The Story of Christianity volume 1 & 2 - Justo Gonzalez

Milkman
Milkman Member Posts: 4,880 ✭✭✭
edited December 2024 in English Forum

I've seen these two mentioned in other threads, but thought I would revive the talk.

mm.

The Story of Christianity, Vol. 1: The Early Church to the Dawn of the Reformation

In The Story of Christianity: Volume 1, Justo L. González, author of the highly praised three-volume History of Christian Thought, presents a narrative history of Christianity, from the Early Church to the Dawn of the Protestant Reformation. From Jesus’ faithful apostles to the early reformist John Wycliffe, González skillfully traces core theological issues and developments within the various traditions of the church, including major events outside of Europe, such as the Spanish and Portuguese conquest of the New World. This updated and expanded edition incorporates recent archaeological discoveries about the life of Early Christian Communities, as well as important contemporary research revealing the significant role of women throughout the history of the church. With lively storytelling, The Story of Christianity provides a fascinating and panoramic history of the dramatic events, colorful characters, and revolutionary ideas that shaped the first fifteen centuries of the church. (From the website)

The Story of Christianity, Vol. 2: The Reformation to the Present Day

Continuing on from its first volume, this book will give you a good idea of how Christians lived their lives, of what Christians believed throughout the ages, of how Christians came to hold certain doctrines, of how Christianity met different theological challenges, and of the extent of the geographical influence of Christianity throughout history. The first volume covered up to the beginnings of the rumblings of the Reformation, and this second volume takes that pivotal movement as its starting point. The book covers history from the Reformation to the present, around the 2000s. Along the way you'll encounter key figures like Martin Luther, Ulrich Zwingli, John Calvin, John Wesley... You'll see how they established certain doctrines of the faith that are held today by the different denominations they affected. You'll get to see how many different denominations of the Protestants began during the years of the Reformation, including the likes of the Lutherans, the Anabaptists, the Methodists, the Presbyterians, the Mennonites... Aside from covering the enormous religious, social and political upheaval that the Reformation caused, the story here also turns to a focus on how Christians, both Catholic and non-Catholic alike, reacted to the intellectual changes in the world. Surprisingly, you may come to see that the history of Christianity during these ages actually heavily influenced how Europe would become the way it is today. For example, secularism and religious tolerance is revealed in part to be a policy adopted by rulers to avoid the bloody conflict that had lasted for too long between Protestants and Catholics. You also learn about how philosophers and theologians alike reacted to new intellectual movements, and how these reactions affected what Christians believed. Nearing the present, you also begin to see how the centre of Christianity shifted from the North Atlantic (Europe & North America) to the other parts of the world through missions and through the secularization of Europe. As you can see, it's quite a lot of information to cover, and the book does an honourable job of covering the most important topics. My only complaint is that there are times when I thirsted for a bit more content, but the author maintains a balanced overview instead. If you want to dig further, you'll have to find a different book. This, however, is also the book's strength: it is a wonderful primer to the history of Christianity and you get to see a bit of everything that is important. You never feel bogged down in the details, and the writing style is quite easy to read. The author is a master of the narrative style, and he has rendered most of the events into coherent stories that are digestible for the everyday reader. It may be used as a textbook, and I would like to use it as one for church classes, but it definitely works well as casual reading as well. The coverage of events is also quite fair, never condemning one denomination as being less pure or less true to the faith than another. The author presents the doctrines and lets the reader decide if they want to judge them at all. There is, however, a bias towards ecumenism, or the unity of the different denominations, but that is hardly a fault. Being a Protestant myself, this volume in particular revealed to me the roots of many denominations that I had previously not known. It makes me realize why we're different and why we have so many denominations in the first place. This volume also presents an optimistic vision of Christianity. In North America and in Europe, we hear of society rejecting Christianity (and perhaps it is better that Christians and atheists alike reconsider what Christianity is actually preaching and doing), but the author tells of the vitality of Christianity in the other continents. I take this with a grain of salt, but it does reveal to me how Christianity can't be called a dying religion by any means. In any case, my final comment is that if you want to learn more about Christian history, but don't know where to start, look no further. (from the website)

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