A few years ago a co-worker turned me on to the Great Courses. Since then I've gotten a number of courses and have really enjoyed them. I feel almost like a History Major now. I've decided to start writing reviews on them as I get a chance and decided to post the reviews here as well.
A few years ago a co-worker turned me on to the Great Courses. Since then I've gotten a number of courses and have really enjoyed them. I feel almost like a History Major now. At first I pretty much just accepted what was said, but now I’ve definitely developed some opinions myself and I've decided to start writing reviews on them and decided to post the reviews here as well.
When I heard who this author was I thought; "Oh good a most likely a believer." After all the professor Dr. Timothy Johnson is a former Benedictine Monk. However, this was a lecture that was far from friendly.
I am a believer in Christ and that Christianity is the greatest force for good in the world. If this is an example of teaching about Christianity in colleges it's no wonder that colleges turn out atheists so often. I usually expect this in most lecture but sometimes it's not true. Dr. Phillip Cary for instance seems to give good lectures that are positive without being fawning. Professor William Cook seems to be able to do so as well.
Dr. Johnson wasn't outright hostile, but he seems to present everything in the most negative light possible. Two examples stood out. First he said that the 4th Crusade was hijacked by the Venetians and they conquered Constantinople. I guess that's not incorrect but it's got to be the worst possible light to portray what happened. He sounded positively gloating as he talked about the inquisition. It seemed almost with regret that he admits that the inquisition averaged only 3 deaths per year it it was mentioned only in passing not emphasized. The English started a propaganda campaign against the Spanish when the Spanish were the European super power and it seems to have been successful because Dr. Johnson is still propagating it. I've read from other historians that the Inquisition was really put in place to stop the worse offenses caused by over zealous Catholics punishing those they thought were heretics. The statement about the Inquisition only causing 3 deaths a years would seem to support this, but you wouldn't guess from the way the whole section was presented.
That being said I overall enjoyed this lecture series, and it's not the first that I've heard from Dr. Johnson. I did really enjoy this series. I especially enjoyed the amount of time he gave to the Eastern Orthodox part of Christianity, and the branches that were considered heretics such as the Nestorians and the Monophysites.
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