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Beyond the Crusades: Christianity's Lies, Laws and Legacy
Second edition of the author's book No Meek Messiah, with new title. Foreword by Robert M. Price. This edition has a glossary, an expanded Part I timeline, an exhaustive list of Jesus mythicists (appendix), as well as significant updates and enhancements to Parts II through IV. Published by American Atheist Press.
470 pages, Paperback
Published June 24, 2016
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61 people want to read
About the author
Michael Paulkovich
4 books7 followersMichael B. Paulkovich is a columnist for American Atheist Magazine, a print and online resource for atheism, religion, and politics. He is also a frequent contributor to Free Inquiry and contributing editor for The American Rationalist. Paulkovich is an inventor, editor, and space systems engineer for NASA.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
February 18, 2017
Beyond the Crusades: Christianity’s Lies, Laws and Legacy by Michael Paulkovich
“Beyond the Crusades” is an exhaustive expose of Christianity. NASA scientist, author Michael Paulkovich provides the readers with an indictment on Christianity and the Bible. This irreverent 470-page book is broken out by the following four parts: I. Christian Timeline, II. A Case Against Religion, III. Christian Roots, and IV. The Bible.
Positives:
1. An exhaustively researched book.
2. The always-fascinating topic of Christianity, the expose of Christianity.
3. An irreverent tone in my opinion is welcomed.
4. Makes perfectly clear what this book is about. “Moreover, Christianity is no peaceful religion, no gentle church. As such my book is not only about the Jesus character, it is and must be about the Bible and the appalling history of Christendom based on biblical teachings, thus addressing my subtitle: Lies, Laws and Legacy.”
5. I like the Timeline, it takes the reader through the evolution of Christianity. “But for the Christ stories to be true, Jesus had to have been born both before 4 BCE (for Herod to be king of Israel, as he died 4 BCE; see Mt 2:1), and after 6 CE (when Quirinius was governor of Syria; Lk 2:1-7).”
6. Exposes key errors in the Bible. “I feel I must repeat that: no resurrection appearance in the original text of Mark. The Christian apologist might attempt to claim that there were independent claims of the resurrection in Luke and Matthew, but it is well known that those later “gospels” were copied from earlier Mark.”
7. Goes over key historical figures. “I feel I must repeat that: no resurrection appearance in the original text of Mark. The Christian apologist might attempt to claim that there were independent claims of the resurrection in Luke and Matthew, but it is well known that those later “gospels” were copied from earlier Mark.”
8. What is with December 25th? “Historian Sextus Julius Africanus in 221 CE pushes for December 25 as an invented date of Jesus’ birth in attempt to take over the popular Mithras festival of the winter solstice, and to appropriate Saturnalia as a sacred and newly invented Christian day of worship.”
9. Paul’s influence on Christian Dogma. “It is largely the consensus among religious scholars and historians that Paul affected the doctrines of Christendom more than did the canonical gospels. The traditional “head of the household” is the man, largely due to Paul’s misogyny (e.g. Eph 5:22-23).”
10. Key milestones of Christianity. “Also early in the fourth century, Roman leaders decide they need a unified religion—a god, any viable or pretended god to hold the flagging Empire together. Emperor Constantine had a choice among many deities believed at the time to be true.”
11. The creation of the Bible. “In 331 Constantine the Great commands a compilation of various scriptures for the Church of Constantinople—fifty texts, all to be identical. This is the “fifty Bibles” with which you are probably familiar. At that time the concept of a “bible” was nebulous and inexact (as indeed it is today), and thus it was up to his team to decide which scriptures (and which “son of god”) should be included: that is to say, Constantine’s cronies invented the Bible, or one of the earliest versions.”
12. A look at the persecution of the non-Christians. “The Myth made into Law. It is 391 CE now, as Roman Emperor Theodosius bans all pagan practices, and just a few years later in 395 he elevates Jesus (posthumously) to divinity, declaring Christianity the only “legitimate” religion of the world, under penalty of death.”
