The Evil that Men Do: Faith, Injustice and the Church

At a time when barbarous acts of terrorism are being committed globally and society ponders whether the perpetrators are legitimate religious adherents, Marcus Paul makes an unflinching and counter-cultural examination of some of the worst periods in the Church’s history.

Were the crusades entirely inexcusable religious wars? Was the Inquisition the bloody and sadistic “Black Legend” of popular imagination? How can we understand the goodness of God after two brutalising world wars?

In a refreshingly frank treatment of the Church’s past failings, this book fills a gap in our understanding of what it is to be Christian in the twenty-first century.

“In an age where it is fashionable to ‘bash’ the church at every opportunity, it is rare to read such a clear defence of its history and ideas. Marcus Paul provides a compelling and fresh look at the impact of the Christian Church down the ages and educates us as to how best to navigate our way through the current fog of cultural hostility.”
— The Revd Richard Cunningham (from the Foreword)
Director of UCCF (Universities and Colleges Christian Fellowship)

What people are saying...

The Evil that Men Do is a considered and thoughtful book which seeks to examine the way we look through twenty-first-century eyes at the “darker” events in Church history. In doing so, the author helps us re-examine some of our own prejudices and whilst not denying or minimalizing those things that clearly have been at times truly evil he provides a more balanced viewpoint. He seeks to engage with some of the historians, chroniclers, poets, philosophers, novelists and others who were living during those events which today are placed under a negative spotlight. In doing so we are challenged to look at the story of the Christian Church afresh and to see the Spirit of God moving through human history and through the people of God as they have sought to live, witness and share with others the love of God which they have experienced through Jesus Christ.
— The Rt Revd Peter Hancock
Bishop of Bath & Wells

“A fascinating and frank re-evaluation of the impact of the Christian faith on society, for good and ill, from the first century until the twenty-first.”
— The Revd Canon Dr Michael Green
Hon. Fellow, Wycliffe Hall, Oxford

“It is always vital to check our assumptions about historical judgements—not least in the twenty-first-century west. Marcus Paul invites us to correct our memory and to look afresh at assumptions about religion in general, and Christianity in particular. Read it and be challenged.”
— The Rt Revd Nick Baines
Bishop of Leeds