The Scandal of the Scandals: The Secret History of Christianity

Mahatma Gandhi once chided a Christian friend, "All you Christians, missionaries and all, must begin to live more like Jesus Christ." And what Christian among us would disagree with him? Over the past 2,000 years, how many people have been shocked, wounded, and scandalized by the sins and foolish- ness of believing Christians--from wars to witch hunts, from persecution to psychological manipulation? And the list goes on. Today, there is a broad sense that the Church, however well meaning, is on the wrong side of history. But do we really know our history? German psychiatrist and theologian Dr. Manfred Lu]tz dares to show us what con- temporary historians actually say about Christianity's track record over the ages. His detailed overview begins with the ancient pagans, passes through Israel, the early Church martyrs, Constantine's Rome, the Barbarians under Charlemagne, the Crusades, the Inquisition, the Reformation, the Borgia popes, the Galileo affair, the conquistadores, the French Revolution, the slave trade, the Holocaust, the sex abuse crisis, and more. A Scandal from the Start separates myth from fact, giving us a picture of Christendom in all her surprising holiness and beauty. Prepare to be amazed at how little you really knew about Christianity.