The Apostasy That Wasn't - The Extraordinary Story of the Unbreakable Early Church

by Rod Bennett

The theory goes like Just a few centuries after Christ’s death, around the time the Roman Empire converted to Christianity, the true Faith suffered a catastrophic falling-away. The simple truths of the gospel became so obscured by worldliness and pagan idolatry―kicking off the Dark Ages of Catholicism―that Christianity required a complete reboot. This idea of a “Great Apostasy” is one of the cornerstones of American Protestantism, along with Mormonism, the Jehovah’s Witnesses, and even Islam. Countless millions today profess a faith built on the assumption that the early Church quickly became broken beyond repair, requiring some new prophet or reformer to restore the “pure” teaching of Jesus and the apostles. This theory is popular… but it’s also fiction. In The Apostasy that Wasn’t, Rod Bennett follows up his bestseller Four Witnesses with an account of the historical events that led him out of his own belief in apostasy theory and into the Catholic Church. With the touch of a master storyteller, he narrates the drama of the early Church’s fight to preserve Christian orthodoxy intact even as powerful forces try to smash it to pieces. Amid imperial intrigue, military menace, and bitter theological debate, a hero arises in the form of a homely little monk named Athanasius, who stands against the world to prove that there could never be a Great Apostasy―because Jesus promised his Church would never be broken.

Genres: Catholic, History, Religion, Theology, Church History, Christianity, Faith

323 pages, Paperback

First published September 17, 2015

About the author

My first published writing appeared when I was 15 years old in the pages of the legendary Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine. Since then, I've been featured in other national publications, ranging from Rutherford and Gadfly to Catholic Exchange and Our Sunday Visitor. I spoke on film and television topics for 10 years at Jesus People USA's Cornerstone Rock Festival, leading seminars on the cinema of Frank Capra, John Ford, and the Star Wars films of George Lucas. In 2006 I was invited by the Archbishop of Pittsburgh to address more than 300 teachers on the role pop culture can play in the religious education of teenagers. Recently, I've had the chance to discuss my work on radio and television programs such as The Journey Home and Bookmark. My first book, Four Witnesses The Early Church in Her Own Words , including an account of my conversion to the Catholic Faith in 1996, is a best seller from Ignatius Press.

Reviews

[Jeff Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are some things when I run across them in a novel, movie, or even religious discussion immediately set off alarm bells for me. One of them is anything involving the Nephalem. It just never turns out well and most often very silly. Another is Constantine. Constantine gets blamed for a lot by a lot of different groups. At least with the Nephalem, it is something rather mysterious with little scriptural reference. When it comes to Constantine we actually have a wealth of historical information from Christian and Pagan sources. Still Constantine is often used to pointed to as a corruptor of “pure” Christianity and the cause of the great apostasy. From Dan Brown to starters of new religions the start was not from history, but as a required plot line to justify what goes after.

I was naturally delighted when I first found out Rod Bennett was releasing a new book called The Apostasy That Wasn’t: The Extraordinary Story of the Unbreakable Early Church. A semi-sequel to his wonderful Four Witnesses: The Early Church in Her Own Words. The appellation that somebody “made history come alive” is probably overused. Often I found that the author had made history interesting, but not fully alive to my intellect. Rod Bennett does make history come intellectually alive for me with his deft use of storytelling, historical writings, and the fruit of his research.

The introduction starts with a stroll to a period while he was still a Protestant and coming across a place in Tennessee called “Fields of the Wood” built up by a Preacher scandalized by the divisions in Christianity. Who was bringing back the “true church” and started a new congregation. This struck regarding how often this pattern has occurred. The person scandalized by the divisions who promptly create yet another division. The Bullwinkle-syndrome where the optimist church reformer says “This time for sure!” as he pulls another church out of his hat.

Rod Bennett describes the history of Preacher Tomlinson and this preachers own version of the Great Apostasy. This same pattern can be seen with the Latter-Day Saints, Jehovah Witnesses, Islam, and really most of Protestantism. Rod Bennett’s thinking about this preacher’s history led him to realize “Don’t I have, when it comes right down to it, a ‘Great Apostasy’ theory of my own?” This insight led him to studying church history and the reading of the Church Fathers. I think at this point it is mandatory to insert the Blessed John Newman quote “To be deep in history is to cease to be Protestant.” Otherwise I could lose my Catholic blogger license.

