Dominion

How the Christian Revolution Remade the World

De: Tom Holland

Narrado por: Tom Holland

An extraordinary account of how the Christian Revolution forged the Western imagination, from the author of Rubicon.

“A galloping tour of Christianity’s influence across the last 2,000 years.” —New York Times

Crucifixion, the Romans believed, was the worst fate imaginable, a punishment reserved for slaves. How astonishing it was, then, that people should have come to believe that one particular victim of crucifixion—an obscure provincial by the name of Jesus—was to be worshipped as a god.

Dominion explores the implications of this shocking conviction as they have reverberated throughout history. Today, the West remains utterly saturated by Christian assumptions. As Tom Holland demonstrates, our morals and ethics are not universal but are instead the fruits of a very distinctive civilization.

Concepts such as secularism, liberalism, science, and homosexuality are deeply rooted in a Christian seedbed. From Babylon to the Beatles, Saint Michael to #MeToo, Dominion tells the story of how Christianity transformed the modern world.

Reseñas de la Crítica

"This lively, capacious history of Christianity emphasizes the extent to which the religion still underpins Western liberal values."—New Yorker

"A galloping tour of Christianity's influence across the last 2,000 years, with vivid vignettes scattered across the centuries, and a concluding argument the Christian faith, 'the most influential framework for making sense of human existence that has ever existed,' still shapes the way that even the most secular modern people think about the world."—Ross Douthat, New York Times

"A sweeping narrative.... [Holland] is an exceptionally good storyteller with a marvelous eye for detail... excellent fun."—The Economist

"An absorbing survey of Christianity's subversive origins and enduring influence is filled with vivid portraits, gruesome deaths and moral debates...Holland has all the talents of an accomplished novelist: a gift for narrative, a lively sense of drama and a fine ear for the rhythm of a sentence."—the Guardian (UK)

"An engaging book."—The Times (UK)

"Christianity may not be on the march, but its principles continue to dominate in much of the world; this thoughtful, astute account describes how and why... Holland delivers penetrating, often jolting discussions on great controversies of Western civilization in which war, politics, and culture have formed a background to changes in values... An insightful argument that Christian ethics, even when ignored, are the norm worldwide."—Kirkus Reviews (starred)

"An exhaustive, demanding and hugely impressive interpretation of our past, bursting with fresh ideas and perspectives on every page."—The Sunday Times

"An ambitious account of the history and enduring influence of Christianity. Holland argues that the modern world has been shaped by the consequences of the life and death of Jesus."—Daily Mail ("The Year's Most Essential Books")

"What in other hands could have been a dry pedantic account of Christianity's birth and evolution becomes in Holland's an all-absorbing story.... It takes a master storyteller to translate the development of a philosophical notion into a captivating story, and Holland proves to be one.... Holland offers a remarkably nuanced and balanced account of two millennia of Christian history -- intellectual, cultural, artistic, social and political. The book's scope is breathtaking."—The Literary Review

"A masterpiece of scholarship and storytelling, Dominion surpasses Holland's earlier books in its sweeping ambition and gripping presentation.... Dominion presents a rich and compelling history of Christendom."—The New Statesman

Very insightful!

As a Christian that fails daily, this book has opened my mind, heart, and spirit to be more patient and Christlike.

great book

I've never heard a better explanation of the difference between Catholic and Protestant and I've never read a more compelling account of Martin Luther.

Fabulous

I was fascinated by Holland’s thesis and enjoyed the journey through two thousand years of history as he unveiled his reasoning. The cross of Jesus continues to shape us whether we know it or not. A great book that has changed the way I view the world.

Comprehensive History

Very enlightening to get a granular timeline of how things played out since Christ's death and resurrection. Thank you Tom, great work!

Mixed reactions

This is an interesting, insightful, and eloquently written book. With the author's basic premise, he goes right to the heart of Christianity's uniqueness in the ancient world and positive contribution to Western civilization: by dying the death of a slave, Jesus set the foundation for a belief in the fundamental equality of all humans, and the inherent dignity and worth of every individual, a belief that underlies modern humanitarian impulses. He also discusses how the foundation was laid for the triumph of reason first during the age of scholasticism, and then following the Reformation to the age of Enlightenment, thus laying the foundation for the rise of secularism and the voiced dismissal of religion.

