack of imagination: the cities under her were treated as subjects instead of allies. The idea of a common citizenship, such as Rome later developed in Italy, never seems to have occurred to any Athenian.”
The Founding of Christendom is also a great source of history about the early church and provides many interesting historical facts, such as (from page 294):
“The full significance of this steady retreat by the critics and more toward the restoration of traditionally early dates for the composition of the gospels has not yet been sufficiently appreciated by Christian historians and apologists. Since by almost everyone's reckoning the gospels are now seen to have been written well within living memory of Christ, the capability of the authors to distort the truth about Him- even if not deliberately, even presuming that this is what they were doing- is sharply curtailed. If Christ did not claim to be God, perform miracles, rise from the dead and appear resurrected in the flesh, then there were many still alive when the gospels were first written and circulated who knew what He had really taught and done, and in faithfulness to His memory would have resisted and denounced the innovations of writers attributing to Him claims of divinity He never made. All religions and ideologies produce strong and active opposition to attempted major innovations and reinterpretations. But there is absolutely no evidence of any group in the first century which claimed to follow Christ, but did not accept His divinity. Surely in all the controversial letters of St. Paul, at least, there would have been some reference, however derogatory, to such a group and its beliefs, if it existed.”
Overall, despite of a few flaws because of his adherence to the Novus Ordo and no doubt also because of the liberal influence of academia, Warren Carroll wrote a quite enjoyable and scholarly summary of ancient history that is understandable and interesting to a general audience and a good starting point for the serious student of history.
February 12, 2019
A thorough, entertaining, and insightful history of the founding of Christendom from prehistory all the way through to Constantine. It is the first volume of six, and I am looking forward to the journey through all of them. This is definitely up there as one of my favorite histories of the world that ive read. Highly recommend.
August 17, 2008
The Founding of Christendom (Vol 1) is a history book that explains history (not just religion but what was going on during each period) during Old Testament times up until around 300 AD. The book is extensively biographied and footnoted, so much so, that nearly 1/4th of the book are the notes for the rest of the book. This is certainly a reference book that can lead to further study about topics throughout the history of the early Christians. It can be a long read, but I'd suggest deciding on a subject, person, culture, etc., and then use the book to discover its relation through-out history.
Want to read
January 7, 2010Included in the "History and Culture" section of Fr. John McCloskey's 100-book Catholic Lifetime Reading Plan.
Listed by Patrick Madrid in the Reading Plan of Search and Rescue in Phase 3 (Advanced). ("perhaps the best available today in English")
Listed by Patrick Madrid in the Reading Plan of Search and Rescue in Phase 3 (Advanced). ("perhaps the best available today in English")
November 28, 2012
All of the books in this series are phenomenal. Dr. Carroll takes a narrative approach to history that draws the reader in, making them feel as if they are actually there reliving the events of the past. A must read!
April 15, 2013
A great history of the beginning first three centuries of the Catholic Church. I highly recommend this for those who want a detailed account.
Read
May 3, 2014per David Currie, this series reads like a mystery.
July 23, 2024
THE FIRST OF CARROLL'S SIX VOLUMES, COVERING UP TO 324 C.E.
Warren H. Carroll (1932-2011) was a leading conservative Catholic historian and author, and the founder of Christendom College; he was a convert to Catholicism in 1968. Previously, he had also served as an analyst in the CIA's anti-communism division, and he also served on the staff of Congressman John G. Schmitz. This first volume was first published in 1985. The next volume in this series is 'The Building of Christendom, 324-1100: A History of Christendom (vol. 2).'
