Bearing False Witness

Debunking Centuries of Anti-Catholic History

By: Rodney Stark

Narrated by: Paul Boehmer

Length: 8 hrs and 20 mins

Publisher's summary

As we all know, and as many of our well-established textbooks have argued for decades, the Inquisition was one of the most frightening and bloody chapters in Western history, Pope Pius XII was anti-Semitic and rightfully called "Hitler's Pope", the Dark Ages were a stunting of the progress of knowledge to be redeemed only by the secular spirit of the Enlightenment, and the religious Crusades were an early example of the rapacious Western thirst for riches and power. But what if these long-held beliefs were all wrong?

In this stunning, powerful, and ultimately persuasive book, Rodney Stark, one of the most highly regarded sociologists of religion and the best-selling author of The Rise of Christianity, argues that some of our most firmly held ideas about history, ideas that paint the Catholic Church in the least positive light, are in fact fiction. Why have we held these wrongheaded ideas so strongly and for so long? And if our beliefs are wrong, what is the truth? In each chapter Stark takes on a well-established anti-Catholic myth, gives a fascinating history of how it became the conventional wisdom, and presents a startling picture of the real truth.

©2016 Rodney Stark (P)2016 Tantor

Critic reviews

"A majestically argued, gorgeously written, and essential book by one of the truly indispensable minds of our time. Bearing False Witness is one more gift to history from Rodney Stark. It should in turn be given to and read by students and professors everywhere, whatever their beliefs." (Mary Eberstadt, author of How the West Really Lost God)

Great contact but robotic reading

The content is well-researched, interesting, and important. To my ear the narration was stilted and robotic, and this interfered with my enjoyment of the book. Do listen to a sample as my perspective may merely be personal preference.

A must for anyone in pursuit of truth

Great starting point for greater inquiry. Revisionism has its place, rightly or wrongfully, however there is only one truth. The seekers job is to remain objective and open, and to a large extent, an obligation to make available and known for the benefit of all.

Everyone ought to read this book.

No education is complete without this myth busting book. As a 9th grader, I found it especially vital to correct my bird’s eye view of history while also shaping the details of my understanding. Please read this book!!
God bless you all.

2 sides to every story and this is the other side.

Much needed counterpoint To the usual monologue. The real history of the Catholic Church is not as. Simplistic and single sided as some would say.

TRUTH REVEALED!

The Anti-Catholic bigotry of many Protestant Scholars is soundly refuted with the plain truth of historical fact. This book does not exonerate sins of individual practitioners of Catholicism, but vindicates the Church as a Body by showing how it has been unjustly vilified for many "crimes" she simply did not commit.

Fixing propagandist history

Stark does a good job fixing propagandist history about the Roman Catholic Church. Eye opening for those open minded enough to see past enlightenment propaganda.

Should drive the reader to fact check- a lot!

This read calls into question many of the things we are taught about the Middle Ages and questions whether some of the things we think we know may not have originated in anti-Catholic propaganda during and after the Reformation. Honestly, I never considered that possibility. The author makes a compelling case for revisiting our ideas. Far from the Renaissance emerging because of the lost chokehold of the Church over ideas and education, Stark reframes the period as one of a continuum, with thought, science, and technology having moved forward through the Middle Ages. He looks at how the Spanish Inquisition, a body that probably has the worst press agent of anything other than tapeworms, suppressed witch burnings when they flourished in other parts of Europe.

Some parts of the book differ so much from the versions of history I learned that I have difficulty accepting the materials. Other sections explain contradictions that have bothered me. At first, I suspected the author could be biased, but his identity as a self-described Lutheran who works at a predominantly Baptist university reassures me that the book is not just sour grapes.

The book makes great food for thought and has inspired me to revisit some of the history that I have learned, especially the history of science.

Great read to balance out stereotypical views

this is a great book to balance out the stereotypical views of the catholic church

Very informative but basically reading a textbook

Hopefully my title gives the clearest summary. This book is highly informative and written by someone outside of the Catholic Church to give true perspective and facts. Helps cut through the churches misunderstood and often maligned history. Still, the book is basically a textbook. It’s not going to grab you and pull you in. But if you want historical facts presented well, this is a book for you!

A historical review from an unbiased source

Stark starts his review of the historical assumptions that are commonly made against the Catholic Church with a statement of his non-Catholic status, removing the potential bias of defensiveness. The following chapters clearly examine the historical records that support or, more often, deny many common accusations against the Catholic Church. Where there is ambiguity, Stark places that ambiguity in context to help dispel now common opinions that often began as hateful rumors. This work is an impressive survey of Christian history and a must-read for any apologist, Catholic, Christian, atheist, or otherwise.