13. Goes through all six Crusades. “The Fourth Crusade is perpetrated 1202-04. Crusaders gather in Venice in October 1202, beginning their unctuous attack en masse November 24. They attack Zara and Constantinople, destroying the Library of Constantinople and looting the city’s treasures. Pope Innocent III—one of the most evil popes in history and responsible for the murder of well over a million innocents—wrote that he was thoroughly ashamed of his Crusaders for their heinous behavior, grieving that the Crusaders “spared neither religion, nor age, nor sex.”
14. Christianity and slavery. “In 1452 Pope Nicholas V composes—and imposes—papal bull dum diversas, encouraging Portugal to trade in negro slaves as well as enslaving Muslims, pagans, and all nonbelievers. He had the Bible on his side, of course: not only does the Good Book never disapprove of slavery, the OT actually legislates it (e.g. Ex 21), and meek and perfect Jesus instructs us regarding how severely we must lash our human chattel (Lk 12:47).”
15. Some eye-opening facts. “Also in 1525 William Tyndale completes his translation of the New Testament into English; Tyndale would be executed in 1536 for the crime of “illegal possession of the Bible in English.””
16. Christianity and violence. Many examples of a variety of Christian-inspired acts of violence throughout time.
17. Witch Hunts! “The prime reason Christians had hunted down and killed “witches“ over the centuries: because the Bible tells them so. Of course. As previously mentioned, it is due to the biblical decree “Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live” of ancient and superstitious scripture, Exodus 22:18.””
18. Jesus and violence. “Jesus, a perfect being and the son of god, condemns people to death and eternal hell simply because they had not repented (Mt 11:20-23). Loving Jesus often employs the vile trick of infinite blackmail, damning you for eternity if you merely do not follow him (Mt 25:40-46, Mt 10:33, Mt 12:30-31, Mk 3:29, Mk 8:38, Mk 16:16, Lk 12:10, Jn 3:36, Jn 8:24, Jn 12:48, Jn 15:6, etc.). Comedian Bill Hicks pointed out that “eternal suffering awaits anyone who questions god’s infinite love.””
19. Christianity and plagiarism. “Jesus the Rebus. Beginning generations after Jesus’ supposed lifetime, the New Testament was pieced together as a first- and second-century contrivance, canonized several centuries thereafter, then followed by over 1,500 years of more modifications and re-interpretations. For whatever their reasons the first authors of Christianity gathered stories from Hebrew, Egyptian, Persian, Babylonian, Roman, and other ancient legends, dating from hundreds and even thousands of years prior to the apparent time of Jesus.” “Yet one should be quick to point out that all religions are manmade. Humans created the various gods, not the other way around. There is no such thing as a “natural religion” or the “one true religion.” Revealed wisdoms do not exist; they are manufactured by humans without any true revelation, then related second-hand, third, fourth, and so on.”
20. A Part devoted to dissecting the Bible. ““Why should one think that God performed the miracle of inspiring the words of the Bible, if he didn’t perform the miracle of preserving the words of the Bible?” — Bart Ehrman”
21. Extensive notes and Bibliography included.
Negatives:
1. This is an expanded and updated revision of the author's "No Meek Messiah" first published in 2012, having not read the original I can’t say for certain if it’s worth the upgrade but it can be read for free via Kindle Unlimited.
2. It requires an investment of your time.
3. The writing style is not the most fluid, it’s also repetitive.
4. I love the concept of the Timeline but it becomes a bit tedious to go over fact after fact.
5. Lack of supplementary visual material to compliment the narrative.
6. Some may question Paulkovich’s background to write such a book. More an observation than a negative.
In summary, Michael Paulkovich must be commended for such an exhaustive and compelling expose. A lot of work went into writing this book and the curious reader will surely benefit. The irreverent humor may turn off prudish eyes but I actually found that it broke up the monotony and highlighted the author’s sense of humor. Not perfect but a worthwhile read that can even be used as a reference, I recommend it!
