History Through the Eyes of Faith: Christian College Coalition Series – An Introduction to Western Civilization: The Greeks, Hebrews, Jesus, and the Renaissance

by Ronald A. Wells

Integrating faith with introductory Western history, this text provides a Christian perspective on the major epochs, issues, and events of Western Civilization. It details the role of the Greeks and Hebrews, Jesus in history, the Renaissance, and more.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Christian, School

262 pages, Paperback

First published July 19, 1989

Reviews

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

With a chapter on each major civilization affecting the western world, the great tapestry is laid out before you. Interesting! Great worldview!

[Brandon Current · Rating 3 out of 5]

Re-Read
Wells sets out to augment college Western History texts with analysis from a Christian perspective. However, he also wants to avoid making moral judgment on history. That already sets himself against himself for a hard win. Readers wanting the Christian perspective are better off picking up one of the excellent larger works on Christian history available. However, Well's book is more philosophical and traces the influences of worldview development in the West as it interacted and was adapted by and even steered the direction of the church. In that regard it is a unique sand helpful supplement.

The book could have used a stronger outline and his argument at various points needed more precisely stated - especially when his positions seem unorthodox. He also assumes more familiarity with history than the undergrad student he targets his book towards has.

[Andrew Alkema · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wells does an incredible job of analyzing Western history from a Christian perspective. He never judges the past based on those beliefs, only analyzes and makes very balance, interesting comments. I really liked the quote: "the historical task is not... about ransacking the past to ladle out praise and blame that can be used for an ideological present purpose. The historical task is about listening to the human conversation".

[Taun · Rating 4 out of 5]

An analytical overview of Western history & movements, as seen through a Biblical worldview. The book is shaped by the author's unbiased writing, and the sovereignty of God, who has molded this thing we call 'history'. While there can be many points where theology could take hold & spiral away from the main subject (western history), the author refrains. This book would be a highly suitable addition for history students, or the history buff who appreciates the subject.

[Kari McDowell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was very tempted to judge this book by the name and assumed it was a “presentist” work of so-called “Christian history,” built on quotes ripped out of their context to persuade the readers to embrace hagiographic views of historical figures. I was very wrong! This is a very balanced work by a professional historian, with a lot of focus on the pitfalls of the modern and postmodern worldview we see in Western societies. Absolutely worth reading!

[Lena · Rating 3 out of 5]

Had interesting information.

[Adria G. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Book to Read

This book is very informative. Reading it allowed my knowledge to be tested and sharpened based on what I thought knew. Wow! A must read.

[Denali Christianson ~Semi-active~ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite excellent. I highly recommend for every Western Christian.

[Dave Courtney · Rating 4 out of 5]

(3 and a half stars)
Ronald A. Wells is upfront about how to use his book 'History Through the Eyes of Faith' as a supplement to mandatory texts in a history class. As such it strays from being concise in its dealings, specifically, with the West and instead manages to navigate from detail to philosophy to speculation to proclamation. There are points where you are left craving more of the philosophy and less detail, and others where the detail, at least for a casual reader who does not have an assisting history text open beside them, is needed to work through the philosophy. This is a minor criticism though in what proves, certainly in its powerhouse final three chapters to be a worthwhile and provoking read on how to interpret history through the eyes of the Christian faith.

What is immediately helpful to the process is in how Wells presents his clear and concise outline of Western civilization. By looking back on the tendencies and realities that built the ancient Greco-Roman cultures, the Middles Ages, The Renaissance and the Romanticists, it appears to easy to ponder this information as we attempt to understand our current cultural surroundings. This is the wonderful part of studying history, so that we can better understand the world in which we live today. And it should come as no surprise to begin to see repetitive cycles at play. Wells cautions Christian readers over becoming moralistic in response, and indeed represents a humble process in which religion must be admitted to a natural progression from the majority stronghold and representation of political and national power to the minority expressions of a fragmented protestant-catholic tension. This, he argues upfront, is the inevitable result of humanism, not the dissolve of religion (which indeed did find a comfortable home in christian humanist expression), but the growing dominance of secular humanism. This should humble our response even as it can move to anchor us in a more deeply held conviction about why faith belongs in the scope of human history.

There are a number of provoking and interesting angles Wells pursues, especially as he delves in to the more recent history of the last century. Understanding the enlightenment as the belief in the progress of man as that which brings hope, we can see the remnants of a murky movement from rationalism to romanticism that have left their competing voices on the Western landscape. It is interesting to see the great events of our day (stemming back to the Great War) as following what is one of the most peaceful and progressive periods of American and Western civilization. It is illuminating to see how hope and hopelessness stand as such perilous notions especially when we see it through the emotional expression of this sort of teeter totter effect.

This is a worthwhile read for anyone interested in Western civilization, especially from a religious perspective. It is not biased, but does stand up to lend its voice to where, as Christians, we need to experience and respond to history slightly different than secular humanists will tend to.

[rené lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a required text for my Western Heritage & Christianity class.

I appreciated this book quite a bit. It's not a a proper textbook that focused on dates and events, but one that focused more on themes and movements in thought throughout history. I liked this one because it was respectful of the fact that Christians have a unique viewpoint on history because of their faith, but that does not mean that other viewpoints are automatically wrong or worth being rejected.

I didn't like that the author seemed to ramble sometimes to try to get his point across. I had to reread a few sections several times to grasp his point.

[J.C. Paulk · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is actually easy to read and lacks any density...but it's not really a history text. It's more of an apology or guideline for thinking of history in a way that makes it more palatable for a Christian viewpoint. Wells makes a good point that all historians have biases. That's true. The goal is to recognize those biases in the face of history and not the other way around.

[Gregory Monk · Rating 4 out of 5]

For most of the book, I would have rated it a three or maybe two, but the last 4 or so chapters clinched it for me. His decently optimistic view of modern history and a rational basis for striving to reform the world back to the principles of Christianity was very refreshing.

[Mary Chambers · Rating 4 out of 5]

This a supplement to history textbooks for christians to annalyze how the world looks at history compared to how we do. I enjoyed it and it gave me alot of food for thought.

[Bill Forgeard · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is not a survey of western history, but a companion book examining key issues from a Christian point of view. Largely uninspiring despite some highlights.