What do you think?
Rate this book
Why Church History Matters: An Invitation to Love and Learn from Our Past
Does it matter how Christians in other times and places thought?If the Bible alone is God?s revelation, why spend time studying church history?Aren?t history and tradition more of a problem than a solution?For many Christians whobelieve the Bible is the ultimate authority for faith and life, questions about the role and value of the church's traditions can be difficult to tackle. But let's be even those of us who admit that church history is important are often toointimidated or busy to delve into it deeply. And for students, it is sometimes difficult to see how church history matters in practical ways for future vocations inside and outside the contemporary church.In this wide-ranging book, veteran teacher Bob Rea tackles these barriers to understanding and embracing the significance of the faith and practice of our spiritual forefathers. In three parts he covers how Christians understand church tradition, why it is beneficial to broaden our horizons ofcommunity and how tradition helps us understand ministry. Rea not only skillfully explains why church history matters―he shows why it should matter to us.
233 pages, Paperback
First published June 5, 2014
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
August 15, 2016
It is tempting for well-meaning Christians to simply open up the Bible, read it and assume their initial understandings are what the text means. Or, beyond that, we may listen to people in our church or our family or friends to get insight. The problem is that if we go no further then this, the voices we are hearing can become an echo chamber, simply reinforcing what we already know and believe. Each of us brings assumptions and presuppositions to the text and for many of us, those closest in our early faith formation, our church and family, had similar assumptions and presuppositions.
This is why it is important to listen to voices who are different from us. Such voices may come from the wider geographical church, Christians from different cultures and languages. Or they may come from the long history of the Church, Christians who lived and died in drastically different settings then we live in. Bob Rea's book is driven by a passion to show that the history that has filled the two millennia between the Bible and now is important.
For some Christians of a more traditional bent, this is obvious. Other Christians may resist tradition, saying all we need is the Bible. Rea by no means denigrates the Bible, but one of his points is that everyone has tradition whether they realize and admit it or not. Tradition and history can play a role much like other living people can play a role, giving us a further voice from people made in God's image who love and desire to live for Jesus.
The examples can be big and small. If you go to seminary, or even study scripture at a university, the default method is the historical-critical method. The idea goes that if you learn the history and culture and original language grammar and such then you can get what the text is saying. Yet this method has not always been the default. While things like allegory and typology are sometimes looked at skeptically, the church has a long history of utilizing these methods. Further, against the idea of objectivity, most Christians would have argued you cannot understand the text without some skin in the game. Rea shows that more theologians and Bible scholars are realizing this, with reference to Christians through the centuries showing up in commentaries and theologies.
On a smaller scale, learning from spiritual mentors can be tremendously beneficial. Rea mentions the fifth-century monk John Cassian as his mentor. There is much value in laying aside the popular contemporary Christian books (there's the echo chamber again) and reading early church theologians, monastics, mystics, reformers and others. Again, Rea is not saying to read such writings in place of the Bible. Instead, the point is that reading these people alongside of our reading of scripture both enriches our understanding of scripture and life lived with Jesus.
Overall, I highly recommend this book. If you are a Christian who has always been curious about the history of the church, this book could be a good place to start. It does not go into detail on history, but provides enough to whet your appetite to want to learn more. If the sheer noise of our culture's ethical, moral and political debates gives you a headache, learning about and reading the great spiritual teachers of the past can be a remedy. I think every pastor should read this book, and it is not a bad investment for any other Christian.
Full disclosure: Dr. Rea was my advisor at seminary and advised my masters thesis in historical theology, so I am not exactly unbiased. But seriously, its a good book.
This is why it is important to listen to voices who are different from us. Such voices may come from the wider geographical church, Christians from different cultures and languages. Or they may come from the long history of the Church, Christians who lived and died in drastically different settings then we live in. Bob Rea's book is driven by a passion to show that the history that has filled the two millennia between the Bible and now is important.
For some Christians of a more traditional bent, this is obvious. Other Christians may resist tradition, saying all we need is the Bible. Rea by no means denigrates the Bible, but one of his points is that everyone has tradition whether they realize and admit it or not. Tradition and history can play a role much like other living people can play a role, giving us a further voice from people made in God's image who love and desire to live for Jesus.
The examples can be big and small. If you go to seminary, or even study scripture at a university, the default method is the historical-critical method. The idea goes that if you learn the history and culture and original language grammar and such then you can get what the text is saying. Yet this method has not always been the default. While things like allegory and typology are sometimes looked at skeptically, the church has a long history of utilizing these methods. Further, against the idea of objectivity, most Christians would have argued you cannot understand the text without some skin in the game. Rea shows that more theologians and Bible scholars are realizing this, with reference to Christians through the centuries showing up in commentaries and theologies.
On a smaller scale, learning from spiritual mentors can be tremendously beneficial. Rea mentions the fifth-century monk John Cassian as his mentor. There is much value in laying aside the popular contemporary Christian books (there's the echo chamber again) and reading early church theologians, monastics, mystics, reformers and others. Again, Rea is not saying to read such writings in place of the Bible. Instead, the point is that reading these people alongside of our reading of scripture both enriches our understanding of scripture and life lived with Jesus.
Overall, I highly recommend this book. If you are a Christian who has always been curious about the history of the church, this book could be a good place to start. It does not go into detail on history, but provides enough to whet your appetite to want to learn more. If the sheer noise of our culture's ethical, moral and political debates gives you a headache, learning about and reading the great spiritual teachers of the past can be a remedy. I think every pastor should read this book, and it is not a bad investment for any other Christian.
Full disclosure: Dr. Rea was my advisor at seminary and advised my masters thesis in historical theology, so I am not exactly unbiased. But seriously, its a good book.
May 13, 2026
I read this book for my master's degree, and I really enjoyed it! It is a very interesting look at the whys behind studying church history. What does church history teach us? How does knowing church history help us minister to others? It is not dry at all, but feels like a lecture from a really engaging professor. I highly recommed it.
April 2, 2022
Why Church History Matters: An Invitation to Love and Learn from our Past is a gracious apology addressed to Christians who would classify themselves as “Bible focused” and may have hesitation to church history and tradition. In his Introduction, Robert Rea lays out the structure of the book consisting of three main parts. The aim of this book is found in Part 2 with Part 1 defining the necessary terms and Part 3 being the application. He says in Part 2 that he is attempting to show that the study of church history is “foundational for forming personal and corporate identity, for experiencing broad Christian community, for providing contemporary accountability, and for bringing theological balance by expanding horizons and filling theological gaps.” (Introduction)
With this work being addressed to “Bible focused Christians” Section 1 begins with defining terms and what is meant when the word “tradition” is used. He begins by first giving four uses of the term. There is “Tradition” used in a magisterial sense by Rome and the Orthodox, “T/tradition” used by Protestants but in a ministerial sense, “traditions” in the sense of differing denominations/schools of thought, and “traditioning” as the transmission of tradition. He says that his use will be an “all of the above use” that is synonymous for Christian history, church history, and historical theology. (Chap. 1) With all Christians being a part of this history, he shows that tradition is unavoidable and that while Scripture takes preeminence, “tradition empowers Christians to study Scripture more effectively, understand theology in dialogue with the historical Christian community, and express their faith more intentionally.” (Chap. 1)
Before showing this benefit of tradition, Rea gives a short history of how the Church has developed in her understanding of Scripture and tradition and where that development has brought us today. Overall he shows how Scripture and tradition began being nearly synonymous but over time became separate concepts especially in the West. When looking at where this development has brought the Church today, he examines the understanding of both those affirming and not affirming apostolic succession. He reflects on how the abuses in the West has created a suspicion in the minds of many Bible focused Protestants towards tradition but again emphasizes it’s necessity.
