>Can anyone here give me their opinion of Kautsky's "Foundations of
>Christianity"?
>
>
I read Kautsky's book and I thought it was excellent. Very level headed
and very interesting.
He mostly focuses on explaining how late Roman culture helps explain a lot of early Xtianity -- which turns out to be more of a reaction to that culture than something in itself.
For example, he explains how the asceticism was less a religious feature than a reaction to the extreme overindulgence (vomitariums, colliseum blood baths) of the late empire. By placing it in a historical setting (from a Marxist perspective) it helps you understand a lot of stuff about it that you might otherwise think was "religious."
Clearly written. Easy to read.
It's a mistake to assume that an old book is not necessarily a good book.
The notion that something newer is better is a modern prejudice, not in any way a fact.
Joanna