The first seven episodes of this series were reasonably good, if uneven.
They cover the topics: Jesus the Jew, Rome, the Dark Ages, the Crusades, the Reformation, around the world, Science.
My four objections to those first seven are that (1) Without a consistent writer/presenter, the series doesn't have the feel of a history, making jarring shifts from episode to episode, rather than telling a continuous story. (2) A history of Christianity, supposedly representing billions of people, should not focus so tightly on the UK, even if it's by and for the UK. (3) I wouldn't have chosen presenters to introduce their particular biases (pro and con) into what should have been a factual look at history. (4) The history itself seems to take a back seat to the impact that history has today or parallels to that history today. That's not to say there isn't interesting history, but they always feel the need to tie it to today for some reason.
My greatest objection is with the final episode, the Future, which seems to ignore everything that came before, and turn into cheerleading propaganda for US-style megachurches. It promotes Christianity as a good for its own sake, despite the inherent dangers, lies, and ready availability of other ways to obtain similar benefits. The worst part though has to do with the Nazis, which are labelled "godless" and "unholy", despite that the Holocaust can ONLY be described as a Christian act, precisely in line with the Inquisition and the Crusades. Their belt buckles said it all: "God with us". That's not "godless". If that doesn't convince, read Hitler's own words. He, like Cherie, was a Catholic. She may not like the association, but Hitler is still Catholic today, having never been excommunicated. (Seriously, what does it take to get kicked out of that group?)
So, if you're interested in what an apparently randomly selected bunch of people today think about various aspects of Christianity in history, and you ultimately think Christianity's a good thing, you might like this series.
If you're looking for a calm, factual account, from beginning to end, this is not the series for you.
They cover the topics: Jesus the Jew, Rome, the Dark Ages, the Crusades, the Reformation, around the world, Science.
My four objections to those first seven are that (1) Without a consistent writer/presenter, the series doesn't have the feel of a history, making jarring shifts from episode to episode, rather than telling a continuous story. (2) A history of Christianity, supposedly representing billions of people, should not focus so tightly on the UK, even if it's by and for the UK. (3) I wouldn't have chosen presenters to introduce their particular biases (pro and con) into what should have been a factual look at history. (4) The history itself seems to take a back seat to the impact that history has today or parallels to that history today. That's not to say there isn't interesting history, but they always feel the need to tie it to today for some reason.
My greatest objection is with the final episode, the Future, which seems to ignore everything that came before, and turn into cheerleading propaganda for US-style megachurches. It promotes Christianity as a good for its own sake, despite the inherent dangers, lies, and ready availability of other ways to obtain similar benefits. The worst part though has to do with the Nazis, which are labelled "godless" and "unholy", despite that the Holocaust can ONLY be described as a Christian act, precisely in line with the Inquisition and the Crusades. Their belt buckles said it all: "God with us". That's not "godless". If that doesn't convince, read Hitler's own words. He, like Cherie, was a Catholic. She may not like the association, but Hitler is still Catholic today, having never been excommunicated. (Seriously, what does it take to get kicked out of that group?)
So, if you're interested in what an apparently randomly selected bunch of people today think about various aspects of Christianity in history, and you ultimately think Christianity's a good thing, you might like this series.
If you're looking for a calm, factual account, from beginning to end, this is not the series for you.
