Converts and Kingdoms: How the Church Converted the Pagan West—and How We Can Do It Again

by Diane Moczar

Publisher:

Catholic Answers

, 2012

Overview

With her latest release, Converts and Kingdoms, historian Diane Moczar has written a marvelous book about great converts who changed not just the Church, but also the destiny of human civilization. In her accessible and easy-to-read style, she makes history come alive. Mere centuries after its beginning as an obscure Jewish sect, the Catholic Church stormed the ancient Western world, and from its Roman remnants and barbarian tribes, a united Christendom was forged. How do we explain this remarkable success? And what can we learn from it? In Converts and Kingdoms, Professor Moczar tells the story of early Christianity’s faith, courage, and cunning, chronicling the labors of missionaries and martyrs (with no small help from Providence) to spread the gospel and lay the foundation for the most magnificent culture human history has ever known. With her stirring narrative style, Dr. Moczar reveals a young Church ardently occupied with the great work of conversion: with saints and generals, priests and kings alike filled with zeal to make disciples of all nations. From the Roman temples at the heart of the old world to the Aztec altars on the border posts of the new, you will encounter heroic tales of the nascent faith, including:

• The emperor who put his trust in the one God rather than the myths and sorcery of his predecessors and changed the course of the world to come
• The would-be hermit who became an accidental missionary and helped birth the quintessential Catholic kingdom
• Pious monarchs who repelled barbarian invaders and then welcomed them into the Christian family
• The former slave boy who returned to the land of his pagan captors and turned it into an island of saints and scholars
• The Marian miracle that scattered the demons of human sacrifice and opened the door to a new Christian continent

Within these pages you will find not only the story of the Church’s early missionary efforts, but also an analysis of why they succeeded, providing you valuable lessons for re-evangelizing a modern West that has slipped into a new and insidious form of paganism. Read Converts and Kingdoms today to be inspired by the convert-makers of the past, and to learn from them how to win the world anew for Christ.

In the Logos edition, this volume is enhanced by amazing functionality. Important terms link to dictionaries, encyclopedias, and a wealth of other resources in your digital library. Perform powerful searches to find exactly what you’re looking for. Take the discussion with you using tablet and mobile apps. With Logos Bible Software, the most efficient and comprehensive research tools are in one place, so you get the most out of your study.

Key Features

• Offers clear explanations of key Catholic doctrines
• Presents clear answers to difficult questions
• Includes guidance for Catholic living

Praise for the Print Edition

The problem: knowledge of our history as a nation, a civilization, a Church, is desperately needed for informed action in the world today, but most people will not read the relatively inaccessible historical scholarship of recent decades. The solution: serious historians who are able to pack historical substance into appealing stories. Diana Moczar has been doing this for Catholics. Her latest, Converts and Kingdoms, recounts the extraordinary tales of courage, conviction, and—sometimes—corruption that explain the forming and the weakening of the centuries-long bond between Western civilization and Christianity. Our faith is a precious heritage, a fact that we can only appreciate fully by plunging into the depths of the Catholic past. Converts and Kingdoms is a good place to start.

—Kevin Schmiesing, executive director, CatholicHistory.net

Product Details

• Title: Converts and Kingdoms: How the Church Converted the Pagan West—and How We Can Do It Again
• Author: Diane Moczar
• Publisher: Catholic Answers
• Print Publication Date: 2012
• Logos Release Date: 2013
• Pages: 231
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
• Subjects: Missionaries; Evangelistic work › Catholic Church; Conversion › Catholic Church
• Resource ID: LLS:CVRTSKNGDMS
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2024-03-25T19:32:49Z

About Diane Moczar

Diane Moczar did graduate work in history at the University of Paris, Columbia University, Catholic University, and George Mason University. She has taught history for many years at Northern Virginia Community College in Annandale, and is the author of numerous articles on many subjects as well as several books on Catholic history.