Exposing Myths About Christianity: A Guide to Answering 145 Viral Lies and Legends

by Jeffrey Burton Russell

Overview

Renowned historian, Jeffrey Burton Russell, famous for his studies of medieval history, turns to the serious questions that confront Christianity in contemporary culture. Russell examines a wide array of common mispercerptions, characterizations, stereotypes, caricatures and outright myths about Christianity that circulate heavily within today's society, and are even believed by many Christians. In a succinct and engaging manner, Russell discusses these errors and provides thoughtful, even-handed, carefully researched and sharp-witted responses. The author sets the record straight against the New Atheists and other cultural critics who charge Christianity with being outdated, destructive, superstitious, unenlightened, racist, colonialist, based on fabrication, and other significant false accusations.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780830866878
Publisher:	IVP
Publication date:	05/15/2012
Sold by:	Bookwire
Format:	eBook
Pages:	361
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Jeffrey Burton Russell (Ph.D., Emory University) was a history professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara from 1979-1998 where he is now a professor of history, emeritus. He also taught at the University of New Mexico, Harvard, University of California in Riverside, Notre Dame, and California State University, Sacramento. Russell has published numerous books and articles on his area of expertise, the history of theology. Early in his academic career, Russell was honored as a Fulbright Fellow, Harvard Junior Fellow and Guggenheim Fellow.

Jeffrey Burton Russell (Ph.D., Emory University) was a history professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara from 1979-1998 where he is now a professor of history, emeritus. He also taught at the University of New Mexico, Harvard, University of California in Riverside, Notre Dame, and California State University, Sacramento. Russell has published numerous books and articles on his area of expertise, the history of theology. Early in his academic career, Russell was honored as a Fulbright Fellow, Harvard Junior Fellow and Guggenheim Fellow.

Table of Contents

Preface

What People are Saying About This

Peter Kreeft

"An astonishingly rich plethora of historical facts and common-sense arguments—a summa of persuasive debating points in popular apologetics."

Very Rev. Dr. Ian Markham

"This is Christian apologetics at its best—compelling, readable, convincing and informed. Distortions, myths and lazy assumptions are all challenged. Encyclopedic in scope, all the major questions are considered. From gnosticism to evil, from science to the Trinity, Jeffrey Burton Russell demonstrates exceptional competence and mastery of the literature. What C. S. Lewis's Mere Christianity did in the 1940s, Jeffrey Burton Russell has done for us. For those seeking and for those who doubt, this is a must-read book."

Carol Zaleski

"Jeffrey Burton Russell is a marvel. An eminent scholar of medieval intellectual history, he has placed his gifts in the service of the gospel, creating in one immensely readable volume an enlightening guide to the Christian experience and a bracing antidote to the follies and willful confusions of our age."

Wendy M. Wright

"If you thought Christian apologetics was an art last practiced in the third century, Professor Russell's lively book will convince you that that ancient art of persuasive, reasoned defense is alive and well. Tackling the many misapprehensions and false assumptions about Christianity that routinely circulate in the modern world, Russell counters with thoughtful and thought-provoking data. Researched with a scholar's attention to accuracy yet written in an accessible style and in a format that facilitates consideration of discrete topics, this book deserves a wide readership among thinking people, Christians and non-Christians, believers and non-believers alike."

Editorial Reviews

"An astonishingly rich plethora of historical facts and common-sense arguments—a summa of persuasive debating points in popular apologetics."

Peter Kreeft

"This is Christian apologetics at its best—compelling, readable, convincing and informed. Distortions, myths and lazy assumptions are all challenged. Encyclopedic in scope, all the major questions are considered. From gnosticism to evil, from science to the Trinity, Jeffrey Burton Russell demonstrates exceptional competence and mastery of the literature. What C. S. Lewis's Mere Christianity did in the 1940s, Jeffrey Burton Russell has done for us. For those seeking and for those who doubt, this is a must-read book."

Very Rev. Dr. Ian Markham

"If you thought Christian apologetics was an art last practiced in the third century, Professor Russell's lively book will convince you that that ancient art of persuasive, reasoned defense is alive and well. Tackling the many misapprehensions and false assumptions about Christianity that routinely circulate in the modern world, Russell counters with thoughtful and thought-provoking data. Researched with a scholar's attention to accuracy yet written in an accessible style and in a format that facilitates consideration of discrete topics, this book deserves a wide readership among thinking people, Christians and non-Christians, believers and non-believers alike."

Wendy M. Wright

"Jeffrey Burton Russell is a marvel. An eminent scholar of medieval intellectual history, he has placed his gifts in the service of the gospel, creating in one immensely readable volume an enlightening guide to the Christian experience and a bracing antidote to the follies and willful confusions of our age."

Carol Zaleski

[Starred Review] ". . . a model of learning and logic . . . Immense learning and intellectual power packed into a small space, this book is highly recommended for individual readers as well as academic libraries."

Graham Christian

"This is Christian apologetics at its best—compelling, readable, convincing and informed. Distortions, myths and lazy assumptions are all challenged. Encyclopedic in scope, all the major questions are considered. From gnosticism to evil, from science to the Trinity, Jeffrey Burton Russell demonstrates exceptional competence and mastery of the literature. What C. S. Lewis's Mere Christianity did in the 1940s, Jeffrey Burton Russell has done for us. For those seeking and for those who doubt, this is a must-read book."

Very Reverend Doctor - Ian Markham

Russell (history, emeritus, Univ. of California, Santa Barbara; The Devil: Perceptions of Evil) is a notable scholar with a notable talent for writing accessible works with general-readership appeal, including a long series on the understanding of evil, especially in the Middle Ages. His new book is a kind of lesson in the making of careful distinctions: showing how, rightly understood, Christianity is not antiscientific, and has not been "disproved." While this volume is likely a response to the rise of contemporary atheism, it is a model of learning and logic in its own right. VERDICT Immense learning and intellectual power packed into a small space, this book is highly recommended for individual readers as well as academic libraries.

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