Part 2 is titled “Expanding Circles of Inquiry” which gets its name from a diagram showing the range of influence from closest friends to Christians across all centuries (Part 2 Introduction) This diagram will be helpful as he addresses the benefit of church history from four perspectives. Those four perspectives are Christian identity, community, accountability, and balance. It is in this section that he argues the point of the book. Beginning with that first perspective, Rea wants his readers to recognize a shared identity with the Church of all ages. While many Protestants tend to begin with the establishment of their own tradition, he wants people to realize that all Christians are a part of one trunk. While historical developments and controversies have resulted in more narrow groups, all are attached to the same trunk but through other branches. (Chap. 4) This shared identity is foundational for a shared community that listens to and benefits from one another. This is the foundation of the accountability that follows. In relation to this accountability he says, “One safeguard is to consider the positions of teachers throughout history…The ideal is to find convergence across the centuries—consensus fidelium, the consensus of the faithful.” (Chap. 6) By learning from Christians across different times, cultures, and statuses, this brings about a mutual edification and balance in emphasis. With each generation of the Church learning from her past, she continues to be influenced by the people of God rather than the fallen world around her.
The final section of the book shows what this looks like in the life of the Church. Rea begins with a development of exegesis showing how Christians have interpreted the Bible through the centuries. The consensus of the faithful was that the Old and New Testament Scriptures were the authoritative Word of God, but there were differences in hermeneutical approaches. Attention is given to the schools of Antioch and Alexandria with Antioch championing a more literal exegesis and Alexandria favoring a spiritual meaning with typology and allegory. (Chap. 8) Eventually the four-fold approach would gain dominance with passages containing an historical, allegorical, anagogical, and tropological meaning. While this approach continued, the historical/literal meaning always remained foundational, and when controversies arose later, its felt objectivity gave it prominence. This desire to understand the original intent of the biblical authors brought about more interest in the biblical languages, textual criticism, translations, and commentaries. Rea points to the benefit of all of this saying, “When we study historic exegetes and their interpretations, more ancient and more recent, and integrate historic understandings with historical-analyses, we remove obstacles to proper interpretation, we expand possibilities for understanding, and we maximize the effectiveness of our study.” (Chap. 8) This last statement is the answer to why church history matters.
Rea wonderfully shows the practical benefit of church history to those who may view the subject as an unnecessary distraction from “just reading the Bible.” While I think he does a great job challenging Bible focused Christians to study church history, it might have been helpful to speak to the challenges they may face once they begin to study church history as well. Students may see the diversity of opinion throughout the centuries and question whether the truth of God’s Word can be confidently believed at all. They may read of violence and corruption within the Church and question whether this can truly be called the people of God. Earlier, Rea gave the example of Protestants being “branches” of one “trunk,” but when Bible focused Christians start to expand their circles of inquiry, they are sure to interact with Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodox who object to being called a branch and assert that they are the trunk. Additionally, there may be challenges when dealing with one’s own tradition. A strong emphasis of this work is the ecumenicism that comes along with studying church history, however the student will be sure to find out that many in his own tradition may not be so excited to expand their circles of inquiry as well. These are real challenges that come with the study of church history, and it would have been nice to see these or similar challenges addressed.
That being said, working through the challenges of church history will result in great benefit to the teaching and worship of the Church. In his final chapter he shows the importance of historical theology to all areas of church life. With Evangelicalism’s suspicion of tradition, there is often a virtue given to “just studying the Bible for yourself” or “listening to the Word of God and not the words of men” when discussing creeds, confessions, and commentaries. Bible focused Christians must recognize that this is not a biblical virtue. The Lord has intended that His people be a community founded upon the Scriptures where those holding ministerial authority are tasked with teaching that Word. This work is a great challenge to the “me and my Bible” mindset as it encourages Christians to pay attention to all of God’s people as they desire to come together in unity.
With this work being addressed to “Bible focused Christians” Section 1 begins with defining terms and what is meant when the word “tradition” is used. He begins by first giving four uses of the term. There is “Tradition” used in a magisterial sense by Rome and the Orthodox, “T/tradition” used by Protestants but in a ministerial sense, “traditions” in the sense of differing denominations/schools of thought, and “traditioning” as the transmission of tradition. He says that his use will be an “all of the above use” that is synonymous for Christian history, church history, and historical theology. (Chap. 1) With all Christians being a part of this history, he shows that tradition is unavoidable and that while Scripture takes preeminence, “tradition empowers Christians to study Scripture more effectively, understand theology in dialogue with the historical Christian community, and express their faith more intentionally.” (Chap. 1)
Before showing this benefit of tradition, Rea gives a short history of how the Church has developed in her understanding of Scripture and tradition and where that development has brought us today. Overall he shows how Scripture and tradition began being nearly synonymous but over time became separate concepts especially in the West. When looking at where this development has brought the Church today, he examines the understanding of both those affirming and not affirming apostolic succession. He reflects on how the abuses in the West has created a suspicion in the minds of many Bible focused Protestants towards tradition but again emphasizes it’s necessity.
Part 2 is titled “Expanding Circles of Inquiry” which gets its name from a diagram showing the range of influence from closest friends to Christians across all centuries (Part 2 Introduction) This diagram will be helpful as he addresses the benefit of church history from four perspectives. Those four perspectives are Christian identity, community, accountability, and balance. It is in this section that he argues the point of the book. Beginning with that first perspective, Rea wants his readers to recognize a shared identity with the Church of all ages. While many Protestants tend to begin with the establishment of their own tradition, he wants people to realize that all Christians are a part of one trunk. While historical developments and controversies have resulted in more narrow groups, all are attached to the same trunk but through other branches. (Chap. 4) This shared identity is foundational for a shared community that listens to and benefits from one another. This is the foundation of the accountability that follows. In relation to this accountability he says, “One safeguard is to consider the positions of teachers throughout history…The ideal is to find convergence across the centuries—consensus fidelium, the consensus of the faithful.” (Chap. 6) By learning from Christians across different times, cultures, and statuses, this brings about a mutual edification and balance in emphasis. With each generation of the Church learning from her past, she continues to be influenced by the people of God rather than the fallen world around her.