He also demonstrates how the concept of a cosmic fight between good and evil and the need to cleanse evil from the land were also part of this inheritance, visible in the history of persecution and the legacy of colonization. Similarly, he highlights the ambivalence beginning with Paul the Apostle between a belief that 'in Christ there is neither Jew nor Greek, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female,' with the pre-existing beliefs and attitudes, taken for granted in Roman society, that people should be stratified and treated accordingly, thus providing the foundation for racism and sexism within a faith that preaches the equality of all, and the foundation for cruelty towards those deemed inferior in a faith that emphasizes love.

Typically, the chapters are not only interesting but also bring a unique perspective. Eg, most of the explanations I've seen for the transformation of societies from primarily extended to primarily nuclear family structures focus on economic factors and on the change from rural to urban lifestyles. This author, however, builds a persuasive link for this development to the crystallization of sexual mores into a belief in marriage as a fully monogamous institution (that is, for men as well as women) in the late middle ages, a decisive shift from Europe's ancient Greek and Roman roots. I also found his chapter on Scholasticism (featuring Abelard) especially lucid, particularly compared with most treatments I've seen of this era in church history.

However, I felt his thinking on the topic of Christianity and science to be stuck in the 1950s, with science and Christianity opposed to one another, such that one must cancel out the other. Unfortunately, this is far too common in modern society, reflecting the fact that public dialogue on this topic mostly ended with the 'death of God' was covered in Time magazine in 1966, and the rise to dominance in the 21st century of a fundamentalist, anti-science, anti-education evangelicalism that many people now unfortunately equate with Christianity as a whole. The author is to be commended for pointing out an important and enduring strength of Christianity--the idea that Jesus came not just for the rich and powerful, but also for those marginalized in society, and advocated for helping those who are suffering.

As with the author's previous works, the reader needs to bring some relevant background knowledge in order to fully appreciate all his points. Eg, the author's take on the teachings of Paul is well-done overall. Yet a jump is made into Paul that depends on the reader already knowing essentially who Paul is in order to understand what's going on. Similarly, he describes Paul as 'fusing together' ancient greek teachings with those of budding Christian thought, but he doesn't clearly explicate what that fusion consists of (something about 'conscience'?)--he depends on the reader being able to infer it from things he's said previously.

In terms of content, he seems to imply that Paul himself came up with most of the ideas he presents, when in fact nearly all of them reflect sayings and parables long attributed in oral form to Jesus. These oral traditions existed within and represented communities of believers, and Paul would no doubt have already heard them. Basically, I think the author makes Paul appear overly-central in the early formation of Christian understanding. This impression is strengthened by the fact that he discusses the Gospels only briefly at the end of the chapter on Paul, and then in the next chapter discusses them as part of the early version of the canon first identified in the late 2nd century, such that a reader could incorrectly conclude that first there was Paul and then there were the Gospels, when in fact the ideas present in both swirled around among believers in oral form, and Paul would have heard these when he was converted. I also imagine there were lengthy discussions among early leaders about their larger meaning and, as I recall, Paul's first extant letters were written about 15 years after his conversion, giving him plenty of time to absorb the oral traditions and participate in ongoing discussions. So, although Paul certainly made an important contribution to the corpus of early Christian thought and writings, he is not the origin of the central ideas he expounds on in the epistles; instead, he is mostly expanding on themes and ideas already present in the parables and sayings of Jesus, as presented in the Gospels.

On the other hand, I think the author has a general tendency to focus on just one person when presenting the topics in his chapters. This may function largely as a literary device, making abstract content more digestible, and no doubt a nitty-gritty discussion about where ideas came from would become overly-ponderous for a book written for a larger audience. Similarly, It's not clear what textual sources he uses for his quotes from Psalms, Corinthians and elsewhere--is he drawing on his own translations from the original Greek and Hebrew? If not, what translation is he using? This is an important point as different translations can provide different nuances in meaning. It's possible the written version of this book does provide this information, but it is not present in the audible version. But again, as with the tendency to focus on just one person's ideas to represent an era, I suspect this reflects the fact that he is writing for a larger audience rather than an exclusively academic one.

But he is also not writing for people who need a very basic introduction to a topic. I think audience is the central challenge of his books--too much knowledge and the discussion he presents is not detailed and scholarly enough, no prior knowledge at all and the reader is left at sea wondering how they got there. So, I think the people who will enjoy his books the most are people who have 'just enough' knowledge of a topic to be drawn into and appreciate what he's saying, but not so much that they find themselves arguing with him over nitty-gritty details that he has chosen to leave aside for the sake of a more digestible presentation. However, the writing is excellent, his perspective is unique yet insightful, and I think this book is overall a worthwhile read.