The word on the Word, Part II: Pumped up by reading the Word and the Da Vinci Code, Hub Blog ambitiously set out to learn more about historic early Christianity, selecting Charles Freeman's 'Closing of the Western Mind.' Big thumbs up. But with a warning: It's subtly anti-Christian (as you can tell by the title and, well, the fact Freeman's an academic Brit) that annoyingly glosses over paganism's faults (like, oh, slavery and sacrificing babies etc.). But it was fun reading about the Gospels and, especially, Paul's letters to believers. A true control freak, Paul was obviously a pivotal figure in Christianity's development -- in which, sadly, he also planted the seeds of intolerance toward Jews and sex. I also realized I had previously underestimated Roman emperors' imperial role in shaping doctrine and the church'spower structure. ... One last thing: The building of beautiful and mysterious physical churches was quite deliberate. That's one of the reasons Catholics are so mesmerized and devoted to their parishes to this day, as demonstrated by the outpouring of grief over the tragic burning of Weymouth's Sacred Heart.



'Now they have to deal with the curse of Pedro': They won't let go. ...  ¶ 5:18 AM