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Philip Jenkins
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Jesus Wars: How Four Patriarchs, Three Queens, and Two Emperors Decided What Christians Would Believe for the Next 1,500 Years Kindle Edition

by John Philip Jenkins (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.4 out of 5 stars 395 ratings

The Fifth-Century Political Battles That Forever Changed the Church

In this fascinating account of the surprisingly violent fifth-century church, PhilipJenkins describes how political maneuvers by a handful of powerful charactersshaped Christian doctrine. Were it not for these battles, today’s church could beteaching something very different about the nature of Jesus, and the papacy as weknow it would never have come into existence. Jesus Wars reveals the profoundimplications of what amounts to an accident of history: that one faction ofRoman emperors and militia-wielding bishops defeated another.

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  1. Print length
    355 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    HarperOne
  4. Publication date
    February 20, 2010
  5. File size
    2.7 MB
  6. Page Flip
    Enabled
  7. Word Wise
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Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

*Starred Review* The fifth-century Christian church faced a doctrinal issue, now largely forgotten, that precipitated intramural Christian savagery unparalleled until the 11-centuries-later Thirty Years’ War. The bone of contention was the nature of Jesus Christ. That he wasn’t a mere man was indisputable. But was he a human-divine cross-breed, so to speak, or was he purely divine and his human body an illusion? Neither was accepted, but the conclusion of the council of Chalcedon in 451 that he was fully divine and fully human—that is, said dissidents, of two natures—incensed those who held he was of one nature, entirely divine. The fight broke out well before Chalcedon, entailing the death-from-assault of the patriarch of Constantinople during the 449 council of Ephesus, thereafter disowned as the “Gangster Synod.” Chalcedon eventually triumphed, but not until well after 250 years of intermittent violence in which monks behaved like the Waffen SS. Jenkins condenses centuries of church and imperial strife with admirable clarity despite the continuous blizzard of historical names and ecclesiastical terms the narrative entails. He suggests that this era, not the later Dark and Middle Ages, is the most violent (un-Christian?) in Christian history and that it may have lessons for the present and future conflict between Christians and Muslims over the nature of God. --Ray Olson

Review

“Jenkins...has done a remarkable job of documenting this little-understood slice of history. There’s lots of excitement and plenty of intrigue, and Jenkins does a fine job in his recitation of this strange story.”

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00395ZYVI
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ HarperOne; Reprint edition (February 20, 2010)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ February 20, 2010
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 2.7 MB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 355 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 out of 5 stars 395 ratings

About the author

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Philip Jenkins

Philip Jenkins

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Philip Jenkins is the author of The Lost History of Christianity and has a joint appointment as the Edwin Erle Sparks Professor of the Humanities in history and religious studies at Penn State University and as Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Institute for Studies of Religion at Baylor University. He has published articles and op-ed pieces in The Wall Street Journal, The New Republic, The Atlantic Monthly, The Washington Post, and The Boston Globe and has been a guest on top national radio shows across the country.

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
395 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book informative and valuable for research. They describe it as a worthwhile read and well-written. However, opinions differ on the Christian perspective, with some finding it insightful and clear, while others feel there is too much ignorance about early Christians.

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ReadabilityKnowledge levelChristianity
80 customers mention "Readability"61 positive19 negative

Customers find the book well-written and engaging. They find it a worthwhile read covering a period they haven't explored yet. The conclusion is pleasing and enlightening, making it a must-read for any Christian.

"Wow, what an amazing and well presented book. The 1st thing I have to do is give credit to the author...." Read more

"...I certainly thought it was probably a pretty good book covering a period that I haven't explored yet; but, I was tired of religion and mythology...." Read more

"...The writing is good and the history well covered...." Read more

"...The author writes in a compelling style and appears able to condense a variety of data into easy-to-read and concise statements...." Read more

71 customers mention "Knowledge level"71 positive0 negative

Customers find the book informative and helpful for research. They appreciate the well-researched historical and Christological details. The book provides an interesting perspective on the formation of basic Christian doctrines, with eye-opening quotes from history.

"...He presented facts and many eye-opening quotes from history. However, I'll be damned if I can accuse him of being on one side or the other...." Read more

"Philip Jenkins has written a serious history of the Christological controversies that strongly marked the fifth to seventh centuries...." Read more

"...Philip's notable analysis of this issue is his multi-dimensional perspective on the controversy events...." Read more

"...Fists, stones, clubs, and swords are all excellent tools for intellectual debate!..." Read more

24 customers mention "Christianity"15 positive9 negative

Customers have different views on the book's Christian perspective. Some find it provides an insightful look at how Christianity came to be, with a clear explanation of early Christianity and lucid explanations of a very complicated history. Others feel there is too much ignorance and confusion in the book, which tackles a difficult period in Christian history.

