My first church history book?

[brett]

I think this is way over due. Right now I'm looking at several titles, including:

The Story of Christianity: The Early Church to the Present Day (http://www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/product/157205444?item_no=35221&event=ENETP)
By: Justo L. Gonzalez
Christianity Through the Centuries, Revised and Expanded, Third Edition (http://www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/product/157205444?item_no=20812&event=ENETP)
By: Earle Cairns
Our Legacy (http://www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/product/157205444?item_no=32643&event=ENETP)
By: John Hannah
History of Christian Thought, 3 Volumes (http://www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/product/157205444?item_no=71858&event=ECF)
By: Justo Gonzalez
Church History in Plain Language, Second Edition (http://www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/product/157205444?item_no=38691&netp_id=119087&event=EFIN)
By: Bruce Shelley

Any input on these books a authors would be greatly appreciated, as well as any other recommendations.

[Pilgrim]

Church History in Plain Language is the best place to start. It's user freindly, accurate and well put together.

[rmwilliamsjr]

there is so much online that i can recommend:
links list at:
http://www.monergism.com/thethreshold/articles/topic/history.html

nice outline form:
http://www.thirdmill.org/files/english/html/ch/CH.h.Arnold.CH.1.html

then schaff's church history at:
http://www.ccel.org/s/schaff/history/About.htm

[One Bad Pig]

Church History in Plain Language is the best place to start. It's user freindly, accurate and well put together.
I'll second that.

[Patrick Henry]

I will agree with the previous replies on Church history books and would like to add Williston Walker's as well. Granted, he blindly accepts much of German Criticism but he does know his history and how to write it. Be wary of the price though. It is about 42 dollars on amazon.

Regards

[teknia]

I think this is way over due. Right now I'm looking at several titles, including:

The Story of Christianity: The Early Church to the Present Day (http://www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/product/157205444?item_no=35221&event=ENETP)
By: Justo L. Gonzalez
Christianity Through the Centuries, Revised and Expanded, Third Edition (http://www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/product/157205444?item_no=20812&event=ENETP)
By: Earle Cairns
Our Legacy (http://www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/product/157205444?item_no=32643&event=ENETP)
By: John Hannah
History of Christian Thought, 3 Volumes (http://www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/product/157205444?item_no=71858&event=ECF)
By: Justo Gonzalez
Church History in Plain Language, Second Edition (http://www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/product/157205444?item_no=38691&netp_id=119087&event=EFIN)
By: Bruce Shelley

Any input on these books a authors would be greatly appreciated, as well as any other recommendations.i have read through the story of christianity and christianity through the centuries. the story of christianity has a lot of good info, but is poorly organized and formatted making it difficult to pick things out (it's sort of like trying to read a novel). i'm currently using christianity through the centuries for my church history class and i like it (but you must get the latest edition, 3rd.; earlier editions don't have a very good layout, typeset, etc.). it is well organized and formatted and contains very good information. sometimes though, i find myself wanting a bit more detail (some stuff is pretty truncated). i've also heard good things about shelley's book. another good history is dowley's intro to the history of christianity.

here is a good site on church history with some good recommendations:

http://www.ritchies.net/churchhi.htm
http://www.ritchies.net/bibliog.htm

[Fretbuzzer]

I second the Dowley nomination, but don't forget LaTourrette for a more global view.

[One Bad Pig]

I second the Dowley nomination, but don't forget LaTourrette for a more global view.
:huh: Who are they?

[Fretbuzzer]

:huh: Who are they?Tim Dowley's Intro to Church History has been a standard text since the 80's to teach church history. It is well written and has great "side bar" discussions of key persons, major thought developments, etc. Fortress Press has just released a new edition.

Kenneth LaTourrette's two volume A History of Christianity (you can get both volumes for 11.00 at CBD is an excellent history that has a bit more depth than Dowley, Gonzolez, etc. Part of the strength of his work is that instead of just covering the dominant strands of WESTERN Christendom, he, as a famed researcher of Christianity in the Far East, explores Christianity's expansion world-wide. :smile:

[Jaltus]

Anybody have a good book on Western Christianity alone? I want to learn more about the history of the Orthodox church etc.

[Fretbuzzer]

Anybody have a good book on Western Christianity alone? I want to learn more about the history of the Orthodox church etc.Western Christianity is usually characterized by the Catholic Church and Reformed traditions (outside of mission endeavors to other areas in the globe). Eastern Christianity is usually understood to mean the Orthodox church. For this, I recommend Timothy Ware's brief, but very good introduction, The Orthodox Church.