Further suggestions: “God’s Gravediggers: Why no Deity Exists” by Raymond Bradley, “God: The Failed Hypothesis” by Victor Stenger, “How to Defend the Christian Faith” and “The Christian Delusion” by John Loftus, “Fighting God” by David Silverman, “A Manual for Creating Atheists” by Peter Boghosian, “God Is Not Great” by Christopher Hitchens, “The Not-So-Intelligent Designer” by Abby Hafer, “The God Virus” by Darrel Ray, “Infidel” by Ayaan Hirsi Ali, “Faith vs. Fact” and “Why Evolution Is True” by Jerry A. Coyne, “Atheism for Dummies” by Dale McGowan, “Nonbeliever Nation” by David Niose, “Good Without God” by Greg Epstein, “Freethinkers” by Susan Jacoby, “Nailed” by David Fitzgerald, “Think” by Guy P. Harrison, and “Why I am Not a Christian” by Richard Carrier.
“Beyond the Crusades” is an exhaustive expose of Christianity. NASA scientist, author Michael Paulkovich provides the readers with an indictment on Christianity and the Bible. This irreverent 470-page book is broken out by the following four parts: I. Christian Timeline, II. A Case Against Religion, III. Christian Roots, and IV. The Bible.
Positives:
1. An exhaustively researched book.
2. The always-fascinating topic of Christianity, the expose of Christianity.
3. An irreverent tone in my opinion is welcomed.
4. Makes perfectly clear what this book is about. “Moreover, Christianity is no peaceful religion, no gentle church. As such my book is not only about the Jesus character, it is and must be about the Bible and the appalling history of Christendom based on biblical teachings, thus addressing my subtitle: Lies, Laws and Legacy.”
5. I like the Timeline, it takes the reader through the evolution of Christianity. “But for the Christ stories to be true, Jesus had to have been born both before 4 BCE (for Herod to be king of Israel, as he died 4 BCE; see Mt 2:1), and after 6 CE (when Quirinius was governor of Syria; Lk 2:1-7).”
6. Exposes key errors in the Bible. “I feel I must repeat that: no resurrection appearance in the original text of Mark. The Christian apologist might attempt to claim that there were independent claims of the resurrection in Luke and Matthew, but it is well known that those later “gospels” were copied from earlier Mark.”
7. Goes over key historical figures. “I feel I must repeat that: no resurrection appearance in the original text of Mark. The Christian apologist might attempt to claim that there were independent claims of the resurrection in Luke and Matthew, but it is well known that those later “gospels” were copied from earlier Mark.”
8. What is with December 25th? “Historian Sextus Julius Africanus in 221 CE pushes for December 25 as an invented date of Jesus’ birth in attempt to take over the popular Mithras festival of the winter solstice, and to appropriate Saturnalia as a sacred and newly invented Christian day of worship.”
9. Paul’s influence on Christian Dogma. “It is largely the consensus among religious scholars and historians that Paul affected the doctrines of Christendom more than did the canonical gospels. The traditional “head of the household” is the man, largely due to Paul’s misogyny (e.g. Eph 5:22-23).”
10. Key milestones of Christianity. “Also early in the fourth century, Roman leaders decide they need a unified religion—a god, any viable or pretended god to hold the flagging Empire together. Emperor Constantine had a choice among many deities believed at the time to be true.”
11. The creation of the Bible. “In 331 Constantine the Great commands a compilation of various scriptures for the Church of Constantinople—fifty texts, all to be identical. This is the “fifty Bibles” with which you are probably familiar. At that time the concept of a “bible” was nebulous and inexact (as indeed it is today), and thus it was up to his team to decide which scriptures (and which “son of god”) should be included: that is to say, Constantine’s cronies invented the Bible, or one of the earliest versions.”
12. A look at the persecution of the non-Christians. “The Myth made into Law. It is 391 CE now, as Roman Emperor Theodosius bans all pagan practices, and just a few years later in 395 he elevates Jesus (posthumously) to divinity, declaring Christianity the only “legitimate” religion of the world, under penalty of death.”
13. Goes through all six Crusades. “The Fourth Crusade is perpetrated 1202-04. Crusaders gather in Venice in October 1202, beginning their unctuous attack en masse November 24. They attack Zara and Constantinople, destroying the Library of Constantinople and looting the city’s treasures. Pope Innocent III—one of the most evil popes in history and responsible for the murder of well over a million innocents—wrote that he was thoroughly ashamed of his Crusaders for their heinous behavior, grieving that the Crusaders “spared neither religion, nor age, nor sex.”