The final section of the book shows what this looks like in the life of the Church. Rea begins with a development of exegesis showing how Christians have interpreted the Bible through the centuries. The consensus of the faithful was that the Old and New Testament Scriptures were the authoritative Word of God, but there were differences in hermeneutical approaches. Attention is given to the schools of Antioch and Alexandria with Antioch championing a more literal exegesis and Alexandria favoring a spiritual meaning with typology and allegory. (Chap. 8) Eventually the four-fold approach would gain dominance with passages containing an historical, allegorical, anagogical, and tropological meaning. While this approach continued, the historical/literal meaning always remained foundational, and when controversies arose later, its felt objectivity gave it prominence. This desire to understand the original intent of the biblical authors brought about more interest in the biblical languages, textual criticism, translations, and commentaries. Rea points to the benefit of all of this saying, “When we study historic exegetes and their interpretations, more ancient and more recent, and integrate historic understandings with historical-analyses, we remove obstacles to proper interpretation, we expand possibilities for understanding, and we maximize the effectiveness of our study.” (Chap. 8) This last statement is the answer to why church history matters.
Rea wonderfully shows the practical benefit of church history to those who may view the subject as an unnecessary distraction from “just reading the Bible.” While I think he does a great job challenging Bible focused Christians to study church history, it might have been helpful to speak to the challenges they may face once they begin to study church history as well. Students may see the diversity of opinion throughout the centuries and question whether the truth of God’s Word can be confidently believed at all. They may read of violence and corruption within the Church and question whether this can truly be called the people of God. Earlier, Rea gave the example of Protestants being “branches” of one “trunk,” but when Bible focused Christians start to expand their circles of inquiry, they are sure to interact with Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodox who object to being called a branch and assert that they are the trunk. Additionally, there may be challenges when dealing with one’s own tradition. A strong emphasis of this work is the ecumenicism that comes along with studying church history, however the student will be sure to find out that many in his own tradition may not be so excited to expand their circles of inquiry as well. These are real challenges that come with the study of church history, and it would have been nice to see these or similar challenges addressed.
That being said, working through the challenges of church history will result in great benefit to the teaching and worship of the Church. In his final chapter he shows the importance of historical theology to all areas of church life. With Evangelicalism’s suspicion of tradition, there is often a virtue given to “just studying the Bible for yourself” or “listening to the Word of God and not the words of men” when discussing creeds, confessions, and commentaries. Bible focused Christians must recognize that this is not a biblical virtue. The Lord has intended that His people be a community founded upon the Scriptures where those holding ministerial authority are tasked with teaching that Word. This work is a great challenge to the “me and my Bible” mindset as it encourages Christians to pay attention to all of God’s people as they desire to come together in unity.
January 7, 2015
An inspiring but tedious book
If you want a book on the value of church history this is worth your time, but I think you will get more for your effort by reading "On Doing Church History."
If you want a book on the value of church history this is worth your time, but I think you will get more for your effort by reading "On Doing Church History."
July 13, 2023
There are some helpful nuggets and concepts here and there in this book on why studying church history and tradition really do matter for understanding Scripture and living the Christian life. Some sections are more helpful than others. Given the tradition from which Rea comes and his affection for the historical-critical method of biblical interpretation, there are substantive points of disagreement I have with this book.
I do agree that evangelical Christians really do need to move past a simplistic understanding of tradition as bad. What can be called "traditionalism" certainly is bad. Yet, the Christian tradition is rich and deeply instructive for Bible-believing evangelicals. I daresay even approaching essential. The reality is that everyone borrows from and perpetuates elements of tradition. When you use the word Trinity, affirm that Christ is fully God and fully man, argue for the priority of the gospel in missions, even contend for the meaning of biblical texts in their literal sense, and a whole host of other things, you are firmly standing upon the shoulders of giants whom the Holy Spirit has used to build His Church over the centuries.
The book begins by telling a fascinating story of when Rea was before his doctoral examiners in a Roman Catholic university asking him, a conservative Protestant, why he thought he needed anything other than the Bible. That question and subsequent reflection would eventually lead to this book. Downplaying tradition and theology, and ignoring "centuries of God-loving Christians and the rich well of resources that they have passed on to us" (15) have not helped the church. In fact, Rea says that in so doing we have at times ignored even the Bible itself. We need the Christians, our brothers and sisters, from the centuries. What they have to offer us is foundational. Their insights and blind spots are instructive.
The purpose of this book is to call Christians who love God's Word to study and learn from Christians of the past. By doing so, we will better understand the Bible and theology, as well as "experience a fuller Christian life." (15) Such interaction will help us on many fronts with respect to biblical understanding, doctrine, and clarity on our own spiritual practices. Many today have tasted of church history greats from the past and found the experience deeply helpful, which Rea argues is not surprising since Christianity is fundamentally historical. History and remembering are essential in Scripture.
In this book, Rea argues that "one cannot 'do' Christianity apart from the history of the church." (17) This book is for students who are "Bible-focused." Sadly, there is a lot of neglect, if not prejudice against Christian tradition among this group of people. Rea argues that one of the evidences of this among Protestant scholars is the differentiation of church history and historical theology into two areas of study, wherein the thought is that the historical details and context can be largely bypassed to instead focus on the thinking of certain key individuals. So, this book considers church history and historical theology as two names for the same discipline. The book also seeks to integrate this singular discipline with a lot of areas related to the study of Scripture, theology, and ministry.
I do agree that evangelical Christians really do need to move past a simplistic understanding of tradition as bad. What can be called "traditionalism" certainly is bad. Yet, the Christian tradition is rich and deeply instructive for Bible-believing evangelicals. I daresay even approaching essential. The reality is that everyone borrows from and perpetuates elements of tradition. When you use the word Trinity, affirm that Christ is fully God and fully man, argue for the priority of the gospel in missions, even contend for the meaning of biblical texts in their literal sense, and a whole host of other things, you are firmly standing upon the shoulders of giants whom the Holy Spirit has used to build His Church over the centuries.
The book begins by telling a fascinating story of when Rea was before his doctoral examiners in a Roman Catholic university asking him, a conservative Protestant, why he thought he needed anything other than the Bible. That question and subsequent reflection would eventually lead to this book. Downplaying tradition and theology, and ignoring "centuries of God-loving Christians and the rich well of resources that they have passed on to us" (15) have not helped the church. In fact, Rea says that in so doing we have at times ignored even the Bible itself. We need the Christians, our brothers and sisters, from the centuries. What they have to offer us is foundational. Their insights and blind spots are instructive.
The purpose of this book is to call Christians who love God's Word to study and learn from Christians of the past. By doing so, we will better understand the Bible and theology, as well as "experience a fuller Christian life." (15) Such interaction will help us on many fronts with respect to biblical understanding, doctrine, and clarity on our own spiritual practices. Many today have tasted of church history greats from the past and found the experience deeply helpful, which Rea argues is not surprising since Christianity is fundamentally historical. History and remembering are essential in Scripture.