[Rusty T]

May I recommend Eusebius's History of the Church? Why not? I read that and it blew me away.

rusty

[Bib Lit Major]

I have read the first of the three volumes of A History of Christian Thought. I liked it. It was accessible, yet it seemed to me to be informing. However, I am not a church historian...I am a biblical guy.

[teknia]

May I recommend Eusebius's History of the Church? Why not? I read that and it blew me away.

rustyyes it's good and most histories use him as a source. but it only covers early church history. so that limits it a bit. but it definitely is a good read.

[Baxter]

Mark A Noll's Turning Points (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/080106211X/qid=1092503477/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl14/002-7180779-1600813?v=glance&s=books&n=507846) is of manageable size and is pitched at a not-too-academic level. Rather than running straight through Church history from A to Z, Noll highlights seminal moments in the story of Christendom, as the title indicates.

Said turning-points are thus: The Fall of Jerusalem; the Council of Nicaea; the Council of Chalcedon; Benedict's Rule; the Coronation of Charlemagne; the Great [East-West] Schism; the Diet of Worms [Luther and the Reformation]; the English Act of Supremacy; Founding of the Jesuits; the Wesleys; the French Revolution; the Edinburgh Mission Conference of 1910.

[Phil212]

Personally, for a good introductory church history book, I found "A History of the Christian church by Williston Walker and Richard A Norris, David W. Lotz, Robert T. Handy, fourth edition to be an excellent book. To trace the origins of Christianity from the birth of Jesus to a year before the Council of Nicea (325 A.D.), Eusebius' "Ecclesiastical History" translated by C.F. Cruse is hard to beat. Then, again, if you want to learn the thinking of the Apostolic Fathers (those who followed immediately after the Apostles) "The Apostolic Fathers" edited by Michael W. Holmes is excellent.

But for a good first book, "A history of the Christian church" will be hard to beat.

[learning]

I'ld like to recommend a couple of web sites that I found that have a good outline of church history, and you can look into each section in more detail.
Hall of Church History

www.spurgeon.org/~phil/hall.htm

look at the bottom of this page under the church history study helps and the different ages of the church are listed there.

Here is a more indepth link to do with the Reformation

www.williamtyndale.com/0reformationtimeline.htm

This will give you more detail, with what is going on in the world at the same time. A great history of the church and the world at that time.

[George Murphy]

May I recommend Eusebius's History of the Church? Why not? I read that and it blew me away.

rusty
It's an important source but Eusebius was not a critical historian.

There is a distinction between "church history" & "history of doctrine," though of course also a good deal of overlap. For the latter, Jaroslav Pelikan's 6 volume series The Christian Tradition is worth noting.

Shalom,
George

[luv1another]

as well as any other recommendations.

we had a Christian Church History writer come and speak this morning in church he was awesome and I actually want to read more... which is amazing for me :teeth: here are the three books he has written..
The Blood of the Martyrs (The history of the Christian Church from pentecost to the age of theodosius AD 397) By Leigh Churchill

The Birth of Europe (The history of the Christian Church from John Chrysostom to the conversion of russia AD 398 - 999 ) by Leigh Churchill

The Age of Knights & Friars,popes & Reformers ( The history of the Christian church from Leif Eirikson to martin Luther (AD 1000 - 1517)

I can't wait to start reading, I read one page just to check how readable they are and it was just like how he told the stories from the pulpit :smile: exciting andnot boring :wink:

[Amazing Rando]

I think this is way over due. Right now I'm looking at several titles, including:

The Story of Christianity: The Early Church to the Present Day (http://www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/product/157205444?item_no=35221&event=ENETP)
By: Justo L. Gonzalez
Christianity Through the Centuries, Revised and Expanded, Third Edition (http://www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/product/157205444?item_no=20812&event=ENETP)
By: Earle Cairns
Our Legacy (http://www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/product/157205444?item_no=32643&event=ENETP)
By: John Hannah
History of Christian Thought, 3 Volumes (http://www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/product/157205444?item_no=71858&event=ECF)
By: Justo Gonzalez
Church History in Plain Language, Second Edition (http://www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/product/157205444?item_no=38691&netp_id=119087&event=EFIN)
By: Bruce Shelley

Any input on these books a authors would be greatly appreciated, as well as any other recommendations.

I've got Gonzalez's The Story of Christianity. It's really good reading! But so is Eusebius. I'd recommend both.