I was not unfamiliar with this tumultuous and exciting period of Church history. Warren H. Carroll covers this period quite well in one of his volumes of “A History of Christendom.” Still I found it contextualized better and I especially appreciated the lead up in history to Constantine and the Battle of the Milvian Bridge. The state of the Church and how between waves of persecution it was out in the open with various levels of toleration. Even with Diocletian there was originally some toleration before the worst of the persecutions began. It was all much more complicated than the incorrectly simplified history of Constantine being the first to grant such toleration. Especially the erroneous idea that he made Catholicism the official religion of the empire.

He also paints the state of the empire with Rome depopulated and great cities like Alexandria lapsing from their Catholic faith. This historical backdrop sets the stage for such a fascinating piece of Church history. The rise of the Arian heresy by the priest Arius, the calling of the council, and the whole wonderful story of St. Athanasius. The story of Athanasius came so alive for me along with the conjecture that he had gotten involved with St Antony and the Desert Monks at a rather early period of his life. I often felt like I was reading a novel as this history played out. The real story is so odd and seemingly implausible that it only works as history.

Rod Bennett really is a master storyteller and fully employs his skills in describing this period of history along with presenting the actual texts that we have. This is certainly a period of history with many surviving texts from those involved along with of course the Councilar texts. His subtitle is “The Extraordinary Story of the Unbreakable Early Church” and this certainly fits the billing. The Arians had all the power on their side. They had most of the episcopacy of the Eastern bishops and the ear of the Emperors. The figure of Athanasius was unimpressive, but his mark on history wasn’t.

I totally loved this book. So much so that no doubt it also goes on my re-read list.

[Stuart · Rating 5 out of 5]

The introduction to The Apostasy That Wasn't begins with the author, Rod Bennett, telling a story of a small community of Evangelical Christians in North Carolina which was founded by A.J. Tomlinson. This group of Christians, like other groups, believed that they were the only ones who were true Christians, descended from the Apostles, and everyone else was wrong. Their story and history, like other Christian and non-Christian sects, is very skewed. Allow me to explain. There is a theory among Protestants, Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses, Seventh Day Adventists, etc. called the Great Apostasy. This theory, which is largely anti-Catholic, believes that the Church entered a fallen state due to their integration of Greco-Roman ideas. The emperor Constantine is one of the big lightning rod figures, and he is believed to be the one who pushed the Church of the New Testament into a dark period in history that lasted 1600 years, until a specific group (insert any of the ones I listed earlier) was formed and they are the heirs to the "true Church." Sounds crazy right? This book, The Apostasy That Wasn't, explains exactly why the Great Apostasy is mere fiction.

The book's first chapter talks about what the author refers to as the "Ghetto Church." People like to pretend that the Church was pure and holy from the time of Jesus until about the 300s. However, that is far from the case. Origen even said the Church was whoring itself. There was at least one man who stood up for what was right and what the Church and her leaders should be like, and his name was Anthony of Coma. You probably know him as St. Anthony the Great, and the only reason we know his story today is because it was written by St. Athanasius of Alexandria. Chapter Three in this book introduces us to Eusebius of Nicomedia. Eusebius was a friend and support of Arius; baptized Constantine; and was responsible for convincing Constantine that Arius' false teachings were not in conflict with the Council of Nicaea. The facts in this chapter are accurate, but it does take a little bit of creative license at some points to make history come alive. The major themes we see in this book deal with Constantine, Arius, Athanasius, the state of the Roman Empire, and the state of the Church. There was clearly turmoil in the early centuries of the Church, but the Church has always had the Holy Spirit and saints to light our way and keep us from straying too far.

The Apostasy That Wasn't is billed as a sequel to his first book Four Witnesses: The Early Church in Her Own Words, but it also stands on its own and can be read without having read the other. This book is part history book and part dramatic prose, which both instructs the reader and keeps him engaged, not wanting to put the book down. This is a book that all Catholics should read to better understand a greatly misunderstood period in Church History. I would go so far as to say that it would be a perfect text at the high school level and should be adopted by all Catholic high schools. In conclusion, I highly recommend this book and plan to visit again as it was truly a fascinating read.