In this book, Rea argues that "one cannot 'do' Christianity apart from the history of the church." (17) This book is for students who are "Bible-focused." Sadly, there is a lot of neglect, if not prejudice against Christian tradition among this group of people. Rea argues that one of the evidences of this among Protestant scholars is the differentiation of church history and historical theology into two areas of study, wherein the thought is that the historical details and context can be largely bypassed to instead focus on the thinking of certain key individuals. So, this book considers church history and historical theology as two names for the same discipline. The book also seeks to integrate this singular discipline with a lot of areas related to the study of Scripture, theology, and ministry.
March 26, 2023
I was raised in a tradition that never really talked about church history, and this book helped me gain a greater appreciation for it. The style is straightforward and easy to understand. Everyone from Sunday School teachers to veteran pastors can benefit from reading this book. I also appreciate the unbiased approach of the book. The author is fair to everyone on the Christian spectrum.
October 25, 2024
(I had to read this for a class.) Helpful and useful. This book is targeted towards people for whom the question "Why does church history matter?" is a struggle. For those to whom the question is obvious, it is a helpful reminder of the basics of why we confess one, holy, catholic, and apostolic church, regardless of which tradition one may be a part of.
February 4, 2022
I absolutely loved this book. I wish all of my friends in the evangelical world would read it and digest it. We have so many resources at our fingertips if only we commit to become students of church history!
December 16, 2022
I liked it more than I expected to. It was easy to read and gave a compelling argument for why church history matters and how it impacts today's church.
August 20, 2023
I enjoyed it, and found Dr. Rea's insights into the importance of studying church history useful and persuasive. I think it could have been a little shorter and still accomplished its goal.
September 1, 2014
Why learn about church history? This is particularly an important question for Christians committed to a biblical faith. Isn't the Bible enough? Isn't tradition a bad thing, a kind of institutional legalism that takes us away from the heart of the gospel and the vitality of the early church in the book of Acts?
Robert F. Rea meets these questions "head on" in a book that I hope will see wide usage. His basic argument is that when we ignore the thought and actions of Christians throughout history and from other cultures, what we more likely do is create a culturally captive Christianity that is a "Christianized" reflection of the culture in which we are embedded. Only as we "commune with the saints" across history and culture and understand how they read and applied the Bible can our expression of Christianity "sync" with theirs and have a hope of being the startlingly fresh word the world needs.
Rea begins with discussing "tradition", which he uses in "the general sense as a synonym for Christian history, church history, or historical theology..."(p. 29). He recognizes that tradition is necessary and inevitable while recognizing that particular traditions may be good or bad. He then explores how "tradition" has been understood in relationship to scripture throughout the history of the church. He begins by showing that in the early church scripture and tradition were compatible--the clarification of the meaning of scripture by the early fathers and councils gave shape to orthodoxy. He traces this through the Great Schism of 1054 and the issue of papal primacy, the Reformation period and the heightened emphasis on scripture and subordination of tradition, down through to the present and the renewed interest in some sectors of the church in patristics and the role of tradition in Christian understanding. He then summarizes the role of tradition among the major current streams of the church. What is significant for him is that tradition plays a role in all of these, even though the relation of biblical authority, ecclesial authority, and tradition will be defined differently.
The second part of his book looks at the expanding circles of inquiry that are necessary to explore as we talk about church history beginning with our immediate circle, our congregation, our faith tradition, our shared theological outlook, contrasting theologies, other cultures, and across the centuries. He considers how our identity is shaped and modified as we expand our circles of interaction. He emphasizes how the cloud of witnesses across the centuries give us models for living, help us recognize false belief, and help us confront persecution and difficult ethical choices. We also practice accountability across the centuries, both allowing prior formulations of biblical understanding and practice to critique ours, as well as sometimes engaging the beliefs and practices we think inadequately reflected biblical faithfulness. We both avoid past errors and learn from past responses to error. Theologians from the past can mentor us--filling in gaps, helping us think in different categories, and as we listen to the conversation across the centuries, come to understand the "consensus of the faithful" where this exists.
In his third section he explores the usefulness of tradition to biblical exegesis and proposes a model that incorporates not only the historical-critical approaches we most commonly use but listens to how our contemporaries in our own and other cultures read scripture and how Christians through history have read scripture. Hopefully, these understandings agree but when they do not, he raises the possibility of multiple levels of understanding, which was certainly accepted by biblical writers as well as many of the early fathers. Some may be critical of Rea here, but what challenges me is that writers of the New Testament themselves sometimes interpreted scripture in other than historical-critical ways.
He concludes with exploring the uses of church history for systematic theology, which must interact with both biblical and historical theology; spirituality, drawing on the spiritual writers and formative traditions the church has learned from down the centuries. He also considers other topics such as worship, mission, ethics, compassion, and Christian unity and how an understanding of church history can enrich and inform our efforts in each of these areas.
Rea makes a good case here that biblical faithfulness may be enhanced rather than diminished as we study the scriptures with the saints across history and culture. He provides examples throughout and resources at the end to help underscore his case. Rea's book not only makes the study of church history appealing to those who would identify as "Bible" Christians; he also lays the groundwork for a vibrant Christianity that evades the shackles of cultural captivity and heals the schisms of the past.
Robert F. Rea meets these questions "head on" in a book that I hope will see wide usage. His basic argument is that when we ignore the thought and actions of Christians throughout history and from other cultures, what we more likely do is create a culturally captive Christianity that is a "Christianized" reflection of the culture in which we are embedded. Only as we "commune with the saints" across history and culture and understand how they read and applied the Bible can our expression of Christianity "sync" with theirs and have a hope of being the startlingly fresh word the world needs.
Rea begins with discussing "tradition", which he uses in "the general sense as a synonym for Christian history, church history, or historical theology..."(p. 29). He recognizes that tradition is necessary and inevitable while recognizing that particular traditions may be good or bad. He then explores how "tradition" has been understood in relationship to scripture throughout the history of the church. He begins by showing that in the early church scripture and tradition were compatible--the clarification of the meaning of scripture by the early fathers and councils gave shape to orthodoxy. He traces this through the Great Schism of 1054 and the issue of papal primacy, the Reformation period and the heightened emphasis on scripture and subordination of tradition, down through to the present and the renewed interest in some sectors of the church in patristics and the role of tradition in Christian understanding. He then summarizes the role of tradition among the major current streams of the church. What is significant for him is that tradition plays a role in all of these, even though the relation of biblical authority, ecclesial authority, and tradition will be defined differently.
The second part of his book looks at the expanding circles of inquiry that are necessary to explore as we talk about church history beginning with our immediate circle, our congregation, our faith tradition, our shared theological outlook, contrasting theologies, other cultures, and across the centuries. He considers how our identity is shaped and modified as we expand our circles of interaction. He emphasizes how the cloud of witnesses across the centuries give us models for living, help us recognize false belief, and help us confront persecution and difficult ethical choices. We also practice accountability across the centuries, both allowing prior formulations of biblical understanding and practice to critique ours, as well as sometimes engaging the beliefs and practices we think inadequately reflected biblical faithfulness. We both avoid past errors and learn from past responses to error. Theologians from the past can mentor us--filling in gaps, helping us think in different categories, and as we listen to the conversation across the centuries, come to understand the "consensus of the faithful" where this exists.
