Protestantism: A Very Short Introduction

Very Short Introductions #277

by Mark A. Noll

Mark A. Noll, named one of America's most influential evangelicals by Time Magazine , provides a fresh and accessible history of Protestantism from the era of Martin Luther to the present day. Noll begins with the founding of Lutheran, Reformed, Anglican, and Anabaptist churches in the sixteenth-century Reformation, and considers the rise of other important Christian movements like Methodism and Pentecostalism. But rather than focusing on just the familiar European and American histories, he discusses the recent expansion of Protestant movements in Africa, China, India, and Latin America, emphasizing the on-going and rapidly expanding story of Protestants worldwide. The book highlights the contributions of well-known figures ranging from Martin Luther and John Calvin to Karl Barth, Dora Yu, Samuel Ajayi Crowther, and Pandita Ramabai, and it sheds light on why Protestant energies have flagged recently in the Western world while expanding dramatically elsewhere. Detailing the key
points of Protestant commonality--including the message of Christian salvation, reliance on the Bible, and organization through personal initiative--he illuminates the reasons for Protestantism's extraordinary diversity.

Genres: Religion, Christianity, Philosophy, Nonfiction, History, Theology, Christian

161 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2011

About the author

Mark A. Noll (born 1946), Francis A. McAnaney Professor of History at the University of Notre Dame, is a progressive evangelical Christian scholar. In 2005, Noll was named by Time Magazine as one of the twenty-five most influential evangelicals in America. Noll is a prolific author and many of his books have earned considerable acclaim within the academic community. The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind , a book about the anti-intellectual tendencies within the American evangelical movement, was featured in a cover story in the popular American literary and cultural magazine, Atlantic Monthly. He was awarded a National Humanities Medal in the Oval Office by President George W. Bush in 2006.

Reviews

[Maćkowy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sprintem przez protestantyzm

Pomysł na opisanie protestantyzmu na niecałych 180 stronach wydaje się jednocześnie ciekawy i karkołomny. Jak bowiem w tak małej objętości, zmieścić pięćset lat historii, i powstały w tym czasie ogrom ruchów religijnych, zapoczątkowanych, kiedy to pewien niemiecki augustianin przybił do drzwi kościoła w Wittenberdze list ze swoimi 95 tezami, mającymi zreformować kościół katolicki, a kończąc na nowoczesnych, azjatyckich kościołach, jak Kościół Pełnej Ewangelii Yoido w Seulu? Tego niełatwego zadania podjął się amerykański historyk Mark A. Noll, a efekt jego pracy ukazał się w Polsce nakładem Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego w serii "Krótkie Wprowadzenie".

Sama seria "Krótkie wprowadzenie" to niebywale ciekawa inicjatywa. Na jej łamach Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego wydaje książeczki krótkie, ale napakowane wiedzą po miękkie okładki ze skrzydełkami. Protestantyzm, jest wydany schludnie i przejrzyście, dzięki umieszczonemu na końcu książki słowniczkowi, nie ma problemu, aby wrócić do jakiegoś zagadnienia, które zaintrygowało nas podczas czytania. Ponadto Protestantyzm jest bardzo dobrze udokumentowany - przypisy do poszczególnych rozdziałów i wspomniany słowniczek, zajmują blisko trzydzieści ze stu osiemdziesięciu stron jakie sobie liczy.