[Matthew · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read many books about the early church and especially about the time of the emperor Constantine. I have read many accounts of the council of Nicea and the subsequent council of Constantinople. I knew about Athanasius, Anthony, Gregory of Nyssa, Gregory of Nazianzus and Basil the Great. I knew about the Arian controversy and the upheaval it caused in the Church. I knew all of this so when I picked up this book I just thought it will be a similar treatment of the historical data, not much to be excited about if you already know the story.

This book is excellent. It reads like a novel. It places you right in the middle of this great drama. You meet the characters on both sides of the debate. Even though you know how it ends the way this book is written, the reader is held in constant suspense.

For those who don't know the story of our Church, and don't know how close it came to dying out in the fourth century this is a must read. It will forever change the way you look at these great Church Fathers. How much debt we own them. St Athanasius is forever my hero now.

Rob Bennet has done a great job putting the myth of apostasy from true Christianity to death. There was no apostasy. The Church of the Apostles is the same as the Church of the Early Fathers which is the same as the Church of St. Athanasius which is the same as the Catholic Church, to say anything else is to completely ignore the entire history of Christianity.

Do yourself a favour and pick up this book. You will not be disappointed.

[Taryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is written in such a way that makes you want to keep reading, even someone that isn’t historically inclined. The author weaves drama throughout the book, making sure to tell you what conversations he has taken liberty on. It was a fantastic way to make an otherwise complicated era of Christian history more digestible. The book focuses on the 4th century church, St Antony, St Athanasius, the threat of Arianism, Constantine, and his successors. We’ve all heard the accusations of Constantine having changed or altered Christianity in the 4th century, but this book sets the record straight and uses primary sources in doing so. Interestingly enough, the accusations made against Constantine and the Catholic Church sound a lot more like Arianism, a heresy against which the Church fought tooth and nail to reject. I can’t say enough good things about this book.
If you are interested in this era of Church and Christian history (both East and West), this is an excellent way to get your feet wet. It will also point you in the right direction of which primary sources to read yourself should you be interested. And don’t skip the footnotes, either. They’re worth the time as well.

[Gurudjieff · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed Stark's "God's Battalions" and found this book by Rod Bennett to share many of the same positives in terms of writing style and the quality of research. It made an important period of Christian and Roman history come to life, while also revealing false historical narratives that have been part of NPC conditioning about Christianity for a long time.

Much like the author, I had the false impression that Christianity lost its purity when it became a mainstream religion in 4th century. I also thought that it was forced upon the pagan masses by the Emperors and priests, rather than it being a culmination of organic growth in popularity, which it actually was.

As the author points out, pop culture has the habit of depicting Christians as a prosecuted minority up until Constantine's time. In reality, Christianity was already a massive movement by then. It held great power within the Empire during the 3rd century, and it was only after a long period of peace that Diocletian decided to reign terror on the Christians like an unlikely new Nero. The most likely reason was that they were becoming a potential threat to the authority of the secular government, which tolerated all religions as long as they remained a private affair. Being monotheists, Christians couldn't acknowledge other gods and pretend that they were equal to their one true God, and their separateness could by then be strongly felt in public life.

Constantine, took a different approach and decided to utilize this new religious fervor to try and bring stability and unity to the Empire. But an unexpected problem arose - heresy. Some of the remaining pagans and a minority of Christians preferred a new, watered down version of Christianity. It that came about rather innocently, as a result of a theological debate in Alexandria. This became the Arian heresy, named after the theologian Arius who questioned the divinity of Jesus. It dominated in the Eastern Roman Empire for about 40 tumultuous years.

Arians believed that God and Jesus didn't partake of the same substance, that God created Jesus, therefore Jesus was in a sense inferior to his Father having come into existence rather than being eternal like Him. Essentially, Arius' argument was this: Father and Son couldn't have coexisted all the time, Father must've come first, otherwise he couldn't have been the Father. If Arius was correct, Jesus could be imagined more as a demigod than God incarnate.

