God Against The Gods: The History of the War Between Monotheism and Polytheism

714 Pages·2005·1.32 MB·English

by  Jonathan Kirsch

Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Acknowledgements
BOOK ONE - THE GOD THAT FAILED
CHAPTER ONE - AGAINST ALL THE GODS OF EGYPT
CHAPTER TWO - WHAT DID PAGANS DO?
CHAPTER THREE - TERROR AND TRUE BELIEF
CHAPTER FOUR - CONFESSORS AND TRAITORS
BOOK TWO - THE WAR OF GOD AGAINST THE GODS
CHAPTER FIVE - “IN THIS SIGN, CONQUER”
CHAPTER SIX - THE HARLOT IN THE BISHOP’S BED
CHAPTER SEVEN - THE RULER OF THE WHOLE WORLD
CHAPTER EIGHT - THE ORPHANS OF MACELLUM
CHAPTER NINE - THE SECRET PAGAN
CHAPTER TEN - “BEHOLD, THE RIVERS ARE RUNNING
BACKWARDS”
EPILOGUE
Chronology
Major Historical Figures
Notes
Bibliography
Index
For more of Jonathan Kirsch’s dramatic and eye-opening accounts of religion,
...
FOR THE BEST IN PAPERBACKS, LOOK FOR THE
GOD AGAINST THE GODS
Jonathan Kirsch is the author of the bestselling and critically acclaimed The
Harlot by the Side of the Road: Forbidden Tales of the Bible; King David: The
Real Life of the Man Who Ruled Israel; Moses: A Life; and The Woman Who
Laughed at God. A member of the National Book Critics Circle, PEN Center
USA West, and a book columnist for the Los Angeles Times, Kirsch writes and
lectures widely on biblical, literary, and legal topics. He lives in Los Angeles,
California.
ALSO BY THIS AUTHOR
The Woman Who Laughed at God:
The Untold History of the Jewish People
Moses: A Life
King David: The Real Life of the Man Who Ruled Israel
The Harlot by the Side of the Road: Forbidden Tales of the Bible
Kirsch’s Handbook of Publishing Law:
For Authors, Publishers, Editors, and Agents
Kirsch’s Guide to the Book Contract:
For Authors, Publishers, Editors, and Agents

PENGUIN BOOKS
Published by the Penguin Group
Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, U.S.A.
Penguin Books Canada, 10 Alcorn Avenue, Toronto,
Ontario, Canada M4V 3B2 (a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.)
Penguin Books Ltd, 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England
Penguin Ireland, 25 St Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2, Ireland (a division of Penguin Books Ltd)
Penguin Group (Australia), 250 Camberwell Road, Camberwell,
Victoria 3124, Australia ( a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd)
Penguin Books India Pvt Ltd, 11 Community Centre,
Panchsheel Park, New Delhi - 110 017, India
Penguin Group (NZ), cnr Airborne and Rosedale Roads, Albany,
Auckland 1310, New Zealand (a division of Pearson New Zealand Ltd)
Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd, 24 Sturdee Avenue,
Rosebank, Johannesburg 2196, South Africa
Penguin Books Ltd, Registered Offices:
80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England
First published in the United States of America by Viking Compass,
a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc. 2004
Published in Penguin Books 2005
Copyright © Jonathan Kirsch, 2004
All rights reserved
Title-page art: Andrea Celesti (1637-1706). Moses Ordering the Destruction of the Golden Calf.
Palazzo Ducale, Venice, Italy. Credit: Cameraphoto/Art Resource, NY
eISBN : 978-0-142-19633-5
The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the
permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic
editions, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of
the author’s rights is appreciated.
http://us.penguingroup.com
For
Ann Benjamin Kirsch,
Jennifer Rachel Kirsch,
Adam Benjamin Kirsch and Remy Elizabeth Holzer,
my beloved and gifted family.
And for
Laurie Fox,
my agent, muse, fellow writer and cherished friend.
“ . . . inscribe us in the Book of Life . . . ”