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Review of "The Myth of Persecution" by Dr. Candida Moss
Dr. Candida Moss has provided a popular-level (as distinct from scholarly-level) account of what she calls the “myth of persecution.” Unfortunately, popular-level readers may be misled by the scholarly-style nuances that Dr. Moss uses to make her case. Nevertheless, there are a number of interesting features in her work. The overall purpose of the book…
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St. Josaphat aka Buddha
At page 88 of The Myth of Persecution, Dr. Moss drew attention to a particularly glaring case of false saints in the case of St. Josaphat. The story of “Barlaam and Josaphat” became popular in Europe after being translated into Greek, probably around the 11th century. The name “Josaphat,” as it turns out, is derived…
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Rhetorical Excess – Religious Persecution and Idolatry
Rhetorical flourishes are like any other form of emphasis. They work well when used occasionally and accurately, and not when used constantly and diffusely. In her book, The Myth of Persecution, Dr. Moss complains that the religious right in the U.S. is too quick to decry leftist politics as religious persecution. Claiming that “Christianity is…
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Candida Moss and the Truth Value of Martyrdom
In The Myth of Persecution, Dr. Moss repeats the assertion that martyrdom is used as proof of the truth of the martyrs’ views. For example at page 43 she states, “The notion that her innocence is proved by her death is uncomfortable to us, but it is the same idea that we saw with Socrates:…
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The Myth of Whose Persecution?
Ironically, in the acknowledgments section, Dr. Moss portrays herself as feeling persecuted! She writes (p. 261): I might not have had the courage to see this book through to completion, were it not for the friendship of Dan Myers, who directed me to various relevant news items, encouraged me to stand my ground, and assured…
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Candida Moss on Bishops and the Bishop of Rome in the Early Church
In The Myth of Persecution, Dr. Candida Moss (professor of New Testament at Notre Dame) makes two interesting comments regarding the early church and the papacy. First, at page 227, she states: According to the Roman Catholic and Anglican churches, bishops can trace their line in an unending succession all the way back to the…
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Candida Moss’ Surprising Omission of Jesus and Hebrews’ Appeal to Abel
One surprising omission from Dr. Candida Moss’ book, “The Myth of Persecution,” is discussion of Jesus’ own framework for persecution. Jesus, you recall, stated: Matthew 23:29-36Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous, and say, “If we had been in the…
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Martyrdom of Polycarp
The work called “The Martyrdom of Polycarp,” is a story of martyrdom that is itself more historical fiction than historical account. That is not to say that Polycarp was not martyred. Rather it is to say that many of the details of the story are not accurate. In The Myth of Persecution, Dr. Candida Moss…