We have all heard about complicity in the slave trade, the persecution of Galileo, and sins against the victims of the Holocaust. Everyone is familiar with the tales of cruelty associated with the Crusades and Spanish Inquisition. Most of us have been exposed to at least some of the “black legends” that Stark discusses. In this 268-page volume, Professor Rodney Stark takes aim at what many of us “know” or think we know about the history of Catholicism. That situation changes if you have read Bearing False Witness: Debunking Centuries of Anti-Catholic History by Rodney Stark. Making it even more uncomfortable, our own educations have led us to believe that our inquisitor may be right. We start looking for a way to escape without looking stupid or being forced to apologize for some long-ago pope. Our “enlightened” friend, colleague, or acquaintance cuts us off saying, “Of course, the Vatican has its own sins to repent.” Then he/she alludes to some error from the past. Some question of doctrine comes up-abortion, same-sex “marriage,” divorce and remarriage, or what have you. If you are known to be an observant Catholic, then you have had this conversation. A Review of the Book Bearing False Witness: Debunking Centuries of Anti-Catholic History by Rodney Stark (West Conshohocken, PA: Templeton Press, 2016).
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