A Summary of Christian History

No, you cannot click to look inside. Sorry, this image is from amazon.com, but you can go there to order it.

This has been another one of my textbooks for this semester, and I would recommend it to anyone who wants to read a good summary about the History of Christianity. It is great when you actually enjoy your textbooks in school.

Most people, unless you are a history major or minor in college, do not particularly care to read a book with a bunch of dates and facts. But for me, this is not an ordinary history book. Of course, those elements are present in this book, but for a history book, I found it quite easy to read. From the first chapter I was impressed with this book. I never got bored with all the details that the author presented about each period of history. Many times my mind shuts down when reading pages and pages of historical texts. But this one was different, and I think that part of it is due to its almost story-like read. Now it is not exactly written like a fiction book or a story, but it is kind of close. My point is that I think it would be an easy read for most people, especially if you enjoy history.

Also, the author does not focus on one specific movement. He takes into consideration all view of Christianity from the end of the 1st Century to the present day. He shows how the early church dealt with various heresies, how and why the Reformation began, and what denominations have formed over the past two to three hundred years. He explains each movement and comments on the various leaders who started the movement and were the major influences on the movement.

But if you are not into reading 450 pages of history, you can even pull out specific chapters. Pick up wherever you would like in history, and you will not be too lost. Of course, you will miss out on some of the background, but I feel like you would still be able to get a good understanding of what was going on in that particular era. So I recommend this book to anyone who wants to understand the history of Christianity better. If you have ever wondered how we got to this point today, pick up this book and see where it all started. I hope you find this a good read.

Matt