Contrary to conspiracy theorists like Dan Brown, Arians were not defending some original story that got corrupted by priests, that Jesus was only a Gandhi-like human figure. They invented a new creed based on this one theological argument. While first receiving backlash, Arianism soon became a political program for some Emperors and members of the upper class who felt threatened by the growing influence of the Church. For if Jesus was the true Son of God, then the Church could be seen as equal if not more important than the secular government. It could impose its faith on others in the Empire and this could lead to civil unrest. But if Jesus was just a Gandhi-like or Herculean figure, he could be lumped into the same category as all the other benign mythological figures. He could then be tolerated, if not worshipped, even by non-believers. In other words, the Arians wanted to have their cake and eat it too.

So in reality, the religious battle of the 4th century was fought by the orthodox ascetics and traditionalists like St Anthony and St Athanasius against the Arians, who represented a modern, and in many ways decadent, movement. The culmination of the struggle came with Julian The Apostate, the final Roman Emperor who went into overdrive by waging a religious war against both sides as he attempted to reinstate the old pagan gods. His attempt failed miserably, as the gods were truly dead in the Roman hearts by that point. But to be fair, he was only in power for 2.5 years, so it's hard to say for certain if he would've succeeded to some degree if he was allowed more time to implement his ideas. However, despite hating Christianity, he implemented many of its organizational ideas in his new pagan church, turning it into a strange hybrid that was mocked by Christians and pagans.

Emperor Theodosius put the nail in the coffin to both the paganism of old and Arianism as he preferred the Nicene creed and made Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire.

Overall, I think that the author did a good job of demonstrating that proponents of the Nicene creed were in fact the good guys in this conflict. Although a disclaimed is in order: I wasn't there so I couldn't know for certain. We have to rely on the written accounts, and unfortunately almost all of them are from the winners' camp. You know what they say, victors write history, so we'll never get the complete truth on a matter that happened such a long time ago.

The biggest takeaway from this whole situation is that whenever the heretics make clever arguments, it's worth reminding oneself that the Church is not only concerned with intellectual debates. It's main purpose has always been to preserve Jesus' original teachings, even when they're difficult, if not impossible to logically comprehend. Arius was an intellectual, and he focused on logically dissecting the mystery of the Trinity with complete disregard for the negative outcomes that such intellectual probing could produce for the Church and faith as a whole. The Early Church Fathers didn't even bother to create an official dogma about it until it was questioned in a manner that could spell disaster for the faith.

Now, I'm not a Christian, but Church history is definitely interesting and an important subject. And I don't want to be a bubblehead like so many anti-Christians who don't know what they're talkinga about. So regardless what side of the aisle you're on, I recommend this book if you're interested in a good pro-orthodoxy response to the trendy Catholicism-bashing that for the most part originates on these 4th century controversies.

[riley · Rating 2 out of 5]

The way this book is formatted is so wild to me. He hops back and forth on timelines, introduces people, goes down a different story path, then reintroduces them. If I didn’t have to regurgitate the info from it into a paper for school, this definitely wouldn’t have bothered me as much as it did, so I’ll give him that at least.

The story itself was interesting, although it sacrifices going into detail for instead painting a pretty narrative picture. And since we’re on the topic—the narrative parts actually took me OUT of the through-line of the story he was trying to tell. It was more distracting than engaging. It added unnecessary length to an already too-lengthy book.

I wish I had nicer things to say about this book. I hate being so negative and mean, because obviously a lot of research was put into it. And because I respect his research and his desire to share his discoveries, I’ll admit that at least that aspect of this book achieved what it set out to do. At least I learned something, although it definitely could have been learned in a much more concise, streamlined, and easier way.

[Jason Hall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rod Bennett is a master storyteller. I once heard him say that writing comes very difficultly for him, but you wouldn't know that by reading this book. He is not a credentialed historian, and owns that at the outset, but he is a well-read history buff with a very level head. He tells the story of the era of Constantine and his successors, the drama of the Arian crisis and it's resolution, with captivating style. And, the footnotes are so thorough that it is easy to move on to credentialed historians if one wants more, which is Bennett's stated goal.

[Patrick O'Hannigan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rod Bennett was born to write this book. It's a great example of how to weave history, theology, and charity together while charging (and recording) a forensic investigation with enthusiasm.

[Beth Catherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it. Man, I loved it. So good. Read it.

[Brad Hart · Rating 3 out of 5]

What can I say about this book...

