Heretic

October 1, 2023

The daughter of a monk and a nun, classicist-turned-journalist Nixey shook things up with her multi-best-booked The Darkening Age, which argued that early Christians were hardly meek but instead aggressively attacked classical thought and anyone who disagreed with them. Here, she presents the multiple versions of Christ, from one who traveled to India and another who killed opponents, that prevailed in the religion's early centuries. With a 25,000-copy first printing. Prepub Alert.

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Starred review from September 16, 2024
In the early days of Christianity, there were many different versions of Christ, according to this scintillating history from journalist Nixey (The Darkening Age). Studying texts that emerged in the centuries after Jesus’s death, Nixey dissects ancient Greco-Roman writings that depict Christ as little more than a magician in a world suffused by the supernatural (“Jesus created magical meals almost from thin air?... There were spells in the Greek Magical Papyri that offered a far larger menu”). Also discussed are the Infancy Gospel of Thomas, which portrays Jesus as a borderline-arrogant miracle worker with a temper; and Acts of Thomas, which describes Jesus preaching “abstention from sex lest any ‘lunatic’ children were conceived.” When Rome began banning such accounts in the fourth century, “heretical” depictions of Christ began to fade in favor of something closer to today’s ”familiar Jesus of Sunday school and sunbeams.” (The texts are not entirely forgotten, however—so-called Thomas Christians, who “pride themselves on being some of the first people to be converted to Christianity,” still live in India). The author gives due to the diverse and fascinating yet sometimes invisible threads hidden in the history of Christianity, enriching her study with intriguing arcana and close analysis. The result is an illuminating reassessment of the world’s largest religion.

November 1, 2024
The adage that history is written by the victors resounds throughout this examination of Jesus, which contrasts noncanonical and traditional accounts of his life. Careful to avoid taking theological sides, classicist Nixey (The Darkening Age, 2017) asserts that the Catholic church destroyed texts that didn't conform to the winning viewpoint, deeming them heretical. Originally, heresy, drawn from Greek for choice, had positive associations; however, early Christian writers swiftly assigned negative connotation, escalating from mere disapproval to targeting writers labeled heretics. Nixey reiterates that early Christianity was not monolithic but consisted of richly diverse narratives; few of these competing texts survive, and she speculates how differently Christianity might have developed otherwise, sharing tantalizing anecdotes of ancient Christian practices that were later reclassified as heretical. She describes the spread and alteration of Christianity via Roman innovations, paints a portrait of church leaders frantically obliterating contradictory writings, and notes heresy's impact on history (the Crusades, Inquisition, and rise of Protestantism) with intriguing detail. Nixey's exhaustively documented work focuses on "how beliefs are violently silenced," rendering it unexpectedly relevant.

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November 15, 2024
The early critics, and competitors, of Christianity. Journalist Nixey delves into the sometimes scant evidence of the religious losers of early-Christian-era history. In doing so, the author clarifies the extent to which the Christian faith has evolved despite being, at one time, just one of a myriad of other similar belief systems in the Roman Empire and beyond. "The first century," Nixey explains, "was in truth a century that was full of many lords, and saviours, and gods." She brings to light the caustic criticisms of early anti-Christian authors, relying most heavily on second-century Greek philosopher Celsus as well as third-century philosopher Porphyry. Both authors are cited throughout the work and form a backdrop for the early Greco-Roman skepticism and hostility toward the burgeoning Christian faith. Nixey uses numerous examples to demonstrate that miracle healings, and even resurrection stories, were far from unique in the ancient world; in many cases, the tales of such miracle workers largely mirror the accounts of Jesus. She notes the widespread prevalence of the world of magic, arguing that early Christian stories and art borrow heavily from that aspect of ancient life. "Wherever Christianity travelled," the author argues in her conclusion, "it changed, blending here with wizardry, there with sorcery; here with astronomy and astrology," and so on. The lesser-told history of the faith involves a concerted effort by many in power to sanitize these aspects of Christian legend. A thought-provoking look at a religiously tumultuous era.

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