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Early Christianity
- A Captivating Guide to Early Christian History, Starting with the Ministry of Jesus through the Apostolic Age to the First Council of Nicaea
- Narrated by: Jay Herbert
- Length: 3 hrs and 10 mins
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Early Christianity
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Publisher's summary
What was the starting point of Christianity? Was it in a little town in Bethlehem, just as the lyrics of our favorite Christmas songs contend?
In truth, in the earliest days of Christianity, when Peter and Paul first set out to preach the gospel, the belief systems of early Christians were viewed as merely a new sect of Judaism. The appellation of “Christian” was a term developed by outside antagonists, which the so-called Christians wore with pride. It took time for Christianity to be fully cleaved away from its mother religion of Judaism.
A council was held in Jerusalem around 50 CE for the early church leaders to decide what would become the fundamentals of the new faith, such as what old rules and regulations from the Old Testament should remain for new believers. From Christianity’s earliest formation as a separate identity, it began to spread across the known world. The early Christians met in underground churches, and at times, even in graveyards to avoid persecution.
Yet, their very secrecy often spurned the wildest of rumors. It got to the point where communion was even mistaken as an act of cannibalism! This led to the rise of Christian apologists, who were tasked with explaining the most fundamental elements to the lay public.
This audiobook explores all of these aspects of early Christianity and more. In this audiobook, you will learn about the following:
- The ministry of Jesus.
- Who first spread the gospel.
- Early Christian outreach to the Greco-Roman world.
- Christian Gnosticism, Manicheism, and other Christian sects.
- The struggle of Christian apologists.
- The early martyrs of the Christian faith.
- The impact of the Council of Nicaea.
- How the church survived the fall of the Roman Empire.
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 866
In a book that took eight years to research and write, leading Bible scholar Bart D. Ehrman explores how an apocalyptic prophet from the backwaters of rural Galilee crucified for crimes against the state came to be thought of as equal with the one God Almighty Creator of all things. Ehrman sketches Jesus's transformation from a human prophet to the Son of God exalted to divine status at his resurrection. Only when some of Jesus's followers had visions of him after his death - alive again - did anyone come to think that he, the prophet from Galilee, had become God.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Wishing for a bit more meat on the bones
- By Darwin8u on 04-09-14
By: Bart D. Ehrman
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How God Became God
- What Scholars Are Really Saying About God and the Bible
- By: Richard M. Smoley
- Narrated by: Richard M. Smoley
- Length: 9 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 48
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 45
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Story5 out of 5 stars 45
This epic, thrilling journey through Bible scholarship and ancient religion shows how much of Scripture is historically false - yet the ancient writings also resound with theologies that crisscrossed the primeval world and that direct us today toward a deep, authentic inner experience of the truly sacred.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Just Okay.
- By Thom on 10-28-21
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Desire of the Everlasting Hills
- The World Before and After Jesus
- By: Thomas Cahill
- Narrated by: Brian F. O'Byrne
- Length: 9 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 201
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 77
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 78
In his subtle and engaging investigation into the life and times of Jesus, Thomas Cahill shows us Jesus from his birth to his execution through the eyes of those who knew him and in the context of his time—a time when the Jews were struggling to maintain their beliefs under overlords who imposed their worldview on their subjects. Here is Jesus the loving friend, itinerate preacher, and quiet revolutionary, whose words and actions inspired his followers to journey throughout the Roman world and speak the truth he instilled.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Desire Delivers
- By David on 04-18-03
By: Thomas Cahill
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Zealot
- The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth
- By: Reza Aslan
- Narrated by: Reza Aslan
- Length: 8 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 5,593
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 4,910
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 4,905
From the internationally bestselling author of No god but God comes a fascinating, provocative, and meticulously researched biography that challenges long-held assumptions about the man we know as Jesus of Nazareth. Sifting through centuries of mythmaking, Reza Aslan sheds new light on one of history's most influential and enigmatic characters by examining Jesus through the lens of the tumultuous era in which he lived: first-century Palestine, an age awash in apocalyptic fervor.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Vivid and well-researched
- By Tad Davis on 07-21-13
By: Reza Aslan
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Creating Christ
- How Roman Emperors Invented Christianity
- By: James S. Valliant, C. W. Fahy
- Narrated by: Chris MacDonnell
- Length: 11 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 204
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 184
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 184
This explosive work of history unearths clues that finally demonstrate the truth about one of the world's great religions: that it was born out of the conflict between the Romans and messianic Jews who fought a bitter war with each other during the first century. The Romans employed a tactic they routinely used to conquer and absorb other nations: they grafted their imperial rule onto the religion of the conquered.
