/lit/ - Literature

>Peter Thonemann, a professor of ancient history at the University of Oxford, argues that Nixey's work is problematic, and that "the argument depends on quite a bit of nifty footwork", because Nixey makes a large number of broad generalizations based on limited evidence. He also states that the deliberate destruction of ancient temples by Christians "seems to have been exceptionally rare in real life" and that the Christian book-burning was always directed towards heretical or "magical" writing, and not towards classical literature.[5]

>Professor Tim Whitmarsh of Cambridge University described it as "a finely crafted, invigorating polemic against the resilient popular myth that presents the Christianisation of Rome as the triumph of a kinder, gentler politics. On those terms, it succeeds brilliantly". He also cautions that the work risks being one-sided. He said it represented a reversion to Edward Gibbon's view of the Christians as instigators of the fall of Rome. "In seeking to expose the error and corruption of the early Christian world, Nixey comes close to veiling the pre-Christian Romans’ own barbarous qualities," he said.[2]

>Johannes (Hans) van Oort, a Dutch Professor of Patristics and Gnostic Studies at Radboud University, states that Nixey "is replaying her hand with her fierce tone and gross exaggeration" and that her book "lacks any historical structure". Van Oort also writes that Nixey doesn't understand some historical contexts and that she "makes some serious historical slips".[6]

>Levi Roach, a medievalist of University of Exeter, states that Nixey's book "does not seek to present a balanced picture" and that it is "a book of generalisations". He also states, "Nixey ends up endorsing the long-debunked view of the Middle Ages as a period of blind faith and intellectual stagnation".[7]

>Richard Tada, PhD in ancient Greek and Byzantine history from the University of Washington, states that Nixey ventured "into areas where she is clearly out of her depth" and as result her book is "a shoddy work that fails to make the grade even as a polemic", and that one of Nixey's attempts to blame Christians for the supposedly destruction of classical world is "simply dishonest", where she misrepresents both primary and secondary sources.[8]

>Averil Cameron, professor emerita of Late Antique and Byzantine History at the University of Oxford, points out that Nixey is promoting some outdated teachings and finds Nixey's book without nuance and counter-arguments, and states that Nixey's readers would never know that there are academic works that contradict her narrative if they only get their information from her.[9] On Twitter Cameron called Nixey's book "a travesty".[1]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Darkening_Age