the victories and losses of the Christian faith ( )

A vivid narrative of the passionate 20 centuries of Christian history. ( )

Beginning with the birth of Jesus and tracing the religion established by his followers up to the present day, The Faith is a comprehensive exploration of the history of Christianity. Judiciously covering all the signal moments without bogging down in minutia, author Brian Moynahan's superbly written and generously illustrated book is of central importance to Christians, historians, and anyone interested in a faith that shaped the modern world.

Moynahan's research uses little-known sources to tell a magnificent story encompassing everything from the early tremulous years after Jesus' death to the horrors of persecution by Nero, from the growth of monasteries to the bloody Crusades, from the building of the great cathedrals to the cataclysm of the Reformation and the Catholic Counter-Reformation, from the flight of pilgrims from Europe in pursuit of religious freedom to the Salem Witch Trials, from the advent of a traveling pope to the rise of televangelists.

Coming just in time for Jubilee 2000, this ambitious book reveals and commemorates the significance of the Christian faith.

Editorial Reviews
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From Publishers Weekly

This mammoth book offers a proficient survey of the checkered history of Christianity from its origins to the 21st century. In an engaging voice, journalist Moynahan (The Saint Who Sinned) narrates the story of this upstart Mediterranean religious sect as it developed from a band of ragged disciples with no place to call home to a sophisticated organization with a well-defined priestly hierarchy and often magnificent buildings. He discusses the usual cast of characters from Jesus and Paul to Augustine, Luther, Calvin, Wesley and Pope John Paul II. He argues that the impulse to convert those outside of Christianity is central to the development of the faith, but uses the Crusades and the Spanish Inquisition to demonstrate how this impulse sometimes got out of hand. Moynahan discusses in helpful detail the origins of Islam in the context of the Islamic invasions of Christian Constantinople in the seventh century. However, the book suffers from a lack of balance. Moynahan lavishes attention on Christianity from its beginnings up through the Reformation for the first two-thirds of the book, but then hurries through the establishment of Christianity in America and the development of modern Christianity. Even more perplexing is the complete absence of any examination of Eastern Christianity from its beginnings to the iconoclast crises in the eighth and ninth centuries. In the end, these are minor quibbles with a book that tells crisply, with more than 100 b&w illustrations, a moving tale of the internal and external struggles of Christianity to establish and sustain its religious identity.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

A generation ago, trained church historians wrote the bulk of histories of Christianity dry works that focused on theology, doctrinal debate, preaching, and the like. Journalists, however, have come to dominate the field with their unprecedented honesty, color, and verve. Moynahan, a writer for a variety of British newspapers and the author of the well-respected biography of Rasputin, The Saint Who Sinned, understands that the history of Christianity is not all about piety. With more than 100 startling photographs, illustrations, and drawings, he presents an unconventional and sensational chronology that reveals how Christianity has often been its own worst enemy. The story begins, dramatically enough, with Jesus on the cross, lamenting God's absence, and ends after 766 pages with a cutting statement: "Christianity's self-inflicted wounds still fester." In between, readers are exposed to every ugly event of Christianity imaginable: Roman persecution, Constantine's conquest of the church, heresy, Islamic invasions, slavery, crusades, inquisitions, the Bible as a lethal weapon, persecution by the Reformers, witch trials, conquistadors, persecution of missionaries, revolutions, fights between religions, and the African slave trade. Moynahan's latest is bloody, exciting, masterfully written, and recommended for all libraries. James A. Overbeck, Atlanta-Fulton P.L., GA
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"Ambitious...lively... The range is enormous; as Christianity spreads, this becomes a history of the world...a very impressive achievement which succeeds in drawing together an emormous amount of information into a coherent presentation... It is difficult to imagine any reader being disappointed" * Independent on Sunday * "It has great strengths... A good book makes one think. This is a good book in addition to being physically big and beautiful" * Church Times *

About the Author

BRIAN MOYNAHAN graduated with honors from Cambridge University and embarked on a career as an author and journalist. He served on the staff of The Yorkshire Post, Town Magazine, and The Times (London). Since 1989, he has concentrated on writing histories while continuing to write for British and American newspapers. His previous books include Airport International, Fool's Paradise, Claws of the Bear, Comrades, The Russian Century, and A Biography of Rasputin.