14. Christianity and slavery. “In 1452 Pope Nicholas V composes—and imposes—papal bull dum diversas, encouraging Portugal to trade in negro slaves as well as enslaving Muslims, pagans, and all nonbelievers. He had the Bible on his side, of course: not only does the Good Book never disapprove of slavery, the OT actually legislates it (e.g. Ex 21), and meek and perfect Jesus instructs us regarding how severely we must lash our human chattel (Lk 12:47).”
15. Some eye-opening facts. “Also in 1525 William Tyndale completes his translation of the New Testament into English; Tyndale would be executed in 1536 for the crime of “illegal possession of the Bible in English.””
16. Christianity and violence. Many examples of a variety of Christian-inspired acts of violence throughout time.
17. Witch Hunts! “The prime reason Christians had hunted down and killed “witches“ over the centuries: because the Bible tells them so. Of course. As previously mentioned, it is due to the biblical decree “Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live” of ancient and superstitious scripture, Exodus 22:18.””
18. Jesus and violence. “Jesus, a perfect being and the son of god, condemns people to death and eternal hell simply because they had not repented (Mt 11:20-23). Loving Jesus often employs the vile trick of infinite blackmail, damning you for eternity if you merely do not follow him (Mt 25:40-46, Mt 10:33, Mt 12:30-31, Mk 3:29, Mk 8:38, Mk 16:16, Lk 12:10, Jn 3:36, Jn 8:24, Jn 12:48, Jn 15:6, etc.). Comedian Bill Hicks pointed out that “eternal suffering awaits anyone who questions god’s infinite love.””
19. Christianity and plagiarism. “Jesus the Rebus. Beginning generations after Jesus’ supposed lifetime, the New Testament was pieced together as a first- and second-century contrivance, canonized several centuries thereafter, then followed by over 1,500 years of more modifications and re-interpretations. For whatever their reasons the first authors of Christianity gathered stories from Hebrew, Egyptian, Persian, Babylonian, Roman, and other ancient legends, dating from hundreds and even thousands of years prior to the apparent time of Jesus.” “Yet one should be quick to point out that all religions are manmade. Humans created the various gods, not the other way around. There is no such thing as a “natural religion” or the “one true religion.” Revealed wisdoms do not exist; they are manufactured by humans without any true revelation, then related second-hand, third, fourth, and so on.”
20. A Part devoted to dissecting the Bible. ““Why should one think that God performed the miracle of inspiring the words of the Bible, if he didn’t perform the miracle of preserving the words of the Bible?” — Bart Ehrman”
21. Extensive notes and Bibliography included.
Negatives:
1. This is an expanded and updated revision of the author's "No Meek Messiah" first published in 2012, having not read the original I can’t say for certain if it’s worth the upgrade but it can be read for free via Kindle Unlimited.
2. It requires an investment of your time.
3. The writing style is not the most fluid, it’s also repetitive.
4. I love the concept of the Timeline but it becomes a bit tedious to go over fact after fact.
5. Lack of supplementary visual material to compliment the narrative.
6. Some may question Paulkovich’s background to write such a book. More an observation than a negative.
In summary, Michael Paulkovich must be commended for such an exhaustive and compelling expose. A lot of work went into writing this book and the curious reader will surely benefit. The irreverent humor may turn off prudish eyes but I actually found that it broke up the monotony and highlighted the author’s sense of humor. Not perfect but a worthwhile read that can even be used as a reference, I recommend it!
Further suggestions: “God’s Gravediggers: Why no Deity Exists” by Raymond Bradley, “God: The Failed Hypothesis” by Victor Stenger, “How to Defend the Christian Faith” and “The Christian Delusion” by John Loftus, “Fighting God” by David Silverman, “A Manual for Creating Atheists” by Peter Boghosian, “God Is Not Great” by Christopher Hitchens, “The Not-So-Intelligent Designer” by Abby Hafer, “The God Virus” by Darrel Ray, “Infidel” by Ayaan Hirsi Ali, “Faith vs. Fact” and “Why Evolution Is True” by Jerry A. Coyne, “Atheism for Dummies” by Dale McGowan, “Nonbeliever Nation” by David Niose, “Good Without God” by Greg Epstein, “Freethinkers” by Susan Jacoby, “Nailed” by David Fitzgerald, “Think” by Guy P. Harrison, and “Why I am Not a Christian” by Richard Carrier.