He states frankly that "This history is written by a Catholic, from the Catholic perspective, with the conviction that Jesus Christ founded a church and that the visible church He founded is the Roman Catholic Church which... always will be His Church, and through which He acts in particular ways not available to members of most of the separated churches... But He has other sheep which are not of the visible Catholic fold." (Pg. 10)
Rejecting modern critical theories of biblical origin, Carroll states that "there can be no good reason for doubting ... (that) the Ark of the Covenant did in fact contain two tablets on which the Ten Commandments were inscribed, nor any good reason for denying that at least substantial parts of the Mosaic books could have been written by order of Moses himself." (Pg. 60)
He accepts that Matthew wrote the first gospel; that Mark ("a more simple, less educated man") "selected the material which he and St. Peter thought most likely to open ... minds and hearts to the truth about Christ"; that Luke obtained much of his information directly from Mary; and he strongly endorses the fourth gospel as being "eyewitness testimony" of the apostle John ("Either the Gospel speaks falsely or the critic does. There can be no third position"). [Pg. 291-293] He endorses the Shroud of Turin (as "clear proof that all these tortures were endured by Jesus Christ")[Pg. 373].
Those wanting a strongly "conservative" Catholic interpretation of Christian history will find Carroll's series compelling (and reassuring).
Warren H. Carroll (1932-2011) was a leading conservative Catholic historian and author, and the founder of Christendom College; he was a convert to Catholicism in 1968. Previously, he had also served as an analyst in the CIA's anti-communism division, and he also served on the staff of Congressman John G. Schmitz. This first volume was first published in 1985. The next volume in this series is 'The Building of Christendom, 324-1100: A History of Christendom (vol. 2).'
He states frankly that "This history is written by a Catholic, from the Catholic perspective, with the conviction that Jesus Christ founded a church and that the visible church He founded is the Roman Catholic Church which... always will be His Church, and through which He acts in particular ways not available to members of most of the separated churches... But He has other sheep which are not of the visible Catholic fold." (Pg. 10)
Rejecting modern critical theories of biblical origin, Carroll states that "there can be no good reason for doubting ... (that) the Ark of the Covenant did in fact contain two tablets on which the Ten Commandments were inscribed, nor any good reason for denying that at least substantial parts of the Mosaic books could have been written by order of Moses himself." (Pg. 60)
He accepts that Matthew wrote the first gospel; that Mark ("a more simple, less educated man") "selected the material which he and St. Peter thought most likely to open ... minds and hearts to the truth about Christ"; that Luke obtained much of his information directly from Mary; and he strongly endorses the fourth gospel as being "eyewitness testimony" of the apostle John ("Either the Gospel speaks falsely or the critic does. There can be no third position"). [Pg. 291-293] He endorses the Shroud of Turin (as "clear proof that all these tortures were endured by Jesus Christ")[Pg. 373].
Those wanting a strongly "conservative" Catholic interpretation of Christian history will find Carroll's series compelling (and reassuring).
September 1, 2020
Since Dr.Carroll was genuine enough to confess his bias at the beginning of this book I shall do the same at the outset of this review. I am from the Protestant persuasion and was very much looking for a Christian history book written from the Catholic perspective.
I do find this book a little puzzling in a certain sense. Generally you review books based on how successful they were at fulfilling what they set out to do, but it is unclear to me what precisely Dr.Carroll is trying to do. Is this an academic history? The quantity and extensiveness of the citations seems to indicate such, as well as the engagement with some other historians. However, the consistent usage of the word "modernists" and the almost undefended acceptance of some highly controversial items (e.g. the Shroud of Turin, Peter's visits to Rome) suggest otherwise. It is my conclusion therefore that this is not an academic history, but a history written BY a Catholic FOR Christians.
With this in mind then I can very easily conclude that Carroll does a good job in fulfilling this task. The early chapters where he brings together modern historical research with the biblical texts is really interesting, and the chapters on the Macedonian and Roman empires are brief, but very helpful. I found the chapters on Jesus' history a little weak, but the closing chapters on the persecution of the church and Constantine's conversion to be his best. Interesting book and definitely interested to read the second volume.
I do find this book a little puzzling in a certain sense. Generally you review books based on how successful they were at fulfilling what they set out to do, but it is unclear to me what precisely Dr.Carroll is trying to do. Is this an academic history? The quantity and extensiveness of the citations seems to indicate such, as well as the engagement with some other historians. However, the consistent usage of the word "modernists" and the almost undefended acceptance of some highly controversial items (e.g. the Shroud of Turin, Peter's visits to Rome) suggest otherwise. It is my conclusion therefore that this is not an academic history, but a history written BY a Catholic FOR Christians.
With this in mind then I can very easily conclude that Carroll does a good job in fulfilling this task. The early chapters where he brings together modern historical research with the biblical texts is really interesting, and the chapters on the Macedonian and Roman empires are brief, but very helpful. I found the chapters on Jesus' history a little weak, but the closing chapters on the persecution of the church and Constantine's conversion to be his best. Interesting book and definitely interested to read the second volume.
April 5, 2020
A very detailed background of world history sets the stage for the most definitive event in human history-the Incarnation of the Son of God. Dr. Warren Carroll writes from the perspective that this sacred Event is the cog which all of history revolves. This narrative covers well but briefly the events of the life and ministry of our Savior and the founding of His Church and gives some insightful historical perspectives of the events found in the New Testament. This is volume one in a six volume series and it wraps up with a turbulent history of the early Church and the triumph of that Church under the unlikely minor emperor Constantine. The story of Constantine, the first Christian Roman emperor, is a heroic drama against insurmountable odds that only at God's intervention could the course of events turn out as they did. The frequent and devastating persecutions of the early Christians was the seed that Divine Providence would use to undo the underground and hiding condition that the early Christians found themselves frequently retreating to in the first centuries to one of eventual preeminence and legal status. The Christians of this early Church is also clearly shown to be from the historical timeline and surviving documents presented to be the Roman Catholic Church.
November 26, 2024
What else can be said except that this is a masterclass in history writing? It reads like a story, and yet it's also a work of immense scholarship--each of the 20 or so chapters has between 50 - 150 sources cited, enough to make any of my undergrad students break into a nervous sweat. What's all the more remarkable is that it's the first of 6 volumes. Hopefully they all keep up this level of quality.
Carrol is interested in telling the story of history as it relates to Christendom, so he goes back to the beginning, Genesis and the historical books of the Bible, which he defends as real history, a very refreshing take in our cynical landscape, a landscape which, as Benedict XVI said, tends to yield only interesting and opposite theories rather than any sort of historical certainty. So, why not believe that Moses was real? The Jews all seemed to think he was and probably would have scoffed at the idea he wasn't, and his realness makes their unified culture and adherence to his laws all the more logical. Anyway, awesome stuff here. Ancient history is so cool.
Carrol is interested in telling the story of history as it relates to Christendom, so he goes back to the beginning, Genesis and the historical books of the Bible, which he defends as real history, a very refreshing take in our cynical landscape, a landscape which, as Benedict XVI said, tends to yield only interesting and opposite theories rather than any sort of historical certainty. So, why not believe that Moses was real? The Jews all seemed to think he was and probably would have scoffed at the idea he wasn't, and his realness makes their unified culture and adherence to his laws all the more logical. Anyway, awesome stuff here. Ancient history is so cool.
August 3, 2017
Carroll brings history alive and unfolds the great drama of world history in an entertaining way. Dr Carroll said that "any good history should be a good story... There is no law of nature or of scholarship which says that a scholarly and reliable history must be dull, and no reason at all why it should be." What makes this history book so important is its centre on Christ and in it, Carroll shows how all history relates to Christ. This book should be on your must read list.
October 30, 2023
Well written, heavily researched, but some chapters, particularly seventeenth chapter, Doctor Carroll tries to cover too much in a short span of time, making it difficult to absorb. The focus on Rome gradually fades as the volume goes on. Depute these negatives, an excellent read for a general summary of the early world, Judaism, and the rise and Rome and Christianity. But read other history books to help fill in the gaps.
January 2, 2025
Read this a while back, while at university before I began my goodread list. A great book to understand how the Catholic grew, and the many problems it faced. But, may be a heavy read for some, as it was intended to be a book for college students. Still, has got a lot of good information in it, I still can recall today.
