How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization

By: Thomas E. Woods Jr.

Narrated by: Barrett Whitener

Length: 7 hrs

Publisher's summary

Ask a college student today what he knows about the Catholic Church and his answer might come down to one word: "corruption". But that one word should be "civilization".

Western civilization has given us modern science, the wealth of free-market economics, the security of law, a sense of human rights and freedom, charity as a virtue, splendid art and music, philosophy grounded in reason, and innumerable other gifts we take for granted. But what is the ultimate source of these gifts? Best-selling author and professor Thomas E. Woods, Jr., provides the answer: the Catholic Church.

No institution has done more to shape Western civilization than the two-thousand-year-old Catholic Church and in ways that many of us have forgotten or never known. Woods' book is essential reading for recovering this lost truth.

©2005 Thomas E. Woods, Jr. (P)2005 Blackstone Audiobooks

Critic reviews

"I recommend Professor Woods's book not only to anyone interested in the history of the Catholic Church, but also to any student of the history and development of Western civilization." (Dr. Paul Legutko, Stanford University)

The Catholic Church in Western history.

Very good, love history, love learning. Worth every moment! Most especially what the Catholic Church has contributed. Thank - you.

Necessary Reading

Whole volumes could expound on what Tom Woods briefly covers about the Church. Every catholic parent should require their middle schooler to read it.

Outstanding

Rigorously researched and carefully thought through. I highly recommend to anyone but certainly to skeptics and those who have attempted to hang on to stereotypes and tropes.

Solid overview

A concise and easy to follow refutation of the detractors of our time. This book proves the truth that the Catholic faith built western civilization.

Biased

The premise of the book is quite interesting. Although i was disappointed, the book reads as an unbalanced piece, and history is not one sided. The contribution of the Muslims is shrugged off as merely copying previous works without offering insight, and some of the questionable clerics and their negative contributions to western civilization are omitted (pope Alexander VI comes to mind). He did offer many great sources to bolster his point, and made me reconsider some of my views, which was nice. I would recommend listening to or reading this piece with eyes wide open, knowing it is biased and that history is far more nuanced and the Catholic church itself is more complex than the author would lead you to believe.

Many little known facts

The book makes a pretty good case in supporting it's proposition that a lot of history describes the Catholic Church as a bad tempered and anachronistic caricature.

The implications and significance of this information will be up to the reader to decide, such as whether it defends the claim that the Catholic Church built western civilization, or if it accurately implies that the Catholic Church has suffered many uninformed smear campaigns... but the reader will at the very least gain some lesser known historical facts, such as the roots and development of the western university, the scientific method, etc. But beyond that, you will get to see the much more complex features of the Catholic Church's philosophy and previous efforts than what you will typically learn about.

I never, ever thought the Catholic Church was NOT

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

With caveat that the author is angry that his college students are unaware of Catholicism contribution to history. They developed, if nothing else, the basis for a massive bureaucracy that was is necessary infrastructure for formation and sustenance of any culture of any size. The other contributions are numerous and obvious to any serious student of history

What was one of the most memorable moments of How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization?

It's hard to say, since I was distracted by author's insistence that the Church had been defrauded of its rightful place in history.

Have you listened to any of Barrett Whitener’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No, I have not. I might listen to another. I as disappointed that his inflections so well depicted the author's bias

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

Not applicAble, I think

Any additional comments?

A very good survey of Western European history

Eye-Opening, Life-Changing Book

Like most people in the modern age, I learned in school and college that the Catholic Church was an evil, power-thirsty organization that brutally held back human progress for centuries. This book cured my miseducation. In fact, Tom Woods' excellent research and persuasive arguments started me down to the path to conversion a few years ago. It helped me realize that Western Civilization and Christendom were always synonymous.

Great counter to modern revisionists.

So nice to hear about all of the great things that The Catholic Church has done throughout history. Indeed, if it weren’t for the Church our world would be nowhere near as advanced FOR ALL of human kind.

Wide ranging and well written take on history

This book deals with a variety of topics and takes on arguments often taken for granted as true regarding the impact of religion on history. While I found some of the later points about modern art lacking value as being a little overly simplistic, this book offers well researched historic examples of many topics you’re unlikely to find elsewhere. Performance is well done and contributes nicely to the work’s scholarly tone.