Browsing Tag

History

Jesus Wars

Have you ever wondered how key Christian doctrinal statements have come to be? For instance, exactly how was the Nicene Creed agreed upon? Or the doctrine of the Trinity, a topic never specifically covered in Scripture? For that matter, how is it that we came to believe that Christ is both fully human and fully divine?

Jesus Wars by Philip Jenkins seeks to answer those questions, but he does so primarily from a historical perspective. The book is thick with theology — how could it not be? — but Jenkins weaves the threads of personalities, authorities, and historical circumstance into …

Random Thoughts,

History is written by the losers?

Recently finished a book on the fall of Constantinople in 1453. Or the conquest of Constantinople, depending on how you look at it.

Curious insight from the author of the book (Roger Crowley). He writes, “…the Ottoman perspective often has to be constructed by reading between the lines of Christian accounts: 1453 is unusual in being history largely written by the losers.”

Apparently, most of the stories about the battle for the city were recorded by the losing Christians. Specifically the Greeks and Italians. The Ottoman Empire, which won the battle, wrote very little about the battle. Only later did …