"...Wars," mainly due to the fact that it is entirely about the Christian beliefs about Christ and how the modern day views were formed in the events..." Read more

"...Philip Jenkins does an excellent job detailing the conflicts over doctrine that shook the Roman world during this period, making the differences..." Read more

"...The vague concept has contradictions; the question becomes, is flame a form of matter; if you believe that, then you have to give it all sorts of..." Read more

"...develop a common understanding of who is Jesus and the development of Christian theology...." Read more

Gritty glimpse into early Christianity
3 out of 5 stars
Gritty glimpse into early Christianity
'Jesus Wars' dives into the violent 4-6th century church history, centered around defining the nature of Jesus: one nature (divine) or two natures (divine & human)? The fanaticism inevitably brought to mind the importance of distinguishing between passion and violence, which remains an issue today (and also differs from self-defense).It also reminded me of the film Agora, about Hypatia (played by Rachel Weisz) in 4th c Alexandria amidst the chaotic pagan-Jewish-Christian relations. (The film also has Oscar Isaac and Palestinian actor Ashraf Barhom, from Galilee).As I gladly strive to keep learning about different branches of Christianity (and our own family's connection to the Holy Land), it remains my stance that the only thing I want to 'obsess' over is serving Jesus, and meeting others with whom that resonates—as opposed to seeing just one particular church / denomination as 'the right one.'
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Top reviews from the United States

  • Enigmatic Tzu
    5.0 out of 5 stars Endless Trivial Bickering
    Reviewed in the United States on September 27, 2012
    Verified Purchase
    Wow, what an amazing and well presented book. The 1st thing I have to do is give credit to the author. He presented facts and many eye-opening quotes from history. However, I'll be damned if I can accuse him of being on one side or the other. Nor can I say he is an atheist or of some other faith trying to bash Christianity. There were moments when I thought, "I think this guy's a Christian" but he did a fantastic job of keeping his opinions to himself and presenting concepts for the reader to consider without feeling coerced into one particular direction or the other. My hats off to the author for staying unbiased.

    Having read various history books on the topic, I knew enough to know the author is right on the mark. It was wonderful to finally find a book which primarily focused on this central theme of all the silly councils the church felt were so incredibly important. Sometimes the other is even able to put the reader right inside the council and hear the anathemas being hurled at a man who simply had a different understanding of Jesus. It's shocking at times; especially the hideous murders and the citywide riots over 1 (one) letter difference in an interpretation of Christology as the author says.

    The theme being briefly, from my perspective: what provoked the early church fathers to debate for months over the question of Jesus' nature? All the various `quote unquote heresies' which had to be eliminated so that the `true Christianity' could be preserved for us today are brought to light. What provoked the winners of these debates to create `creeds'; shouldn't these foundational questions have been answered and preserved plainly in the Bible? They did a great job; for the longest time, we westerns never had a clue any other possible understanding of Jesus was imaginable.

    It's remarkable how elusive the Bible really is on these topics. What's even more noteworthy that Jesus didn't spell it out clearly when His later followers were so willing to kill their brothers over it. In like fashion of the endless variations of Christianity today, back then each faction could produce scriptures, which supported their claim. It's really intriguing, try it sometime; sit down with someone of a different persuasion and with an open mind consider the scriptures they show you. Certainly, you can immediately come up with scriptures that contradict theirs. But before you do so, consider this: The Bible isn't supposed to contradict itself, is it? Now you should fully understand why the winners of the council battles had to write creeds, and force believers to recite them, as well as murder or at least banish the heretics.
    Read it; it's the greatest religious education money can buy.
    5 people found this helpful
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  • George F. Simons
    4.0 out of 5 stars Reliving the Past
    Reviewed in the United States on September 14, 2010
    Verified Purchase
    Philip Jenkins has written a serious history of the Christological controversies that strongly marked the fifth to seventh centuries. It is an era whose strident tensions and bloody conflicts over the identity of Jesus were punctuated by ecclesiastical councils and driven by political powers. In this period one sees the forces in play that evidence the transition from classical times to the Medieval Period in the West and the strident disruptions which left many of the ancient churches, warred upon by Christian brethren of different persuasions, welcoming the tolerance of Islamic invaders. It is in fact the story of the collapse of Roman and Christian rule over Egypt and the East which in effect insulated the protagonists from each other, or, as the author puts it, "How the Church lost half the world."

    The book brings back into focus that, compared to the Protestant Reformation and the Counter Reformation of Catholicism in the 16th and 17th centuries and the subsequent sectarian conflicts in the West, the period under study here was far more violent than the latter fragmentation has managed to become despite its well known atrocities. It seems incomprehensible today that debates over whether Jesus had one nature or two, one will or two, could he and did he really die, and the like, could have produced Bishops who could sic their hit teams of cudgel and knife wielding monks on their fellow bishops and their congregants. But they did, even with imperial and military support in many cases. Fist fights were not uncommon at meetings of bishops wrangling with concepts that would seem arcane and perhaps incomprehensible to most Christians today.

    Do theological debates of this nature rage today? Probably with less overt physical violence between Christian groups, but Jenkins raises the question: "Do churches today fall into internecine conflict over issues of biblical authority and sexual regulations while millions of Christians starve?" Of course the issues of the identity of Jesus and of the Christian are in never ending reflection and development, and mental images of present day believers are affected both by the orthodoxy that was created in these earlier centuries. They frequently impact the cultures we are a part of on an everyday basis but, given the transparency that culture tends to assume and the reluctance of many who study culture to eschew religion as either irrelevant or as too conflictual, we are rarely in a position to accurately and comfortably knit religious realities into the cultural pictures we draw.

