The Church of Our Fathers

by Roland H. Bainton

Highlights of church history from the first century to the twentieth century. Simple, straightforward. The simple facts, personal accounts, poems, songs, and even some art. If you want the overview of the history of the Christian Church by a writer of great skill and sincerity, this is the right book for you. No footnotes. Not a lot of scholarly depth. But what it does have is a lively prose style and a very good selection of events to tell the story of the Church. Christians should know at least something of the history of the Church. Bainton's book will serve as an excellent starting place.

Genres: Church History, Christian, Christianity, Religion

219 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1941

About the author

Roland Herbert Bainton, Ph.D. (Yale University; A.B., Whitman College), served forty-two years as Titus Street Professor of Ecclesiastical History at Yale Divinity School. A specialist in Reformation history, he continued writing well into his twenty years of retirement. His most popular book, Here I Stand, sold more than a million copies.

Ordained as a Congregationist minister, he never served as the pastor of a congregation.

Reviews

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ages: 14+
Content considerations: it’s a bit more mature content concerning religion through the ages, best suited for an audience very confident and comfortable in their beliefs.

This is a very readable, short history of Christianity. Obviously, not everything can be covered in a book of this size, but the major ideas and players are present, and it’s a very enjoyable history that is well worth reading.

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very interesting beginner's book on church history. Written possibly for high school level and above, it is good for anyone who wants to get a general view of church history. Simply written, with illustrations, by a good author who has written many books on this subject.

[Brent Krebs · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh.... Actually, I found the chapters pertaining to time periods I was previously interested in to be good and those I didn't particularly care about to be boring. Goodreads says this book is "culturally significant" and I suppose 2000 years boiled down to 219 pages is a pretty good effort.

[Heather Laaman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m reading through my library to see which one I’m keeping and I’m definitely keeping this. I feel like it would be a good book for homeschooling.

[Trevor Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book would make a very good beginner primer on church history for high school students. While it begins to unravel and become less detailed toward the end, a majority of this work is well done.

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

great intro for those getting an overview of church history.

[Evan Hays · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent, concise, and simple version of 2000 years of Church history (focusing especially on the western world, but including some about the eastern church in the earlier part of the book). This book would be a great way for someone in their late elementary/middle school years to first delve into church history. I was reminded of a lot of things I had forgotten and inspired to read more by this book, which are both always good things. It is dated, however, with the most notorious example being his usage of "Mohammedan" (instead of Muslim). Yes, this book came out in like 1941, but seriously, he was an ivy league professor, and at least could have gone with "Moslem". To Muslims, using the term Mohammedan would be sort like calling Christians, "Paulines". But that does not taint the whole book, which I enjoyed thoroughly.

[Shawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book provides an excellent survey of Christian history for upper-elementary age children. It isn't a bad place for adults who are new to Christian history to start. The book starts with Jesus and the apostles and continues to the early 20th Century. Several key figures and events are covered in brief summaries that are easy to understand. The focus of the book is primarily upon Europe and the United States, so you will need primer sources for the history of the Church in other locations if you are trying to demonstrate the global impact of Christianity.

[Lydia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sometimes too simplistic, painting an inacurate view of the circumstances, cause and effect, and the church as a whole, this book is still a valuable source for anyone wanting an introduction or overview of church history.

[Stuart Laughlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a great overview of Church history. Will definitely be prodding my 10, 13, and 15-year-olds to read this.

[Alenna · Rating 3 out of 5]

An excellent and concise resource for the first 1600+ years, but there could have been more detail for the last 400.

[Michael Siegel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Words cannot express what was beheld within these few pages.