Książkę czyta się szybko nie tylko ze względu na niewielką objętość, ale i prosty, konkretny styl Marka A. Nolla - wszak nie ma co marnować ograniczonego miejsca - naprawdę, krótkie wprowadzenie. Rozdziały ułożone są chronologicznie, lecimy więc sprintem: od Marcina Lutra, przez kościół anglikański, misyjne krzewienie nowej wiary w Ameryce i Afryce, do obecnej ekspansji kościołów zielonoświątkowych i dzisiejszych wyzwań stojących przed chrześcijanami, a Noll zręcznie opowiada o każdym z poruszonych tematów.
Podczas czytania szybko okazuje się jednak, że największy atut tej książki, to również jej najdotkliwszy brak. To sto pięćdziesiąt stron, to zdecydowanie za mało, na opisanie religii, rozwijającej się nieprzerwanie od połowy tysiąclecia, i do tego cały czas ewoluującej dostosowując się na potrzeby nowoczesnych wiernych. Noll, który sam jest ewangelikiem, postawił przede wszystkim na ukazanie olbrzymiej różnorodności kościołów skupionych wokół idei Lutra i jego następców, głównie na przestrzeni różnic teologicznych w interpretacji biblii, czy zasad moralnych, więc punkt ciężkości zawartych w niej informacji jest lekko przepielonych w stronę teologii, co mi osobiście średnio odpowiadało

Pomimo tego, Protestantyzm na pewno jest interesującą książką, chociaż nie poleciłbym jej każdemu. Warto cokolwiek, chociażby pobieżnie wiedzieć o historii, przede wszystkim Europy Zachodniej, aby w pełni zrozumieć co autor ma nam do przekazania, ot chociażby o takiej wojnie trzydziestoletniej, która jest w Protestantyzmie opisana jednym zdaniem. W każdym razie była to wartościowa lektura i na pewno będę czujnie śledził serię Krótkie prowadzenie. Mimo mankamentów polecam.

[Jono Spear · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great little introduction to Protestantism. Just enough for the reader to get the big picture of movements and key leaders, and just enough to set you in the right direction for deeper study. What I especially enjoyed about this book was the global awareness of the spread of Protestantism rather than focusing only on Europe and North America.

[Walter Schutjens · Rating 4 out of 5]

The only successful revolution summarized.

[Graham · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent short overview of Protestantism. Mark A. Noll is clearly extremely knowledgeable, and despite being a Protestant himself is fair in bringing up the more regrettable parts of Protestant history, be it during the reformation or the 20th century.

I do have a few issues, though perhaps not particularly major. When discussing the history of Protestantism in the United States, he doesn't make specific mention of the "Great Awakening" or the "Second Great Awakening". In regards to the first, he mentions a little bit of the goings-on, but doesn't label it. Likewise, in regards to the second, he gives a short paragraph on Mormons, a short paragraph on Seventh-Day Adventists, and a short paragraph on the Disciples of Christ and related groups. He doesn't mention how all came about during the Second Great Awakening, and also neglects to mention the Jehovahs Witnesses, which is another group that came out of that context. By not labeling either Great Awakenings, he neglects to fully contextualize them and provide the reader with a term to use for further research.

Another issue I have is tone. He is a good historian for the most part, but he comes off as excited when talking about the early origins of the evangelical movement in Britain. He apparently identifies as an evangelical, so this wasn't surprising. I was initially going to overlook it, given that its just one section of a chapter. However, then comes the chapter about the history of Protestant missionary work, followed by a chapter on Pentecostal and renewal movements. In both, his excitement comes back, and the book starts taking on a more hagiographic tone. And the missionary chapter really is an onslaught of names at times. In the chapter on Pentecostalism, he quotes a Evan Roberts speaking of witnessing the Welsh Revival in 1904. Roberts writes that he is inclined to agree with the Welsh practitioners that the Holy Spirit was present, and I got the sense that Noll probably felt the same way when writing of early Pentecostal movements throughout the chapter.

One last quibble I have is his reference to indigenous African religions as "primal" at least twice. Despite my various misgivings, this is still a decent and quite informative overview on the history of Protestantism. To the secular or non-Protestant readers, I recommend bracing yourself for the authors clear love of his subject. As for readers who are themselves Protestant, I would consider this possibly an essential introduction to your history. I want to give it 3.5 stars, but since Goodreads is anti-nuance I am forced to round it down to 3. I do want to reiterate though that it IS very informative and often fair minded, or at least making an attempt at it. Credit where credit is due, and for that it is a serviceable introduction.

