o explore the power that religious belief has had over societies through the ages, Selina O'Grady takes the reader on a dazzling journey across the empires of the ancient world and introduces us to rulers, merchants, messiahs, priests and holy men. Throughout, she seeks to answer why, amongst the countless religious options available, the empires at the time of Jesus ‘chose' the religions they did? 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 popular and widespread? The Jesus cult , followed by no more than 100 people at the time of his death, should, by rights, have disappeared in a few generations. Instead it became the official religion of the Roman Empire. 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 Creat

And Man Created God: A History of the World in the Time of Jesus

History

O'Grady, Selina

World

St.Martin's Press

At the time of Jesus' birth, the world was full of gods. Thousands of them jostled, competed, and merged with one another. In Syria, ecstatic devotees castrated themselves in the streets to become priests of Atargatis. In Galilee, holy men turned oil into wine, healed the sick, drove out devils, and claimed to be the Messiah. Every day thousands of people were flocking into brand-new multiethnic cities. The ancient world was in ferment as it underwent the first phase of globalization, and in this ferment, rulers and ruled turned to religion as a source of order and stability.
To explore the power that religious belief has had over societies through the ages, Selina O'Grady takes the reader on a dazzling journey across the empires of the ancient world and introduces us to rulers, merchants, messiahs, priests, and holy men. Throughout, she seeks to answer why, amongst the countless religious options available, the empires at the time of Jesus "chose" the religions they did. Why did China's rulers hitch their fate to Confucianism? Why was a tiny Jewish cult led by Jesus eventually adopted by Rome's emperors? The Jesus cult, followed by no more than one hundred people at the time of his death, should, by rights, have disappeared in a few generations. Instead it became the official religion of the Roman Empire. Why did Christianity grow so quickly to become the predominant world religion? And Man Created God, an important, thrilling and necessary new work of history, 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 that still defines us in our own age.

And Man Created God: A History of the World at the Time of Jesus

Historical Study & Educational Resources

Picador

A groundbreaking book on the history of religious tolerance and intolerance that offers an essential narrative to understanding Islam and the West today. Religious intolerance, the use of derogatory language, repressive laws, and mass shootings are pervasive in today’s world. Selina O’Grady asks how and why our societies came to be as tolerant or intolerant as they are. Whether tolerance can be expected to heal today’s festering wound between Islam and the post-Christian West. Or whether something deeper than tolerance is needed. From Umar, the seventh century Islamic caliph who led what became the greatest empire the world has ever known, to King John (of Magna Carta fame) who almost converted to Islam; from Ibn Abd al-Wahhab, who created the religious-military alliance with the House of Saud that still survives today, to the bloody Thirty Years’ War that cured Europe of murderous intra-Christian violence but probably killed God in the process, Selina O’Grady takes the reader through the intertwined histories of the Muslim, Christian, and Jewish faiths. In the Name of God is an original and thought-provoking history of monotheistic religions and their ever-shifting relationship with each other and with tolerance.

In the Name of God: The Role of Religion in the Modern World: A History of Judeo-Christian and Islamic Tolerance

Pegasus Books

BRAND NEW, Exactly same ISBN as listed, Please double check ISBN carefully before ordering.

And Man Created God: Kings, Cults and Conquests at the Time of Jesus [Paperback] Howard Hughes

ATLANTIC BOOKS *

Christianity is tolerant, Islam is not. Islam is an inherently violent, ossified religion which can never come to terms with the Enlightenment. How right or wrong are these assumptions? In this groundbreaking new book, Selina O'Grady asks how and why our societies came to be as tolerant or intolerant as they are? Whether tolerance can be expected to heal today's festering wound between Islam and the post-Christian West? Or whether something deeper than tolerance is needed.
Told through contemporary chronicles, stories and poems, Selina O'Grady takes the reader through the intertwined histories of the Muslim, Christian and Jewish persecutors and persecuted. From Umar, the seventh century Islamic caliph who laid down the rules for the treatment of religious minorities in what was becoming the greatest empire the world has ever known, to Magna Carta John who seriously considered converting to Islam; and from al-Wahaabi, whose own brother thought he was illiterate and fanatical, but who created the religious-military alliance with the house of Saud that still survives today, to Europe's bloody Thirty Years war that wearied Europe of murderous inter-Christian violence but probably killed God in the process. 
This book is an essential guide to understanding Islam and the West today and the role of religion in the modern world.

In the Name of God: A History of Christian and Muslim Intolerance

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by O'Grady, Selina. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by O'Grady, Selina

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by O'Grady, Selina. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

And Man Created God: A History of the World in the Time of Jesus

And Man Created God: A History of the World at the Time of Jesus

In the Name of God: The Role of Religion in the Modern World: A History of Judeo-Christian and Islamic Tolerance

And Man Created God: Kings, Cults and Conquests at the Time of Jesus [Paperback] Howard Hughes

In the Name of God: A History of Christian and Muslim Intolerance

In the Name of God: A History of Christian and Muslim Intolerance