I will start with this: confirmation bias is a very real thing and ALL OF US fall victim to it. I think that is how I would sum up Bennett's argument.

The idea of a "Great Apostasy" is almost as old as Christianity itself. Virtually every branch of Christianity (aside from Roman Catholic) has, at one time or another, appealed to the idea of what Paul called a "falling away" from the truth (2 Thessalonians 2:1-3). How and why this "falling away" was seen as necessary has been a source of debate for centuries.

In this book, Bennett tries to argue that the notion of a "Great Apostasy" is pure fiction based almost exclusively on bad or misinterpreted history. Those who insist on returning to the "gool ol' days" when the early church was pure and untarnished by the hands of evil doers are, according to Bennett, misled, mostly due to ignorance. Bennett argues that the early church was, in fact, a "ghetto church" that had been compromised by a feeble clergy and a wayward laity. Bennett references events like the Council of Elvira (300 A.D.) as proof that the church had fallen into disarray and was anything but the pure vessel so often portrayed by Great Apostasy advocates today.

While I agree with Bennett's argument that the early church had become a "Ghetto Church," I don't agree that this somehow disproves the Great Apostasy narrative. If anything I think it lends support to such an argument. The same is true with other examples Bennett references to support his argument (i.e. the Arian Controversy).

Having said that, I did appreciate Bennett's detailed breakdown of the Council of Nicaea and the life of Emperor Constantine. Both are unnecessarily attacked vehemently by both skeptics and detractors, and Bennett appropriately shuts down those attacks.

Overall an interesting read, but as I said at the beginning, I think it is a good example of confirmation bias. All of us tend to read into history that which appeals to our world view (but isn't necessarily historically accurate).

[Daniel Millard · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a slightly dramatized account of the friction between the Roman empire and the Catholic Church under various Caesars. The account and timeframe mostly focus upon Saint Athanasius of Alexandria, as he was a major player throughout - from the underground, spiritually decayed Catholic Church so foreign to Christ's foundation, to the resurgence under Constantine, through the whole lifecycle of the Arian heresy, and out the other side.

While author Rod Bennett has spun some supposed details in, the characters, time frames, and end results are heavily supported by historical documentation. In fact, Bennett frequently breaks from his delivery to provide quotations from the Church fathers, later saints, and even critics of the Church.

A very satisfying combination of fiction and nonfiction to satisfy the curious individual who wants to understand those early years and how the faith weathered the storm under tempestuous emperors and heresy alike.

[Mary Sasala · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a Catholic look at mainly Constantine and his heirs and their relationship with the Nicene Counsel and the Universal Church.

The book was a little difficult because there were many people the author assumed the reader knew before he introduced them. But he eventually did introduce them and caught even an novice reader up. He tries hard to include human elements and story in this mainly religious and historical non-fiction.

His insistence of discussing Dan Browns writings was a huge annoyance to me. Brown is a fiction writer, stop putting him on the plain of legitimate historians.

Good read.

[Jill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyed this book. It filled in many gaps in my knowledge of the history of the early Church and multiplied my love and appreciation for God’s faithfulness to maintain and keep and guard His Church - despite our best efforts to do otherwise! I loved the way the author found a middle ground between dry theology/history and shallow fictionalized history. I don’t often finish books on theology, but this one I did, and was especially glad for the Afterword which tied it all up. Highly recommended.

[Elliott Pollasch · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Must Read to Understand Christian Orthodoxy

For anyone who cares deeply about the Christian Church’s Orthodoxy - especially in relation to the Divine/Human mystery of Christ Jesus - this is a must read book. Leading us from the early days of the Christian Church through the early centuries of the Church, Rod Bennett tells us a number of stories of key persons who fought for and held on to the truth of who Jesus is in the Trinity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Exceptionally written, I wished I had read this book decades ago.

[Deepak Savio · Rating 5 out of 5]

This books shines a light on the little known history of the church from the end of the Domitian persecutions to the start of the Diocletian persecutions ie from circa 100 AD to 300 AD.

In short, there was no apostasy as falsely claimed by Seventh Day Adventists, Jehovah's witnesses or Mormons (each choose different dates for this alleged apostasy and each forget about the Assyrian Ancient Church of the East and the Mar Thomite Christian's in Kerala).

