The finale episode, First Civilizations – Trade episode 4, examines an ancient civilization unlike any other, that of the Indus Valley. Rather than imposing order through war or religion, it relied on the free flow of trade. The exchange of goods promoted wealth, co-operation and trust. A look at the first human civilizations, which emerged in the Near […]
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First Civilizations – Cities episode 3, view the birthplace of civilization: the Middle East, site of the world’s first villages, towns and cities, from the hills of Turkey to the plains of Iraq. They were crucibles of invention and innovation-turbo-charging the pace of progress. A look at the first human civilizations, which emerged in the Near East, Egypt,
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First Civilizations episode 2 – Religion: discover the secret to the stability and cohesion of Ancient Egypt—religion. When people share a core set of beliefs, they are more likely to identify as one. That was true for the first civilizations and it’s just as true today. A look at the first human civilizations, which emerged in the Near
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A History of Christianity episode 6: Diarmaid MacCulloch’s own life story makes him a symbol of a distinctive feature about Western Christianity – scepticism, a tendency to doubt which has transformed both Western culture and Christianity. A History of Christianity episode 6 – God in the Dock In the final programme in the series, he asks where
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A History of Christianity episode 5: Diarmaid MacCulloch traces the growth of an exuberant expression of faith that has spread across the globe – Evangelical Protestantism. Today, it is associated with conservative politics, but the whole story is distinctly more unexpected. A History of Christianity episode 5 – Protestantism – The Evangelical Explosion It is easily forgotten
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In the fourth part of the series, Diarmaid MacCulloch makes sense of the Reformation, and of how a faith based on obedience and authority gave birth to one based on individual conscience. The Amish today are peaceable folk, but five centuries ago their ancestors were seen as some of the most dangerous people in Europe. They were radicals
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A History of Christianity episode 3 – Orthodoxy: today, Eastern Orthodox Christianity flourishes in the Balkans and Russia, with over 150 million members worldwide. It is unlike Catholicism or Protestantism – worship is carefully choreographed, icons pull the faithful into a mystical union with Christ, and everywhere there is a symbol of a fierce-looking bird, the double-headed eagle. What story
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A History of Christianity episode 2 : Diarmaid MacCulloch explores the rise of Roman Catholicism. How did a small Jewish sect become western Europe’s established religion? Professor Diarmaid MacCulloch’s grandfather was a devout pillar of the local Anglican church and felt that any dabbling in Catholicism was liable to pollute the English way of life. But now his
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John McCarthy examines the art of faith – the art of religions, journeying across the globe in search of great temples, churches and sacred sites. The three hour-long films, presented and narrated by the broadcaster John McCarthy, visit many of the greatest and most significant religious buildings of the world. Each hour-long episode is a high-definition visual experience. Divine in
Life of the Buddha is a major new landmark documentary following Buddha on his journey from the lap of luxury to the verge of starvation and final enlightenment.
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The Secrets of Christ’s Tomb is a new hour-long documentary that reveals some fascinating new information about the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem.
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Today one god is worshipped by two thirds of humanity. It is the culmination of an extraordinary story by which a single deity emerged from a pantheon of thousands in the crucible of religious ideas that was the ancient Middle East. In this episode we trace the birth, development and explosion of the religion of Abraham and Moses, from its very beginnings in Judaism to its triumph as Christianity within the Roman Empire. Also we look at the earliest form of monotheism, as devised by Akhenaten in ancient Egypt
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