Preface The Facts and Fictions series with ABC-CLIO is a fascinating approach to learning about history. Some of the volumes in the series (such as the Vikings, the Civil War, and the Victorian World) are rather narrow in their focus. Some, however, cover huge geographies and expanses of time, such as the volume on Ancient Egypt and the History of Buddhism. Such is the case with the present volume. I try to cover two thousand years of history in a few hundred pages. I have done my best to cover topics that illustrate the rich history of Christianity, but I am also careful to deal with topics that have been misunderstood—sometimes terribly—for much of Chris- tianity’s history. The volume begins by asking whether Jesus Christ ever even lived. Chapter 1 deals with Jesus. Was he actually a meek and mild carpenter, or was he a strong Jewish leader? Chapters 2, 3, and 4 deal with early Chris- tianity up to the time of Constantine. What was life like for early Chris- tians? Were they poor and marginalized as often described? Or were they normal middle-class people? Then I take on the issue of women—one of the more important issues in Christianity today. The chapter on Constan- tine reviews whether the famous Roman emperor was a true Christian or if he was simply trying to pick a religion that would keep his empire together. Chapters 5 and 6 are situated in the medieval era. We deal with a big theme in chapter 5: Was medieval Europe an extremely religious place, or not so much? Then we discuss the context of the Crusades. Chapters 7, 8, and 9 present issues from the modern era: whether Chris- tianity is anti-science, and, finally, we address the status of Christianity in
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