This book will give you a far better knowledge of a little investigated part of history. It certainly did so for me

[William Gill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rod Bennett brings that Arian crisis of the fourth century to life for modern readers. This is a pertinent message about perseverance during tribulation and God's promise to protect his church.
If ever a message of hope was needed today, then this surely is it.

[Artist · Rating 2 out of 5]

A third of it very entertaining, the rest boring. Cartoonishly biased, with the Christians never having done anything wrong, and everyone else doing no good. The book uses hundreds of references, though.

[Stephen Urbanek · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great understanding of history

Recommended for all Seeking understanding of History.puts thing in context. Understanding how the early.church developed without the propaganda. Well cited for further reference.

[Wayne E. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating book about the church in the 4th Century and its struggles against Arianism. Primarily deals with the life of Athanasius. Very interesting book.

[Shane Hill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid read on the Nicene Creed ......

[Phil Lundman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every Christian should read.

[Fabian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just loved it!

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is amazing. Sets right the myth of the Great Apostacy. This author truly has a gift for writing. Highly recommend.

[Clark Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This isn't a review. It's a comment on one paragraph that I think is important respects factually quite wrong, though it doesn't affect the truth of the book.

Early on, Bennett says "A note on the term 'Universal Christianity': This entire story takes place in the days of the Undivided Church: during the first millennium of Christianity, that is, in which all believers other than those who had chosen to join isolated cults or small splinter groups were 'peaceably united in one faith.'"

The paragraph reflects a blindness against which I ride, Quixote-like, when I encounter it. Philip Jenkins, in The Lost History of Christianity: The Thousand-Year Golden Age of the Church in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia—and How It Died, describes the Christian church to the east of Byzantium, Syria, and the Holy Land. He speaks of Timothy, Patriarch of the Church of the East 780-823, who presided over 19 metropolitans and 85 bishops. See chapter 1, passim. There is a map. (You can read this chapter on Amazon using the "Look Inside" feature.)

So the Undivided Church that Bennett speaks of did divide during the first millenium of Christianity -- in 451 after the Council of Chalcedon. The church Bennett describes was "Chalcedonian," and that of the East, "non-Chalcedonian." 451 is decades after the events in this book and does not directly affect it. But certainly the division was within the first millenium; and a church with 15 metropolitans and 85 bishops, even if deemed heretical, is not an "isolated cult" or a "small splinter group." The paragraph on the Undivided Church needs to be adjusted.

[Argum · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is a thread of religious belief in Protestant and other late coming churches who believe that the Early Church was somehow lost during what is known as The Great Apostasy. They seek out this time, frequently blamed on Constantine and tied to the Council of Nicaea, in order to justify their own beliefs and rejections of the Catholic Church or other high church traditions. Rod Bennett took this for granted at one point in his life and was faced with a jarring conclusion while a visiting a strange place one day. This book is his answer for what he found when he turned to history and the people who were there for the answers instead of what the storyline required to justify various sects.

Told in a conversational style using a lot of fictionalized vignettes, but strongly anchored to the writings and so far as we know them the characters of the Church Fathers and their opponents. This makes some dense material more approachable. As a Catholic, I know that this thread exists claiming the Catholic Church somehow subverted the will of the Apostles, but I never realized that it was blamed on the defeat of Arianism. This just doesn't make sense given most of these people and churches accept the Trinity and the divinity of Christ so not clear why they would wish to align otherwise. This book laid that out well by showing exactly what myths are perpetuated. It kind of like the Fulton Sheen quote of few hating the actual Church, but millions hating what they think it is. A healthy dose of Church Fathers is good for everyone and this was a very nice dose of medicine. The style provides a little cover for the deep history presented.

[Dave Brandt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rod is a thorough and compelling story teller. This book was very enlightening and informative. A must read for anyone who involved in evangelization or who deals on a routine with Protestants who think the Church was started by Constantine.

[Nancy Corgiat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent resource

I've finished this book and I'm going to read it again in case I missed anything! Excellent and captivating read!

[Christina Jacobson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic book

This book was definitely money well spent. I highly recommend it to everyone and especially Catholic's. This is a must read for apologetics and has great footnotes.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

For anyone interested in religion and history, I thought this was very good. Take time to read the notes in the Appendix, it is worth it.