And Man Created God
Published by St. Martin's Publishing Group
The author of In the Name of God investigates the social and political forces that transformed the ancient cult of Jesus into the world’s largest religion.
At the time of Jesus’ birth, the world was full of gods that jostled, competed and merged with one another. So why did the empires of the age choose—from the countless options available—the religions they did? Selina O’Grady takes readers on a dazzling journey across the ancient world to answer this vexing question, introducing readers to a colorful cast of rulers, merchants, messiahs, priests and holy men along the way.
Why did China’s rulers hitch their fate to Confucianism, a philosophy more than a religion? And why was a tiny Jewish cult led by Jesus eventually adopted by Rome’s emperors rather than the cult of Isis which was far more widespread? Why did Christianity grow so quickly to become the predominant world religion? What was it about its teachings that so appealed to people?
And Man Created God looks at why and how religions have had such an immense impact on human history and in doing so uncovers the ineradicable connection between politics and religion—a connection which still defines us in our own age.
At the time of Jesus’ birth, the world was full of gods that jostled, competed and merged with one another. So why did the empires of the age choose—from the countless options available—the religions they did? Selina O’Grady takes readers on a dazzling journey across the ancient world to answer this vexing question, introducing readers to a colorful cast of rulers, merchants, messiahs, priests and holy men along the way.
Why did China’s rulers hitch their fate to Confucianism, a philosophy more than a religion? And why was a tiny Jewish cult led by Jesus eventually adopted by Rome’s emperors rather than the cult of Isis which was far more widespread? Why did Christianity grow so quickly to become the predominant world religion? What was it about its teachings that so appealed to people?
And Man Created God looks at why and how religions have had such an immense impact on human history and in doing so uncovers the ineradicable connection between politics and religion—a connection which still defines us in our own age.
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