February 20, 2025
A well written and documented history staring with Abraham’s covenant with God, continuing through the Old Testament and through the first 300 years of Christianity. Told from the Roman Catholic perspective, which in my opinion is the correct and accurate perspective. It is the first of 5 Volumes and I hope to one day work my way through all of them.
March 9, 2025
This is quite a comprehensive history of the Church from the beginning to the reign of Constantine. Copious notes and references for those who wish to go deeper into sources.
My only reason for giving it 4 stars is that I wish there were maps that would help in understanding the geo-political boundaries and the progression of military campaigns.
Now on to the second volume.
My only reason for giving it 4 stars is that I wish there were maps that would help in understanding the geo-political boundaries and the progression of military campaigns.
Now on to the second volume.
September 14, 2017
One of the best books I have ever read. Reads like a novel, the bibliography is massive, and Carroll doesn't even bother hiding his bias, which is refreshing. You know where he's coming from as a historian and a philosopher. Definitely the best history book I've read. The bar has been set.
May 8, 2024
This six volume set gives the reader a treasure cove of information from each time period. While written by an academic, the books are quite easy to understand, even though the sheer amount of information at times is overwhelming. Keep in your library for reading or for reference.
June 3, 2017
Enjoyed this book immensely! Learned so much. When I have time, I will probably go back and read it again. Plan on continuing with the series too. Highly recommend.
December 4, 2018
Amazing, very well laid out with referencing and a multitude of reliable sources used.
March 23, 2020
Footnotes are fascinating, almost a book in themselves.
April 2, 2015
An amazing telling of the story of history rising up out of archeological facts. It does a good job balancing the obscurity of history with the surety of faith and divine revelation. It provided great evidence for the historicity of the Catholic story while showing the difficulties of the archaeological debates around any given event. The best parts were his descriptions of Maccabees and the Christian martyrs. The only criticism I have is not that it was too attached to the Catholic position as some have posited but that after dealing with apparent contradictions within the Bible or between the Bible and extra biblical sources he doesn't explain how the inerrancy of the Bible can be reconciled with those difficulties. Also while I appreciate that God works through nature for most of his miracles Carroll sometimes seems to bind God's hand to those means, as when discussing the crossing of the red sea Carroll says that it was a natural event (though still God's work) and that the "walls of water" are an exaggeration and that pharaoh's army was mired in mud but not drown. I would lean a little more towards the weight of the Biblical story. Still amazing book, I can't imagine the time it took to write.
October 15, 2015
I loved this book. Dr. Carroll did such a wonderful job of pulling together thousands of historical details and re-framing them in a very readable, highly educational narrative. I've read other history books on the early years of Christianity and this book helped to fill in the gaps where others glossed over items. Additionally, Dr. Carroll has gone to tremendous effort to footnote throughout his book. These footnotes provide further detailed explanation and are one of the best strengths of this book
If I have a negative comment to make, it's that in his zeal for the faith, he gets a bit biased on some topics - like Hinduism, Buddhism and Islam. I think if he'd kept those discussions more emotionally neutral his arguments would be stronger. That said, it was his great passion for the faith that led him to write this long, time consuming series. I feel so grateful for his passion for the faith, his great attention to detail, and desire to inform.
If I have a negative comment to make, it's that in his zeal for the faith, he gets a bit biased on some topics - like Hinduism, Buddhism and Islam. I think if he'd kept those discussions more emotionally neutral his arguments would be stronger. That said, it was his great passion for the faith that led him to write this long, time consuming series. I feel so grateful for his passion for the faith, his great attention to detail, and desire to inform.
February 16, 2022
If you like history from a Providential POV, and have already learned what is meant by, "to be deep in history is to cease to be Protestant", than Dr. Warren Carroll and Christopher Dawson are your men. I normally only read historical memoirs or hagiography, but Dawson and Carroll both have a Providential view of the overall trajectory of Western Europe's history and I love that. Well researched using many eyewitness accounts, Dr. Carroll is giving solidly researched, scholarly work here and may God reward him for it!
July 27, 2014
A must read!
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