[Jason Ray Carney · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an interesting history of Protestantism that begins with the reformation and the story of Luther’s dissent from Catholicism and proceeds through the 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries. It isn’t heavy laden with complex Christian theology and stresses, instead, the organizational and cultural developments of different forms of Protestantism. It’s argument is that from then until now what distinguishes and unifies Protestanism is its emphasis on scripture as a central authority. The most interesting (and surprising) parts of this short introduction is the story of Protestantism’s globalization, its evolution outside of Europe. The books flaws are the flaws of the Very Short Introduction Series: too brief and occasionally superficial in its treatment of compelling sub-topics. Chapters seem to end just as they are getting interesting. Nevertheless, this is definately worth an afternoon’s read if you want to supplement and extend your basic understanding of the Reformation.

[Hattie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good overview of a lot of the innumerable branches of protestantism, how they differ, and where they all came from.
Definitely not an unbiased account - on only page 4 here's a brutal takedown of pentacostal megachurches: "Their style of worship features music keyed to contemporary popular taste rather than drawn from historical protestant hymnody; their appeal is geared to contemporary consumer culture; their consciousness of the past is thin." Also quite a lot about christianity "flourishing" in colonial countries, at the expense of "primal" religions that were there before.

[Freya Abbas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good introduction that was easy to understand and gave a global perspective on Protestantism.

[Michael Huang · Rating 3 out of 5]

Many tried reformation inside the Catholic church. But it took what Pope Leo called a wild boar to make a real reform. Emperor Charles V outlawed Luther. Luther’s prince hid him in a castle. Early on, these reformers were called evangelicals. Later, Zwinglians, anabaptists, Calvinists emerged.

Almost every country went through some reformation struggle. In some country the reformers (e.g., Hugonots in France) lost, in others (e.g, Netherland), they won. In England, the reform led to a milder system. Elizabeth sacked a bishop for being too aggressive in spreading Calvinist theology. The reformers arguing for more complete reforms are called Puritans. Later James I saw Puritanism as a threat to monarchy. In reform the inherited emphasis on order of Bishops (Episcopalianism) was changed to focus on either an order of ministers and lay elders (Presbyterianism) or to center on local church assemblies (Congregationalism).
• Pietism: focus on small assemblies for discussion
• Moravian: spreading pietism by early refugees from Moravia.
• Evangelism: emphasize on true region from heart
• Methodists: dedicated preachers mocked by its systematic approach.
• Universalists: all humanity would be redeemed.
• Unitarianism: outright denies trinity.

After the earlier separation from Catholics, Protestantism continue to evolve and be influenced by later enlightenment and created many sects. Convictions once heretical started to gain foothold.

After this initial phase, for different reasons, church and state started to separate everywhere. In the US, many new sects sprang up (e.g., Mormon). Starting in 18th century, philosophical minds labored to replace revelation with reason in Europe. Outside Europe, missionary started only in earnest in 17th century. Today, Church is less important in Europe (~10% attendance) and more secularized in US.

[Adam Shields · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short review: This is the first book from Oxford's "Very Short Introduction" series that I have read. There are over 200 of them on a very wide range of topics. I will sample some more to see if they are all as good as this one. Mark Noll is a very good historian and author, so I am not surprised that this book is quite good. He manages to squeeze an enourmous amount of info into less than 150 pages and made it quite readable. These are meant to be introductions to a topic, but as a person that is very well read in Christian history, I learned several things.

My longer review is on my blog at http://bookwi.se/protestantism/

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

The type of book I just love: short, succinct yet informative and insightful overview of a topic. Noll gives you a great overview of the history of Protestantism from the Reformation to the global church of today and he sprinkles in enough details and interesting conclusions that it is more thought provoking than you might expect for a survey of this type.

Highly recommended for those interested in Christian or religious history.

[Roy Rogers · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointedly hagiographic

[Seth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've never had a firm grasp on the sequential history of the church (Protestant or Catholic), so this was a brief and helpful overview.