    Despite the complex terminology involved, Jenkins, a frequent contributor of op-ed pieces to major media, has managed to tell the intricacies of the theological debates in simple, almost conversational language. He has managed clarifying lists of events and people where today's reader is unfamiliar with both the issues and the cast of characters. An appendix nicely summarizes the dramatis personae of the period and the footnotes are full and professional. It is a pleasant but not an easy read and, in a sense, emblematic of the present where, in understanding of the mental and emotional conflicts surrounding religious or theological controversies, it is nigh impossible to put ourselves in the shoes of the other in our families as well as in public fora.
    56 people found this helpful
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  • Colin Wallace
    5.0 out of 5 stars Christians, read this book!
    Reviewed in Canada on August 30, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    Great read. If anyone thinks that Christian Orthodoxy was handed down from heaven, or arrived at logically and orderly they need to read this account of the convoluted and adversarial process that finally produced a very imperfect end result.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Juan Manuel Pérez Peña
    2.0 out of 5 stars Es un excelente libro
    Reviewed in Spain on June 9, 2013
    Verified Purchase
    Fiel a la Historia.
    Ideal para los enamorados de la Historia del Cristianismo.
    Permite enfocar mejor la historia del siglo IV al VI
    De divulgación : facil de leer
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  • CJ Craig
    5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent! Readable! Highly Enjoyable!
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 8, 2010
    Verified Purchase
    Whether you are a believer, non-believer, Christian, Jew, Muslim, Buddhist, or just curious you will get an immense amount of information in a very intelligent and enjoyable way by reading this book. You think we have trouble today with disputes between various Christian denominations? You think we have problems today understanding other faiths so different from our own? This is nothing new! These arguments and fights have been going on since the invention of religion. Religion, the man-made (excuse me for not being politically correct on this) institutions that parade around pretending to be the exclusive way to God, has always been a battle field. Religion, really has nothing to do with God and everything to do with the smallminded individuals that set them up. Philip Jenkins puts all of this into incredible historical detail; none of it boring or sleep inducing. He brings to life the history of early Christianity with warring factions in the new Christian church, battling monks, murder, expulsion and the occasional sex scandal. The disagreements we have today in our churches are as nothing compared to what the beginning looked like. And it sure does explain how Islam got started and spread so quickly.

    If you have any interest at all in understanding the beginnings of Christianity and all the many problems that seem to accompany this so-called great faith, please read this book. You will begin to understand that what most people hold to be truths directly transmitted from God are really the devious machinations of power hungry men and deceitful women. It's a shocker alright and you will never look upon the so-called "eternal truth" in the same way ever again. That God may act through humble human beings is not in question. That some elements of organized religion may be of some consolation to believers is undeniable. But that Christianity or any religion holds all the truths is just not true.

    Philip Jenkins has done us all a great service in writing such a highly intelligent and readable book. Your faith will thank you for reading this book.
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  • Mark Anderson
    4.0 out of 5 stars A Very Interesting Book On The Divisive Christian Theological Disputes In The 5th and 6th Century
    Reviewed in Canada on September 22, 2015
    Verified Purchase
    This is a really good book on the history of Christian theological battles (in may cases literally, battles) in the 5th and 6th centuries between Christian Popes and Patriarchs over issues like the nature Christ, i.e. was Christ of One Nature (Divine) or was Christ of Two Natures (Divine and Human) and hw these theological issues spilled over into politics in the Eastern and Western Roman Empires.

    It's a really interesting history, although it is not well known outside specialist academic circles. This author does a very good job explaining the various theological debates, the personalities involved and the political issues resulting from these doctrinal debates between theologians and Churches. He also shows how these debates still surface in modern theology.

    Overall, a very interesting book.
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  • Sydney
    4.0 out of 5 stars Islam at the Gates - part of the chapter in Chapter 8 - Fascinating for me
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 12, 2019
    Verified Purchase
    This book is good and having listened to various lectures (cf Prof Jim Papandreas) on youtube on early church fathers this is a good recap but this book is special for me as it deals with Islam at the Gates for the period 7c to 8c thus embracing the life of Muhammad and his immediate followers after this death. Little more rigour would have been good. Any response of the contemporaneous Popes Boniface V and Honorius I to his proclamations? The Byzantine emperor Heraclius is mentioned who was responsive. Before Muhammad there were 5 ecumenical councils and 2 after his death. It would have been a simple matter to explain the Trinity on the sand using 4 pebbles and 6 sticks. The God pebble will be in the centre of the equilateral triangle. It is mystery as to why Muhammad didn't take that up the trinity concept properly as there were 5 ecumenical councils before him - how could God didn't try him? He certainly was exposed to the Nestorians' concept and that too he appears to have rejected. Did he take a simplistic line on One God (Allah) only? Overall a good readable book.
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