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5 out of 5 stars
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life is one big lie
- By Anonymous User on 12-25-19
By: James S. Valliant, and others
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The Origin of Satan
- How Christians Demonized Jews, Pagans, and Heretics
- By: Elaine Pagels
- Narrated by: Suzanne Toren
- Length: 8 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 550
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 464
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Story4 out of 5 stars 466
Who is Satan in the New Testament, and what is the evil that he represents? In this groundbreaking book, Elaine Pagels, Princeton's distinguished historian of religion, traces the evolution of Satan from its origins in the Hebrew Bible, where Satan is at first merely obstructive, to the New Testament, where Satan becomes the Prince of Darkness, the bitter enemy of God and man, evil incarnate. In The Origin of Satan, Pagels shows that the four Christian gospels tell two very different stories.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Must read for all practicing Christians
- By Venusian Incognito on 09-06-19
By: Elaine Pagels
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Reading Judas
- The Gospel of Judas and the Shaping of Christianity
- By: Elaine Pagels, Karen L. King
- Narrated by: Justine Eyre, Robertson Dean
- Length: 3 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 154
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 85
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 87
Two celebrated scholars illustrate how the newly discovered Gospel of Judas provides a window into understanding how Jesus' followers understood his death, why Judas betrayed Jesus, and why God allowed it. Presented with the elegance, insight, and accessibility that has made Pagels and King the leading voices in this field, this is a book for academics and popular audiences alike.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Judas Iscariot: Betrayer or Saint?
- By Diane on 08-21-12
By: Elaine Pagels, and others
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Paul and Jesus
- How the Apostle Transformed Christianity
- By: James D. Tabor
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
- Length: 9 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 250
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 223
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 222
Historians know virtually nothing about the two decades following the crucifixion of Jesus, when his followers regrouped and began to spread his message. During this time the man we know as the apostle Paul joined the movement and began to preach to the gentiles. Using the oldest Christian documents that we have - the letters of Paul - as well as other early Christian sources, historian and scholar James Tabor reconstructs the origins of Christianity.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Paul or Jesus?
- By James on 01-29-13
By: James D. Tabor
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The Jesus Dynasty
- A New Historical Investigation of Jesus, His Royal Family, and the Birth of Christianity
- By: James D. Tabor
- Narrated by: James D. Tabor
- Length: 5 hrs and 53 mins
- Abridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 202
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 128
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 128
Based on a careful analysis of the earliest Christian documents and recent archaeological discoveries, The Jesus Dynasty offers a bold new interpretation of the life of Jesus and the origins of Christianity. The story is surprising, controversial, and exciting as only a long-lost history can be when it is at last recovered.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Provocative book
- By Dan on 08-27-06
By: James D. Tabor
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How God Became King
- The Forgotten Story of the Gospels
- By: N. T. Wright
- Narrated by: James Langton
- Length: 9 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 433
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 384
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 375
New Testament scholar N. T. Wright reveals how we have been misreading the Gospels for centuries, powerfully restoring the lost central story of the scripture: that the coronation of God through the acts of Jesus was the climax of human history. Wright fills the gaps that centuries of misdirection have opened up in our collective spiritual story, tracing a narrative from Eden to Jesus to today.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Jesus' life matters, not just his death
- By Adam Shields on 03-17-16
By: N. T. Wright
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Reasons to Believe
- How to Understand, Defend, and Explain the Catholic Faith
- By: Scott Hahn
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 6 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 715
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 594
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 598
In Reasons to Believe, Scott Hahn, a convert to Catholicism, explains the "how and why" of the Catholic faith - drawing from Scripture, his own struggles, and those of other converts, as well as from everyday life and even natural science. Hahn shows that reason and revelation, as well as nature and the supernatural, are not opposed to one another; rather, they offer complementary evidence that God exists. He is someone, and He has a personality, a personal style, that is discernable and knowable.
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4 out of 5 stars
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A Catholic for convition and tradition
- By benigno on 05-29-12
By: Scott Hahn
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The Evolution of God
- By: Robert Wright
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
- Length: 18 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 1,075
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 689
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 686
In this sweeping narrative, which takes us from the Stone Age to the Information Age, Robert Wright unveils an astonishing discovery: there is a hidden pattern that the great monotheistic faiths have followed as they have evolved. Through the prisms of archeology, theology, and evolutionary psychology, Wright's findings overturn basic assumptions about Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, and are sure to cause controversy.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Very heavy reading
- By Stephen on 08-07-09
By: Robert Wright
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When the Church Was Young
- Voices of the Early Fathers
- By: Marcellino D'Ambrosio
- Narrated by: Marcellino D'Ambrosio
- Length: 9 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 996
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 861
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 861
Marcellino D'Ambrosio dusts off what might have been just dry theology to bring you the exciting stories of great heroes such as Ambrose, Augustine, Basil, Athanasius, John Chrysostom, and Jerome. These brilliant, embattled, and sometimes eccentric men defined the biblical canon, hammered out the Creed, and gave us our understanding of sacraments and salvation. It is they who preserved the rich legacy of the early Church for us.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Masterful summary of the early Church Fathers
- By Mike C on 08-22-14
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History of the Jews
- A Captivating Guide to Jewish History, Starting from the Ancient Israelites Through Roman Rule to World War 2
- By: Captivating History
- Narrated by: Jason Zenobia
- Length: 3 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 96
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 90
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 89
The Jewish people are one of the oldest living people groups on the planet. The Jews lived alongside the ancient Egyptians, Babylonians, Phoenicians, and Sumerians - all of whom have since disappeared from the pages of history. Yet the Jews still remain. Despite all of the odds, Jewish culture, language, laws, and religion have remained intact over the course of thousands of years.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Comprehensive but perspective a bit skewed
- By username on 06-19-21
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Villains of the Early Church
- And How They Made Us Better Christians
- By: Mike Aquilina
- Narrated by: Mike Aquilina
- Length: 5 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 24
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 21
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 21
The early Church faced its share of villains - persecutors like Nero and Julian, heretics like Marcion and Arius. And what good were they? Plenty, say the Church fathers. The threat of persecution made Christians strong and bold. As noted author Mike Aquilina demonstrates in Villains of the Early Church: And How They Made Us Better Christians, the menace of heresy made Christians smarter - and deepened their knowledge of the divine mysteries. The villains of the ancient world proved the mettle of heroes like Peter and Paul, Irenaeus and Athanasius.
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4 out of 5 stars
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AMAZING NARRATOR
- By Tyler Fowler (Host of the YouTube channel Faith Unaltered) on 11-07-19
By: Mike Aquilina
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When Christians Were Jews
- The First Generation
- By: Paula Fredriksen
- Narrated by: Matthew Lloyd Davies
- Length: 6 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 96
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 86
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Story4 out of 5 stars 84
In this electrifying social and intellectual history, Paula Fredriksen answers the question of how Jewish missionaries ended up inaugurating a movement that would grow into the gentile church by reconstructing the life of the earliest Jerusalem community. As her account arcs from this group’s hopeful celebration of Passover with Jesus, through their bitter controversies that fragmented the movement’s midcentury missions, to the city’s fiery end in the Roman destruction of Jerusalem, she brings this vibrant apostolic community to life.
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2 out of 5 stars
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nothing to see here, nothing to read here
- By Anonymous User on 12-10-18
By: Paula Fredriksen
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Tried by Fire
- The Story of Christianity's First Thousand Years
- By: William J. Bennett
- Narrated by: Wayne Campbell
- Length: 15 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 76
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 68
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 67
Full of larger-than-life characters, stunning acts of bravery, and heart-rending sacrifice, Tried by Fire narrates the rise and expansion of Christianity from an obscure regional sect to the established faith of the world's greatest empire with influence extending from India to Ireland, Scandinavia to Ethiopia, and all points in between.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Best history of Christianity I've read
- By JOHN F KANARY on 05-05-16
What listeners say about Early Christianity
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- R. McCulfor
- 03-23-23
Worst reader ever
The story is interesting if not very cohesive. I would have enjoyed this book so much more if the reader wasn't so bad. He sounds like a bad impersonation of Ned Flanders. The sing-song tonal inflections make it hard to concentrate on the story but if you can get past that, you have to deal with the mispronunciations of so many common words specific to the Bible and the period that at one point I was sure this was an AI reader using phonetic pronunciations. Even though the reader is given a name in the credits, I'm still not certain. Absolutely ruined any enjoyment of the book.
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