The Scandal Of The Scandals

Mahatma Gandhi once chided a Christian friend, "All you Christians, missionaries and all, must begin to live more like Jesus Christ." And what Christian among us would disagree with him? After the holy wars and witch-hunts, after persecutions and political machinations, there is a broad sense today that the Church, however well-meaning, is on the wrong side of history. But do we really know our history? In this collaboration with historian Arnold Angenendt, best-selling German author Manfred Lütz dares to show us what contemporary historians actually say about Christianity's track record over the ages. This detailed overview begins with the ancient pagans, passing through Israel, the early Church martyrs, Constantine's Rome, the reign of Charlemagne, the Crusades, the Inquisition, the Reformation, the Borgia popes, the Galileo affair, the conquistadores, the French Revolution, the slave trade, the Holocaust, the sex abuse crisis, and more. The Scandal of the Scandals separates myth from fact, giving us a candid portrait of Christendom with its scars and all. Prepare to be amazed at how little you really knew about Christianity.

Mahatma Gandhi once chided a Christian friend, "All you Christians, missionaries and all, must begin to live more like Jesus Christ." And what Christian among us would disagree with him? After the holy wars and witch-hunts, after persecutions and political machinations, there is a broad sense today that the Church, however well-meaning, is on the wrong side of history. But do we really know our history? In this collaboration with historian Arnold Angenendt, best-selling German author Manfred Lütz dares to show us what contemporary historians actually say about Christianity's track record over the ages. This detailed overview begins with the ancient pagans, passing through Israel, the early Church martyrs, Constantine's Rome, the reign of Charlemagne, the Crusades, the Inquisition, the Reformation, the Borgia popes, the Galileo affair, the conquistadores, the French Revolution, the slave trade, the Holocaust, the sex abuse crisis, and more. The Scandal of the Scandals separates myth from fact, giving us a candid portrait of Christendom with its scars and all. Prepare to be amazed at how little you really knew about Christianity.

"First published in 2019 by Bookouture, an imprint of StoryFire Ltd."--Copyright page.

Many have told of the East India Company’s extraordinary excesses in eighteenth-century India, of the plunder that made its directors fabulously wealthy and able to buy British land and titles, but this is only a fraction of the story. When one of these men—Warren Hastings—was put on trial by Edmund Burke, it brought the Company’s exploits to the attention of the public. Through the trial and after, the British government transformed public understanding of the Company’s corrupt actions by creating an image of a vulnerable India that needed British assistance. Intrusive behavior was recast as a civilizing mission. In this fascinating, and devastating, account of the scandal that laid the foundation of the British Empire, Nicholas Dirks explains how this substitution of imperial authority for Company rule helped erase the dirty origins of empire and justify the British presence in India. The Scandal of Empire reveals that the conquests and exploitations of the East India Company were critical to England’s development in the eighteenth century and beyond. We see how mercantile trade was inextricably linked with imperial venture and scandalous excess and how these three things provided the ideological basis for far-flung British expansion. In this powerfully written and trenchant critique, Dirks shows how the empire projected its own scandalous behavior onto India itself. By returning to the moment when the scandal of empire became acceptable we gain a new understanding of the modern culture of the colonizer and the colonized and the manifold implications for Britain, India, and the world.

Taken captive by notorious highwayman Thorn, Lady Corinne, the rebellious daughter of a duke who is running away from an arranged marriage, makes a devil's bargain with this mysterious and passionate man who agrees to hide her until her wedding day passes.

Political scandals have become a pervasive feature of many societies today. From Profumo to the cash-for-questions scandal, from Watergate to the Clinton-Lewinsky affair, scandals have come to play a central role in politics and in the shaping of public debate. What are the characteristics of political scandals and why have they come to assume such prominence today? What are the social and political consequences of the preoccupation with political scandal in the public domain? In this major new book Thompson develops a systematic and wide-ranging analysis of the phenomenon of political scandal. He shows that the rise of political scandal is linked to the changes brought about by the development of communication media, which have transformed the nature of visibility and altered the relations between public and private life. He analyses the characteristics of scandals as mediated events and he explains why mediated scandals in the political field have become increasingly prevalent in recent years. Distinguishing between three basic types of political scandal, Thompson reconstructs the development of sex scandals, financial scandals and what he calls 'power scandals' in Britain and the United States, showing how scandals unfold and how they form part of distinctive political cultures of scandal. In the final chapter, Thompson develops an original theoretical account of political scandal and its consequences which highlights the connections between scandal, reputation and trust. This book is a path-breaking analysis of a troubling phenomenon which has become a central feature of public life in our societies today. It will be of great interest to students of sociology, politics, and media and cultural studies. It will also appeal to a wider readership interested in social and political issues.

Considers the social and historical significance of political scandal Examines the constant and changing features of political scandal over the past three centuries Offers an 'insider's account' of the role of the press in the reporting - and indeed manufacture - of some of the most memorable scandals of recent years Discusses the enduring.