In his third section he explores the usefulness of tradition to biblical exegesis and proposes a model that incorporates not only the historical-critical approaches we most commonly use but listens to how our contemporaries in our own and other cultures read scripture and how Christians through history have read scripture. Hopefully, these understandings agree but when they do not, he raises the possibility of multiple levels of understanding, which was certainly accepted by biblical writers as well as many of the early fathers. Some may be critical of Rea here, but what challenges me is that writers of the New Testament themselves sometimes interpreted scripture in other than historical-critical ways.
He concludes with exploring the uses of church history for systematic theology, which must interact with both biblical and historical theology; spirituality, drawing on the spiritual writers and formative traditions the church has learned from down the centuries. He also considers other topics such as worship, mission, ethics, compassion, and Christian unity and how an understanding of church history can enrich and inform our efforts in each of these areas.
Rea makes a good case here that biblical faithfulness may be enhanced rather than diminished as we study the scriptures with the saints across history and culture. He provides examples throughout and resources at the end to help underscore his case. Rea's book not only makes the study of church history appealing to those who would identify as "Bible" Christians; he also lays the groundwork for a vibrant Christianity that evades the shackles of cultural captivity and heals the schisms of the past.
November 19, 2014
Does the study of church history really matter? Being a church historian by training and having taught church history I have had to offer an answer to that question on many an occasion. Students often come into a church history class with a predisposition against it. Seminarians often see church history as course requirement that is irrelevant to their future oriented call to ministry. What can we learn from history except perhaps negative things? With a progressive vision that marks both theologically conservative and theologically liberal folks, they assume that we must know more than our forebearers. Of course, I disagree with them, and do my best to disabuse them of this notion.
In this book Robert Rea, a church historian affiliated with a seminary/college in a branch of the Stone-Campbell Movement, offers his own apology for the study of Church History. His target audience is what he calls "Bible-Focused Christians." In other words, conservative evangelicals who seek to follow the religion of scripture, but who it seems (I would concur from experience) find little of value in the past. Rea seeks to show how those within this movement would benefit from the interpretive and illustrative gifts of their spiritual ancestors.
The book is divided into three major sections. Part 1 speaks to the way we understand tradition. Here he offers his take on the definition of tradition, shares how Christians have understood tradition down through the ages, and then offers his take on how it is understood today -- noting the difference between those who hold to apostolic succession (the idea that the current ministry of the church descends in an unbroken line from the apostles through the historic episcopate -- Roman Catholics, Orthodox, Anglican) and those who do not affirm apostolic succession (everyone else!).
Part 2 focuses on what Rea calls "expanding circles of inquiry." In this section of the book the author seeks to show how the study of church history can help form spiritual/Christian identity. He notes that our circle of inquiry starts narrowly within the congregation and then the denomination/movement, but suggests we would be enriched if we can see ourselves as the descendants of that Great Cloud of Witnesses, with whom we share community by imbibing their works and witness. This expanding circle of witnesses can provide accountability, helping us see how our own visions and experiences match earlier Christians. We can also see these Christians as our spiritual mentors.
Part 3 responds to the ever present question of relevance. After all, why read history if it has no relevance to what we are doing now in the present. Of course those of us who love history can read it for enjoyment, but not everyone gets a kick out of reading about a group of 18th century high church Anglicans who separated themselves from the established church because of their political loyalties (I'm speaking here of the Nonjurors, my area of study). For everyone else, Robert Rea shows us how our spiritual ancestors can help us read scripture, engage in ministry thorugh preaching, spirituality, worship, ethics, and more.
Why does Church History matter? Rea concludes that hit allows us to "celebrate the body of Christ!" (p. 192). It does this by broadening our vision of the body to include not only those who share life with us in our congregations or even denominations, but reaching out across the communion of saints.
Some caveats here. I liked the book, but recognize that I'm not the target audience. The constant recitation of the phrase "Bible-focused Christians" was distracting, especially when I realized that I am no longer part of that community. Though not a common occurrence, the few mentions of liberal/progressive Christians were at times expressed through unfortunate stereotypes.
The audience is conservative evangelical -- for the most part -- who are struggling to make sense of the value of history. While I recognize that Rea is speaking to this evangelical audience, I was hoping he would connect his own journey into history with the often ahistorical nature of the Stone-Campbell Movement. Perhaps he didn't want to offend colleagues, but our shared tradition has often discounted everything that existed beteween the first century to the enlightenment of Thomas and Alexander Campbell in the 19th century. That would have been a useful case study.
It is a useful book, though for those in the Mainline a similar but different book would be most helpful.
In this book Robert Rea, a church historian affiliated with a seminary/college in a branch of the Stone-Campbell Movement, offers his own apology for the study of Church History. His target audience is what he calls "Bible-Focused Christians." In other words, conservative evangelicals who seek to follow the religion of scripture, but who it seems (I would concur from experience) find little of value in the past. Rea seeks to show how those within this movement would benefit from the interpretive and illustrative gifts of their spiritual ancestors.
The book is divided into three major sections. Part 1 speaks to the way we understand tradition. Here he offers his take on the definition of tradition, shares how Christians have understood tradition down through the ages, and then offers his take on how it is understood today -- noting the difference between those who hold to apostolic succession (the idea that the current ministry of the church descends in an unbroken line from the apostles through the historic episcopate -- Roman Catholics, Orthodox, Anglican) and those who do not affirm apostolic succession (everyone else!).
Part 2 focuses on what Rea calls "expanding circles of inquiry." In this section of the book the author seeks to show how the study of church history can help form spiritual/Christian identity. He notes that our circle of inquiry starts narrowly within the congregation and then the denomination/movement, but suggests we would be enriched if we can see ourselves as the descendants of that Great Cloud of Witnesses, with whom we share community by imbibing their works and witness. This expanding circle of witnesses can provide accountability, helping us see how our own visions and experiences match earlier Christians. We can also see these Christians as our spiritual mentors.
Part 3 responds to the ever present question of relevance. After all, why read history if it has no relevance to what we are doing now in the present. Of course those of us who love history can read it for enjoyment, but not everyone gets a kick out of reading about a group of 18th century high church Anglicans who separated themselves from the established church because of their political loyalties (I'm speaking here of the Nonjurors, my area of study). For everyone else, Robert Rea shows us how our spiritual ancestors can help us read scripture, engage in ministry thorugh preaching, spirituality, worship, ethics, and more.
Why does Church History matter? Rea concludes that hit allows us to "celebrate the body of Christ!" (p. 192). It does this by broadening our vision of the body to include not only those who share life with us in our congregations or even denominations, but reaching out across the communion of saints.
Some caveats here. I liked the book, but recognize that I'm not the target audience. The constant recitation of the phrase "Bible-focused Christians" was distracting, especially when I realized that I am no longer part of that community. Though not a common occurrence, the few mentions of liberal/progressive Christians were at times expressed through unfortunate stereotypes.
The audience is conservative evangelical -- for the most part -- who are struggling to make sense of the value of history. While I recognize that Rea is speaking to this evangelical audience, I was hoping he would connect his own journey into history with the often ahistorical nature of the Stone-Campbell Movement. Perhaps he didn't want to offend colleagues, but our shared tradition has often discounted everything that existed beteween the first century to the enlightenment of Thomas and Alexander Campbell in the 19th century. That would have been a useful case study.
It is a useful book, though for those in the Mainline a similar but different book would be most helpful.
March 17, 2016
Robert F. Rea, a professor of church history, wrote Why Church History Matters: An Invitation to Love and Learn from Our Past to fill a void he had in providing (primarily Bible and seminary) students with a resource that both explains the necessity of studying church history and instills a practical and encouraging desire to want to study it. I, too, have been hoping to find such a resource for students, so I was excited when I stumbled upon this one. After reading, I was hoping this book would be accessible to a broader audience than that for which the author intended. Granted, IVP Academic published it, but one can still hope, right?
The nature of the text makes me wonder for whom the book is really written. It seems as though it may be most helpful if taken before a history course, although without some knowledge of history one may be lost on some of the references. It’s rare that a Bible/seminary student would follow a strictly prescribed course schedule, so I’m not sure when this would be read—in some introductory course for the program, in another non-history course, or within the first week or two of a specific history course that may or may not be taken as the student’s first? Some people (like me) enjoy reading academic literature outside of educational institutions, but I don’t think this is one that’s going to be picked up by the average churchgoer who really needs something like this. So, when, where and by whom is it really going to be read? I don’t know.
The book’s sections and chapters are as follows:
Part One: How We Understand the Tradition
1. What Is the Tradition?
2. How Have We Understood Tradition Historically?
3. How Do We Understand the Tradition Today?
Part Two: Expanding Circles of Inquiry
4. Who Am I? Christian History and Christian Identity
5. A Great Cloud of Witnesses: Christian Community Across the Centuries
6. Accountability Partners: Sharing Accountability with Historic Christians
7. Mentors and Friends: Historic Christians Broaden Our Horizons and Fill Gaps in Our Understanding
Part Three: Tradition Serving the Church
8. Rightly Dividing the Word of Truth
9. Tradition and Ministry
“Part One” is fantastic and especially helpful in defining “tradition, traditions, traditioning, and Tradition” as they are used and understood among different Christian spheres, including why some people like and others oppose them. This is the most unbiased and informative section in the book, and that which I highly recommend to anyone.
“Part Two” begins with a helpful description of our spheres of influence and why it is important to become more aware of others, which should helpful increase our own spheres without being one who simply buys into anything and everything. However, the author’s particular beliefs in what is right and wrong about Christian history via specific examples begins to come out, though he never explicitly states the tradition from which he writes, perhaps distancing some readers and himself demonstrating why it is important to study church history—if one has read a good bit of history and understands more of the politicking involved in some faith decisions among some traditions he or she may see that there is more involved than just the Holy Spirit, and that power grabs sometimes win the debate, leading some to come to a different conclusion about the specific examples Rea uses.
“Part Three” takes an even more practical approach to the title’s question with an ever-increasing bias from the author’s own tradition.
If one is able to recognize the author’s biases and take them in stride, I believe this book can be quite helpful (again, if nothing else, especially “Part One”). However, as it is, the audience has been unnecessarily limited to students of particulars strains of evangelicalism, which is quite ironic given the broad spheres of past and present influence from which the author desires we pull in our understanding of the church and its continued direction.
The nature of the text makes me wonder for whom the book is really written. It seems as though it may be most helpful if taken before a history course, although without some knowledge of history one may be lost on some of the references. It’s rare that a Bible/seminary student would follow a strictly prescribed course schedule, so I’m not sure when this would be read—in some introductory course for the program, in another non-history course, or within the first week or two of a specific history course that may or may not be taken as the student’s first? Some people (like me) enjoy reading academic literature outside of educational institutions, but I don’t think this is one that’s going to be picked up by the average churchgoer who really needs something like this. So, when, where and by whom is it really going to be read? I don’t know.
The book’s sections and chapters are as follows:
Part One: How We Understand the Tradition
1. What Is the Tradition?
2. How Have We Understood Tradition Historically?
3. How Do We Understand the Tradition Today?
Part Two: Expanding Circles of Inquiry
4. Who Am I? Christian History and Christian Identity
5. A Great Cloud of Witnesses: Christian Community Across the Centuries
6. Accountability Partners: Sharing Accountability with Historic Christians
7. Mentors and Friends: Historic Christians Broaden Our Horizons and Fill Gaps in Our Understanding
Part Three: Tradition Serving the Church
8. Rightly Dividing the Word of Truth
9. Tradition and Ministry
“Part One” is fantastic and especially helpful in defining “tradition, traditions, traditioning, and Tradition” as they are used and understood among different Christian spheres, including why some people like and others oppose them. This is the most unbiased and informative section in the book, and that which I highly recommend to anyone.
“Part Two” begins with a helpful description of our spheres of influence and why it is important to become more aware of others, which should helpful increase our own spheres without being one who simply buys into anything and everything. However, the author’s particular beliefs in what is right and wrong about Christian history via specific examples begins to come out, though he never explicitly states the tradition from which he writes, perhaps distancing some readers and himself demonstrating why it is important to study church history—if one has read a good bit of history and understands more of the politicking involved in some faith decisions among some traditions he or she may see that there is more involved than just the Holy Spirit, and that power grabs sometimes win the debate, leading some to come to a different conclusion about the specific examples Rea uses.
“Part Three” takes an even more practical approach to the title’s question with an ever-increasing bias from the author’s own tradition.
If one is able to recognize the author’s biases and take them in stride, I believe this book can be quite helpful (again, if nothing else, especially “Part One”). However, as it is, the audience has been unnecessarily limited to students of particulars strains of evangelicalism, which is quite ironic given the broad spheres of past and present influence from which the author desires we pull in our understanding of the church and its continued direction.
August 25, 2014
Author: Robert Rea
Publisher: IVP Academic
Reading Level: Moderate
Pages: 233
ISBN: 0830828192
“When we ignore centuries of God-loving Christians and the rich well of resources that they have passed on to us, sometimes ignoring even Scripture itself in the process, our perceived needs are often little more than mirrors of our fallen culture. We need these earlier Christians. We need our brothers and sisters in Christ.” (15)
An Invitation to Love and Learn from Our Past is the descriptive subtitle to Robert Rea’s book Why Church History Matter (henceforth History Matters). A professor of church history at Lincoln Christian University, Robert Rea writes History Matters, to answer important questions such as “If the Bible is God’s revelation, why spend time studying the history of the church’s teach and practice?” as well as “Why should I care what Christians in other times and other places believed and how they acted?” (14).
For many Christian traditions the church’s history matters immensely (e.g. Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic and Anglican, 60-69). Thus Rea’s target audience throughout History Matters is “Bible-focused Christians” (17) who have a tendency “to de-emphasize or ignore the history of the church” (18). This audience influences the entire flow of History Matters. Rea covers introducing definitions for church traditions and historical perspectives (part 1), motivating study of church history for accountable Christian community (part 2) and pinpointing particular ways church history helps in modern ministry (part 3).
Although Rea demonstrates that “Bible-focused Protestants” have not always ignored tradition (70-74), History Matters contains multiple challenges to said contemporary communities that “have all the ingredients necessary to find themselves in a loss of real Christian community” (98). In this, Rea emphasizes the strong individualism and contemporary nature of exegesis (the presumed superiority of historical-grammatical). Rea points out the tendency of conversion oriented communities to glorify “personal experience” (98-99) to the present church community’s detriment, as well as hindering its relationship with Christian community of the past. Part 2 of History Matters address this issue with two excellent chapters on “Accountability Partners” (chapter 6) and “Mentors and Friends” (chapter 7). In Part 3, Rea spends a significant amount of time on the relationship modern exegesis and interpretation has with the church. History Matters provides a hermeneutical overview and practical reflections on the nature of historical-grammatical approaches used by scholars and pastors alike (chapter 8). This is all done to encourage and challenge Bible-focused Christians to learn from church history.
In conclusion, Why Church History Matters is a good volume on the importance of studying church history. Its maximum exposure should be in the evangelical, Bible-centered churches filled with pastors and laymen without a sincere appreciation for church history. Thus Why Church History Matters makes a fine book for Bible study, classrooms and private study. That being stated, Robert Rea provides few new concepts, intentionally, for individuals coming from traditions that admire and respect church history. Though encouraging, individuals convinced of history’s importance would be better served reading a thorough recounting of church history.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."
Publisher: IVP Academic
Reading Level: Moderate
Pages: 233
ISBN: 0830828192
“When we ignore centuries of God-loving Christians and the rich well of resources that they have passed on to us, sometimes ignoring even Scripture itself in the process, our perceived needs are often little more than mirrors of our fallen culture. We need these earlier Christians. We need our brothers and sisters in Christ.” (15)
An Invitation to Love and Learn from Our Past is the descriptive subtitle to Robert Rea’s book Why Church History Matter (henceforth History Matters). A professor of church history at Lincoln Christian University, Robert Rea writes History Matters, to answer important questions such as “If the Bible is God’s revelation, why spend time studying the history of the church’s teach and practice?” as well as “Why should I care what Christians in other times and other places believed and how they acted?” (14).
For many Christian traditions the church’s history matters immensely (e.g. Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic and Anglican, 60-69). Thus Rea’s target audience throughout History Matters is “Bible-focused Christians” (17) who have a tendency “to de-emphasize or ignore the history of the church” (18). This audience influences the entire flow of History Matters. Rea covers introducing definitions for church traditions and historical perspectives (part 1), motivating study of church history for accountable Christian community (part 2) and pinpointing particular ways church history helps in modern ministry (part 3).
Although Rea demonstrates that “Bible-focused Protestants” have not always ignored tradition (70-74), History Matters contains multiple challenges to said contemporary communities that “have all the ingredients necessary to find themselves in a loss of real Christian community” (98). In this, Rea emphasizes the strong individualism and contemporary nature of exegesis (the presumed superiority of historical-grammatical). Rea points out the tendency of conversion oriented communities to glorify “personal experience” (98-99) to the present church community’s detriment, as well as hindering its relationship with Christian community of the past. Part 2 of History Matters address this issue with two excellent chapters on “Accountability Partners” (chapter 6) and “Mentors and Friends” (chapter 7). In Part 3, Rea spends a significant amount of time on the relationship modern exegesis and interpretation has with the church. History Matters provides a hermeneutical overview and practical reflections on the nature of historical-grammatical approaches used by scholars and pastors alike (chapter 8). This is all done to encourage and challenge Bible-focused Christians to learn from church history.
In conclusion, Why Church History Matters is a good volume on the importance of studying church history. Its maximum exposure should be in the evangelical, Bible-centered churches filled with pastors and laymen without a sincere appreciation for church history. Thus Why Church History Matters makes a fine book for Bible study, classrooms and private study. That being stated, Robert Rea provides few new concepts, intentionally, for individuals coming from traditions that admire and respect church history. Though encouraging, individuals convinced of history’s importance would be better served reading a thorough recounting of church history.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."
July 31, 2014
Robert F. Rea’s new work, Why Church History Matters: An Invitation to Love and Learn from Our Past, is a well-needed clarion call to all Christian traditions that have largely ignored the history of their faith. I have considered church history a vital part of Christian discipleship for many years and in this book Rea clearly spells out many reasons why this is so. In fact, I believe that both Christian churches and Christian schools should be careful to form their children in Church history as much as (if not more) than national history. Thus, I enjoyed Rea’s book and firmly believe that his message is an extremely important one for the Protestant church to hear.
The book is divided into three parts: 1 – How We Understand Tradition, 2 – Expanding Circles of Inquiry, and 3 – Tradition Serving the Church. Part one of Rea’s work explores the meaning of history and tradition and takes a special look at how various groups have understood and related to Christian tradition throughout Christian history. This serves as a helpful background to his discussion on how various Christians understand tradition today. Part two of the book serves to explore the many ways that our Christian identity is necessarily connected to the brothers and sisters who have come before us. He discusses how Christian tradition is actually a vibrant part of the Christian community, how historical Christians can serve as accountability partners, and how they can helpfully broaden our views and correct misunderstandings in our faith. Part three of Rea’s work explores how a proper understanding of Christian history helps the church both understand Scripture and minister more faithfully. Rea helpfully walks through the various strategies of exegesis that have been characteristic of different time periods in church history and gives practical examples of how these historical truths might inform responsible exegesis today.
For the most part, Rea’s book is plenty accessible to students and lay readers. There are times where he condenses a lot of information/names/theories in a few pages (such as when surveying the history of “tradition” from the early Church to the modern period or when detailing the history of exegesis from the early church to the modern period). This may seem overwhelming to novices or, alternatively, over-simplified to those with further education. Rea’s book reads as an apologetic for Christians to know their history and integrate it into their lives, faiths, and ministries appropriately. With this goal in mind, I found Part Two of his work to be the most engaging and practical portion of his book. Ultimately, I believe that an actual primary study of church history is the best way to open one’s eyes up to its incredible importance for today’s church. Thankfully, Rea ends his book with a list of recommended resources – personally, I recommend starting with Justo Gonzalez’ The Story of Christianity.
I’d Recommend This Book For:
– Those wanting to know “why” they should care about Church History
– Those looking for a brief overview of Church History
– Perhaps as a textbook for an introductory undergraduate class on Church History
– Perhaps a church small group unfamiliar with church history yet wishing to dig into it.
The book is divided into three parts: 1 – How We Understand Tradition, 2 – Expanding Circles of Inquiry, and 3 – Tradition Serving the Church. Part one of Rea’s work explores the meaning of history and tradition and takes a special look at how various groups have understood and related to Christian tradition throughout Christian history. This serves as a helpful background to his discussion on how various Christians understand tradition today. Part two of the book serves to explore the many ways that our Christian identity is necessarily connected to the brothers and sisters who have come before us. He discusses how Christian tradition is actually a vibrant part of the Christian community, how historical Christians can serve as accountability partners, and how they can helpfully broaden our views and correct misunderstandings in our faith. Part three of Rea’s work explores how a proper understanding of Christian history helps the church both understand Scripture and minister more faithfully. Rea helpfully walks through the various strategies of exegesis that have been characteristic of different time periods in church history and gives practical examples of how these historical truths might inform responsible exegesis today.
For the most part, Rea’s book is plenty accessible to students and lay readers. There are times where he condenses a lot of information/names/theories in a few pages (such as when surveying the history of “tradition” from the early Church to the modern period or when detailing the history of exegesis from the early church to the modern period). This may seem overwhelming to novices or, alternatively, over-simplified to those with further education. Rea’s book reads as an apologetic for Christians to know their history and integrate it into their lives, faiths, and ministries appropriately. With this goal in mind, I found Part Two of his work to be the most engaging and practical portion of his book. Ultimately, I believe that an actual primary study of church history is the best way to open one’s eyes up to its incredible importance for today’s church. Thankfully, Rea ends his book with a list of recommended resources – personally, I recommend starting with Justo Gonzalez’ The Story of Christianity.
I’d Recommend This Book For:
– Those wanting to know “why” they should care about Church History
– Those looking for a brief overview of Church History
– Perhaps as a textbook for an introductory undergraduate class on Church History
– Perhaps a church small group unfamiliar with church history yet wishing to dig into it.
September 9, 2014
In Why Church History Matters, Dr Robert Rea provides an apologia to those who might want (or have been taught) to devalue Christian History, at least Christian History beyond the founding of their own tradition. I hope to write a much longer review for publication, but here, allow me to say a few words in praise and critique of this book.
Bob Rea is my former Master's Supervisor, my boss, my friend, and in many ways an early mentor. Bob introduced me to a love of Christian history beyond the narrow things I desired to study. His love of the history of the Way is evident in this book. Some reviewers on sites such as this one, note that this book does little for those already committed to studying the t(T)radition. This is, however, intentional. The purpose of the book is to convince those who currently devalue Christian history to value it. To that end, Dr Rea, in the first part of the book gives background information on the meaning and meanings of words like Tradition, tradition, and traditions to various different Christian groups and how they should or can be understood today. In the second part, Rea goes on to describe why the study of Church History can be useful, even to those who do not hold what might be called a High view of Tradition. In the third part, Rea goes on to give practical advice and examples of how the study of the Christian past can enrich and is necessary to Christian life in the present.
Rea does a masterful job, making this a necessary book for all who devalue Christian history as necessary for present worship and study. This book would also serve well for any introductory courses on Church History ensuring the students taking it that this discipline is neither dry nor irrelevant.
Rea could, of course, go deeper or come out on one side of various arguments that he brings up (for instance what happens in the Eucharist), but does not in order to appeal to a broader audience. Equally, Rea does not note that the use of certain practices from the past must at least require one to explain why the surrounding structure for those practices is not to be accepted. For instance, if one were to begin praying the divine hours, following John Cassian and later Benedict's examples, one would need to have a place for the Eucharist as it serves as the fount from which the divine hours flow. Even bracketing out a fully fledged understanding of transubstantiation, both Cassian and Benedict would have understood the Eucharist as being more than a Zwinglian remembrance.
Nevertheless, Rea's book is not intended to be a final word, but a beginning. C. S. Lewis says of his Mere Christianity that it is a hallway and the various doors leading off of it are the various Christian traditions. It is not right, says Lewis, to remain in the hallway. Rea's book serves as a similar hallway. It is the hallway of the Christian path. It is not only helpful but necessary in reminding and training us in the long history of Christianity, but in the end, we still must choose a room.
Bob Rea is my former Master's Supervisor, my boss, my friend, and in many ways an early mentor. Bob introduced me to a love of Christian history beyond the narrow things I desired to study. His love of the history of the Way is evident in this book. Some reviewers on sites such as this one, note that this book does little for those already committed to studying the t(T)radition. This is, however, intentional. The purpose of the book is to convince those who currently devalue Christian history to value it. To that end, Dr Rea, in the first part of the book gives background information on the meaning and meanings of words like Tradition, tradition, and traditions to various different Christian groups and how they should or can be understood today. In the second part, Rea goes on to describe why the study of Church History can be useful, even to those who do not hold what might be called a High view of Tradition. In the third part, Rea goes on to give practical advice and examples of how the study of the Christian past can enrich and is necessary to Christian life in the present.
Rea does a masterful job, making this a necessary book for all who devalue Christian history as necessary for present worship and study. This book would also serve well for any introductory courses on Church History ensuring the students taking it that this discipline is neither dry nor irrelevant.
Rea could, of course, go deeper or come out on one side of various arguments that he brings up (for instance what happens in the Eucharist), but does not in order to appeal to a broader audience. Equally, Rea does not note that the use of certain practices from the past must at least require one to explain why the surrounding structure for those practices is not to be accepted. For instance, if one were to begin praying the divine hours, following John Cassian and later Benedict's examples, one would need to have a place for the Eucharist as it serves as the fount from which the divine hours flow. Even bracketing out a fully fledged understanding of transubstantiation, both Cassian and Benedict would have understood the Eucharist as being more than a Zwinglian remembrance.
Nevertheless, Rea's book is not intended to be a final word, but a beginning. C. S. Lewis says of his Mere Christianity that it is a hallway and the various doors leading off of it are the various Christian traditions. It is not right, says Lewis, to remain in the hallway. Rea's book serves as a similar hallway. It is the hallway of the Christian path. It is not only helpful but necessary in reminding and training us in the long history of Christianity, but in the end, we still must choose a room.
September 10, 2014
This is a solid book on the relevance of church history to the church and Christian today. The book is broken into three sections: 1) A survey of how the church has understood Scripture and Tradition; 2) How we are a product of what has happened and who has gone before us; and 3) Practical ways to employ the diverse wisdom (and mistakes) of church history. At times in the first two sections, I lost track of where Rea was going. His last section is the most helpful and offers the best advice for bringing to bear the accumulated wisdom of church history. I often wished he would have been a bit more critical of some of the past decisions and practices, but to be fair, that was not his goal.
September 7, 2014
Good read, but thoroughly soaked in an unhelpful ecumenism. I would first recommend John Fea's recent work Why Study History?: Reflecting on the Importance of the Past (Baker, 2013).
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews