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The Modern Scholar: From Jesus to Christianity: A History of the Early Church audiobook cover art

  • The Modern Scholar: From Jesus to Christianity: A History of the Early Church

  • By: Thomas F. Madden
  • Narrated by: Thomas F. Madden
  • Length: 8 hrs and 13 mins
  • Unabridged
  • Overall
    4.5 out of 5 stars 188
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars 138
  • Story
    4.5 out of 5 stars 137

In the first century of its existence, Christianity was both welcomed and vilified throughout the Roman Empire. Many of Christianity's original adherents were martyred. Christians themselves practiced their religion with great diversity, linked as much to local influences as theology. Political intrigue, theological beliefs, and simple misunderstandings created a need for dialogue between the many practitioners of the growing faith.

  • 5 out of 5 stars

  • Excellent Introduction to History of Christianity

  • By Jason on 09-30-10
The Modern Scholar: Christianity At the Crossroads: The Reformations of the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries audiobook cover art

  • The Modern Scholar: Christianity At the Crossroads: The Reformations of the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries

  • By: Thomas F. Madden
  • Narrated by: Thomas F. Madden
  • Length: 8 hrs and 29 mins
  • Unabridged
  • Overall
    4.5 out of 5 stars 107
  • Performance
    4.5 out of 5 stars 75
  • Story
    4.5 out of 5 stars 76

Esteemed history professor Thomas F. Madden explores the reformations that swept across Christendom in the 16th and 17th centuries. The impact of these reforms affected government, popes, and kings as well as commoners, for at this time the Church was an omnipresent part of European identity-and the import of Church reforms on every level of life at this time simply cannot be underestimated.

  • 4 out of 5 stars

  • Clarity!!

  • By Chi-Hung on 06-11-09
The Modern Scholar: Upon This Rock: A History of the Papacy from Peter to John Paul II audiobook cover art

  • The Modern Scholar: Upon This Rock: A History of the Papacy from Peter to John Paul II

  • By: Thomas F. Madden
  • Narrated by: Thomas F. Madden
  • Length: 8 hrs and 9 mins
  • Unabridged
  • Overall
    4.5 out of 5 stars 89
  • Performance
    4.5 out of 5 stars 63
  • Story
    4.5 out of 5 stars 62

In this compelling series of lectures, widely esteemed author and professor Thomas F. Madden illustrates how the papacy, the world's oldest institution, gave birth to the West. Since Jesus Christ instructed the foremost of his Apostles, Peter, that he would be the rock upon which Christ would build his church, the papacy has survived the rise and fall of empires while continuing to assert an undeniable influence on world events.

  • 3 out of 5 stars

  • A synthesis

  • By Chi-Hung on 02-07-10
The Modern Scholar: The Catholic Church in the Modern Age audiobook cover art

  • The Modern Scholar: The Catholic Church in the Modern Age

  • By: Thomas F. Madden
  • Narrated by: Thomas F. Madden
  • Length: 8 hrs and 7 mins
  • Unabridged
  • Overall
    4.5 out of 5 stars 57
  • Performance
    4.5 out of 5 stars 33
  • Story
    4.5 out of 5 stars 34

Professor Thomas F. Madden leads these compelling lectures, focusing on a Church both adapting to a world in flux and striving to exert its influence and power. Throughout modernity, the Church responded to and weathered a host of major world events: the Enlightenment, the French Revolution, colonization of the New World, and of course the World Wars. As the face of the Church, the popes affected Catholicism in ways that can only be truly understood from a careful examination of the past.

  • 5 out of 5 stars

  • Excellent!

  • By William on 12-18-12
The New Testament audiobook cover art

  • The New Testament

  • By: Bart D. Ehrman, The Great Courses
  • Narrated by: Bart D. Ehrman
  • Length: 12 hrs and 26 mins
  • Original Recording
  • Overall
    4.5 out of 5 stars 737
  • Performance
    4.5 out of 5 stars 663
  • Story
    4.5 out of 5 stars 658

Whether taken as a book of faith or a cultural artifact, the New Testament is among the most significant writings the world has ever known, its web of meaning relied upon by virtually every major writer in the last 2,000 years. Yet the New Testament is not only one of Western civilization’s most believed books, but also one of its most widely disputed, often maligned, and least clearly understood, with a vast number of people unaware of how it was written and transmitted.

  • 3 out of 5 stars

  • Should have a different title

  • By Kris Heap on 03-18-15
The Modern Scholar: The Medieval World I: Kingdoms, Empires, and War audiobook cover art

  • The Modern Scholar: The Medieval World I: Kingdoms, Empires, and War

  • By: Thomas F. Madden
  • Narrated by: Thomas F. Madden
  • Length: 8 hrs and 20 mins
  • Original Recording
  • Overall
    4.5 out of 5 stars 206
  • Performance
    4.5 out of 5 stars 134
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    4.5 out of 5 stars 134

This all-encompassing investigation of a highly influential time period includes the major events of the era and informative discussion of empire, papacy, the Crusades, and the fall of Constantinople. During the course of these lectures, Professor Madden also addresses the rise of Islam, reform movements, and schisms in the church. In so doing, Professor Madden underscores the significance and grand scale of an age that continues to hold an undeniable fascination for people today.

  • 4 out of 5 stars

  • Another good course from a master

  • By Chi-Hung on 11-01-09

Publisher's Summary

Renowned professor Thomas F. Madden turns his scholarly eye on the intrigue and politics swirling about the Medieval Church. Professor Madden explores the compelling events that shaped the culture and forever altered history, from the Monophysite Controversy to reform movements to the Inquisition, Black Death, and Great Schism.

This is a history populated with larger-than-life characters and notorious personages such as Charlemagne, Pope Innocent III, and the Knights Templar. Richly detailed and infused with dramatic intensity, Professor Madden's captivating lectures provide a better understanding not only of the Medieval Church, but of the modern world that followed.
Download the accompanying reference guide.
©2006 Thomas F. Madden (P)2006 Recorded Books

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
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    5 out of 5 stars

Modern Scholar Wins!

Would you listen to The Modern Scholar again? Why?

Yes, compared to the Great Courses overview of the Catholic Church, it was a fair, clear, and comprehensive chronological overview of the Catholic faith. The information is provided in a clear and concise manner, that is easily recalled later.

8 of 9 people found this review helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Loved it! A great listen.

If you like the middle ages and/or the Catholic Church, you will love this audio book. The delivery can be a little dry at times, and you may need high-quality ear buds to ensure a non-muffled sound, but overall, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Thanks Mr. Madden!

7 of 8 people found this review helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Divine Institution/Fallible Humans

If you could sum up The Modern Scholar in three words, what would they be?

Informative, Objective, Insightful

What other book might you compare The Modern Scholar to and why?

I have not read any book that offered such a comprehensive history of the Church in the Middle Ages.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of the narrator?

Someone who can read clearly without it sounding like a lecture without any notes. Of course, to be fair, it is a "lecture," but I could do without all of the "uh" and other such pauses. On the positive side, and the reason for two stars (vs. none), his pronunciation was flawless. In fact, I am going to upgrade him to a three for that reason alone (since it's so rare)

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I suppose I did have an extreme reaction to the book and it would be closer to "cry" than to "laugh." In the aftermath of the Second Vatican Council in the late 1960's, when so many Catholics were questioning all of the radical changes to the liturgy, we were told that the changes actually restored our religion to that of its early years. This is obviously hogwash, as the author clearly shows. The Church of 10th century was in most fundamental respects the same as the pre-Vatican II church of the 1950's. The current Catholic Church, by comparison, does not even seem "Catholic" (or holy, or apostolic). That was a shocker to me.

3 of 4 people found this review helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

A good way to fill in your knowledge

This professor does not narrate something he wrote, he just wings it, apparently with bullet points in front of him. So it's fresh and natural; he speaks in a conversational manner. That's good, but if you want lively and engaging you've come to the wrong place. That's not his personality. He knows his history and lays out the material sensibly. I'm running while I listen and can't take in a lot of information quickly, so his slow talking is a plus for me. But it may not be for you.