This is another item going on the post-dissertation reading list, not just because I find it interesting, but I think it will be handy in teaching and future research. The connections between religion and violence are pretty interesting - one of the reasons I wish I'd taken the time to learn to read Latin and Greek is so I could look at the development of Christian theology about war without having to rely on translators. A great example of that is in with the Crusades - what's the difference between a pilgrim and a Crusader in theological terms? That's an important concept for understand their motivations.
Since I teach Western Civilization I every semester (sometimes in multiple sections), I deal with the development of Christianity and its relationship with the Roman Empire a lot, and it's a topic that my students are often confused about. They really seem to accept the argument that Christianity was responsible for the fall of the Empire in the West without really digging into the evidence, so I hope that Professor Moss' work will help me add some nuance to our conversations about Rome and Christianity.
“The Myth of Persecution”: Early Christians weren’t persecuted - Salon.com
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