April 7, 2019
As an atheist I found this very interesting. I would imagine the more fundamentalist Christians reading it would try to pick holes in it or make excuses for it.
However, this book is obviously very well researched so I think it would be difficult for anyone to deny some of the downright idiotic inconsistencies in the bible and the atrocities perpetrated over the centuries in an attempt to make Christianity the one true religion.
I certainly wasn't aware of the sheer number of people put to death simply for refusing to believe in this God and to follow this dogma. Christians like to claim that their religion is true because so many people believe it, and they ask why would so many people die for their beliefs. But reading this book you can see why so many people believe it. It's because to state otherwise would get you tortured and killed. For centuries. And therefore that belief has been passed on, like a virus.
And if we're going by how many people were willing to die for their beliefs, then all those heretics being willing to die rather than profess their faith must mean Christianity is NOT true by the same logic.
However, this book is obviously very well researched so I think it would be difficult for anyone to deny some of the downright idiotic inconsistencies in the bible and the atrocities perpetrated over the centuries in an attempt to make Christianity the one true religion.
I certainly wasn't aware of the sheer number of people put to death simply for refusing to believe in this God and to follow this dogma. Christians like to claim that their religion is true because so many people believe it, and they ask why would so many people die for their beliefs. But reading this book you can see why so many people believe it. It's because to state otherwise would get you tortured and killed. For centuries. And therefore that belief has been passed on, like a virus.
And if we're going by how many people were willing to die for their beliefs, then all those heretics being willing to die rather than profess their faith must mean Christianity is NOT true by the same logic.
December 7, 2018
Paulkovich’s Beyond the Crusades opens with an excellent survey history of christianity from the centuries leading up to it, all the way up to the early 21st century. The second half delves more deeply into the particulars of how christianity in its many forms has mislead and used the public trust. It makes for a dark tale of often conspiratorial depravity and control. Reading this, whether one considers oneself a christian or not, will certainly help educate the reader as to what a historiam ecclesiae horribilis (please forgive me if my Latin is rusty) the road of christianity has been.
December 23, 2018
Extensive history of Christianity
A very detailed and thorough history of Christianity. Tongue and cheek at times but an eye opening presentation that should be required reading for skeptics or believers.
A very detailed and thorough history of Christianity. Tongue and cheek at times but an eye opening presentation that should be required reading for skeptics or believers.
February 14, 2019
Impecable!
This book should be required reading in every house of religion (church) and every state or church funded school. The depth of the author's research is both valid and profound.
This book should be required reading in every house of religion (church) and every state or church funded school. The depth of the author's research is both valid and profound.
April 27, 2019
Exceptional book, very detailed and thoroughly researched and referenced, describes the origins of Judeo-Christian belief and, as the subtitle indicates, Christianity's "Lies, Laws and Legacy." Absolutely breathtaking how dishonest, violent and immoral Christendom has been over the centuries. MUST READ BOOK.
March 18, 2020
Christianity: World Biggest Conspiracy Theory
I highlighted more passages in this book than I could’ve imagined. Learning about the lies, logical fallacies, and behavioral and emotional manipulation of this death cult has made me more sympathetic toward indoctrinated followers. Thank you Michael, this book is a great achievement.
I highlighted more passages in this book than I could’ve imagined. Learning about the lies, logical fallacies, and behavioral and emotional manipulation of this death cult has made me more sympathetic toward indoctrinated followers. Thank you Michael, this book is a great achievement.
March 8, 2021
Excellent read
I learned a lot about the history of Christianity. I had no idea just how destructive it has been for centuries.
I learned a lot about the history of Christianity. I had no idea just how destructive it has been for centuries.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews