The Christians: Their First Two Thousand Years: The Veil Is Torn A.D. 30 to A.D. 70 Pentecost to the Destruction of Jerusalem [Vol. 1]

I was thrilled to learn new things concerning Jesus. It explains he had cousins, and their names. It goes on by explaining about Jesus crucifixion. How the Jews said Jesus told them he was God. To the Jews there is only one God. He did not say he was the son of God like they wanted to here. There fore he was crucified. He is not the first to be crucified it explains. Thousands before him were also. It didn't take much back then to be tormented in public. Especially if you are doing what they think was magic. Also someone standing there saying I am God. The book was wrote by many as it is a study on Christianity from the beginning to 2003 or so. Great read, and I am on my second time of reading it.

Each large-format volume in this series is titled: "The Christians: Their First Two Thousand Years", with separate subtitles for each volume. Vol. 1: "The Veil Is Torn: A.D. 30 to 70: Pentecost to the Destruction of Jerusalem"; Vol. 2: "A Pinch of Incense: A.D. 70 to 250: From the Fall of Jerusalem to the Decian Persecution"; Vol. 3: "By This Sign: A.D. 250 to 350: From the Decian Persecution to Constantine Era"; Vol. 4: "Darkness Descends: A.D. 350 to 565: The Fall of the Western Roman Empire"; Vol. 5: "The Sword of Islam: A.D. 565 to740: The Muslim Onslaught all but Destroys Christendom"; Vol. 6: "The Quest for the City: A.D. 740 to 1100: Pursuing the next world, they founded this one"; Vol. 7: "A Glorious Disaster: A.D. 1100 to 1300: The Crusades: blood, valor, iniquity, reason, faith." The first six vols were developed by the "Christian History Project" (Canada), while the seventh was developed by "SEARCH" (the Society to Explore And Record Christian History). All books are profusely illustrated with colored drawings, paintings, maps and photographs. Most of the writers are editors of various Canadian newspapers, written with a junior-college level writing style; immensely enjoyable reading. These books are not written in a "Here is why you need to become a Christian or else" format, these are good historical works - but from an obvious Christian perspective. Some warts are shown: Christian controversies and schisms are discussed. While I did not notice any anti-Semitism, not much sympathy is given to the validity of the Muslim faith. Few footnotes, but each volume has a large bibliography section.