Historian Hillaire Belloc writes an accessible and insightful history of how doctrinal challenges arose and were met by the Catholic church and their after effects on our culture. More than facts, Bellock unpacks the significance of events. Much is said of the Crusades, but for Belloc it was the Albigensians that most nearly wiped out Christendom. (Great scene: St. Dominic offering mass to the outnumbered knights.) For Belloc what most heresies had in common was the desire to simplify Christianity, not to destroy it. The most unique part of this book is the distillation of those conflicts into economic ramifications into the present. Belloc makes a very thought-provoking connection between individualism and the greed of capitalism. He also traces the roots of epistemological despair to the unresolved questions beyond the peace of Westphalia. (Nota Bene: This is a very undiplomatic book by modern standards.) The final chapter is often labeled conspiracy-theorist, however I think that it only seems that way because Belloc is trying to describe in his terms something we cannot recognize. He foresaw the rise of capitalism and socialism and their eventual merger as producing a life of 'slavery' that men of his times would not have recognized as human, a draconian work ethic separated from everything graceful in life for one. (A good example is the Downton Abbey Dowager: "What is a week end?") Furthermore, he warns that the refusal to care about truth (relativism) will eventually lead to the revival of a pagan anti-intellectualism (not the Greek brand), and with it, cruelty. He closes by taking a cue from Hugh-Bensons' The Lord of the World and reminding us of a promise.

Seriously, I didn't write a review? Well....great. All the more reason to read this book again

This book demonstrates how the other is perceived, next to Orthodoxy

First book of Hilaire Belloc. What a experience! Amazing book. Very informative and with great insights about “what’s wrong with the world”

Interesting read

Thought provoking,if not a little dates in its theories. Still recommend reading to get feel for the different attacks on Catholic Church....

Un ensayo muy luminoso de Hilaire Belloc, uno de los grandes apologetas católicos modernos.
En esta obra Belloc nos presenta las cinco herejías más importantes que han atacado a la Iglesia católica desde prácticamente los comienzos de su peregrinaje en la tierra. Son el arrianismo, el islamismo, los albigenses, la Reforma y la amenaza modernista.
Evidentemente, hay muchas más herejías, pero Belloc plantea que estas cinco han sido de largo las más importantes.
El libro combina datos históricos y análisis de las ideas, lo que ayuda a contextualizar perfectamente cada una de las herejías; podríamos decir que es divulgativo, pero no en el sentido peyorativo de accesible y superficial, sino que realmente consigue su objetivo de explicar estas herejías y lo que han supuesto.
A destacar muy especialmente las páginas del comienzo, en que Belloc define qué consiste una herejía, y cómo influye en la sociedad, contrariamente a lo que cualquiera de nosotros pudiera pensar sobre ellas; una mera discusión que se restringe al debate teológico sin mayor repercusión.
También son muy destacables algunas reflexiones de Belloc, que son realmente proféticas vistas con la mirada del siglo XXI; fundamentalmente, la amenaza creciente del islamismo, el ocaso del protestantismo y la pujanza del modernismo pagano. Todo esto anunciado ya en un libro escrito en 1938...
En resumen, un gran libro, muy clarificador y muy aprovechable para el mundo actual. Deja con ganas de bastante más.

This book is so fucking good it's not even funny

A rather awesome little book, written by an Anglo-French Roman Catholic, first published in 1938. The heresies he discusses are (1) Arianism, (2) Islam, (3) Albigensianism, (4) Protestantism, and (5) the "Modern" (for lack of a better phrase). He sees heresies as having a flourishing phase and then disappearing as an organized cult, although they often have long-term effects in a culture. A major exception is Islam, which he presciently saw back in the 1930's as capable of having major revivals. This has been borne out in our own times with the Iranian revolution in 1979 and the emergence of Al Qaeda and the Islamic State (ISIS), and widespread Islamic Terrorism in a number of Western countries including America.

In discussing Protestantism, he concentrates on Calvinism and sees it dying off. In general I have to disagree with him on Protestantism being moribund, although that is true in much of Europe, where the rate of church going is quite low. Worldwide, Protestantism, especially in its Pentecostal forms, is flourishing quite nicely it seems.

His discussion of the Modern, in many respects, sounds like a lot of what is going on today.

Belloc was known as "Old Thunder." French by birth with an English mother, he maintained dual citizenship but lived in England, in fact an MP from 1906-1910. He was a Catholic apologist, essayist, political activist and one of the most prolific poets and writers in English during the early part of the 20th Century. He earned his nickname from the almost constant literary feuds that he carried on. He was a master of debate and argument and this volume shows it. He was at the height of his powers in 1936, the date of publication. He traces the heresies that have beset the Catholic Church; Arian, Moslem, Albigensian, Reformation, and what he calls the "Modern Attack". We would call it secular humanism. The short book is brilliant. He analyzes the development and effects of five heresies with a verve and a passion that is breathtaking. The chapters on Islam and Humanism are absolutely prophetic and worth the price of the book. All of his work is a good read, but here the aphorisms simply flood the page. Anyone interested in the Church or the history of Europe, since they are intimately intertwined in Belloc's view, cannot consider himself well read without diving deep into the ice cold, deep water of Belloc's thought

Belloc has a very chauvinistic view of history. He practically states that Western Civilization, Christianity and the Catholic Church are indistinguishable from one another. He often seems to dismiss criticisms of these with a wave of the hand.

That said, some of his analyse is intriguing. As a conservative Lutheran I find much that is accurate about his critique of generic Protestantism and modern society. He has harsh words for capitalism's abuse of workers and harsher words for communism's control of them. Where he falls short is in self-analyse. While most of his criticisms of are apt, things weren't better in the past or under Catholic governed regions. While he is dealing with history, he seems to neglect the effects of sin.
Christianity is not a societal system that is embraced or rejected by nations; it is a personal relationship with God through the forgiveness achieved by Jesus Christ.

Thought provoking. Revealing.

Each "type" of heresy represented by the five chosen examples: Arian, Mohammedan, Albigensian, Protestant and Modern Attack, has it's own effects on the world, both Catholic and anti-Catholic. Hilaire Belloc's observations of the expanding attack on culture itself is enlightening and relevant to today's plight. Highly recommended.