Readings in World Christian History: Volume 1: Earliest Christianity to 1453

by John W. Coakley, Andrea Sterk

This companion to History of the World Christian Movement explores how varied and multi-cultural Christian origins and history really are.

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

911 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 1, 2004

Reviews

[Mike Bright · Rating 5 out of 5]

As my history major daughter and history professor friends insist, to study history you must read primary documents. This book is a wide-ranging selection of primary document excerpts, so a professionally confirmed way to study history. I read it in the context of a history class, so the documents had appropriate context.

As you might expect, some documents were excellent and deeply insightful. Others were more obscure and difficult to grasp. All were interesting. I appreciate that the editors cast a wide net and included Christian documents from a variety of cultures, countries, and perspectives.

This is an excellent supplemental text to anyone looking at early Christian history.

[Brian · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was one of the textbooks for my Christian History class. It was great to read a ton of primary source documents. I especially appreciated the background information at the beginning of each document.

[Joel Wentz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an absolute treasure trove of primary sources from the first 1500 years of global Christian history. For anyone who wants to read these ancient texts directly (there's essentially no commentary from the editors/compilers - simply short paragraphs introducing the context of each piece) then this is your best entry point. I greatly appreciated the breadth and diversity of readings included - an effort is made to truly have a global scope, rather than centering the European church, and there are readings from thinkers that would eventually be deemed heretical by the mainstream church. These readings, in particular, really help to flesh out the debates that raged in the early centuries, and even lend some nuance and complexity to the heresies in question. This is essential stuff for having a deeper grasp on Christian history.

One consideration - the reading of this book is greatly enhanced if accompanied by some sort of narrative history, as that will place these primary readings firmly in their context (beyond the very short and simple paragraphs provided by Coakley/Sterk). I read this alongside Wilken's "The First Thousand Years" and Logan's "History of the Church in the Middle Ages." Other good options would be Gonzalez (Story of Christianity), Jenkins (Lost History of Christianity) or McGuckin (The Path of Christianity).

Bottom line - the understanding of our own faith is impoverished if we have no sense of our own history. This book is an invaluable resource towards building a richer historical perspective.

[Tim S · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall good collection of a variety of sources of Christian History. At times the organization of the reader felt jumbled, but was still easy to follow in the end. Plenty of readings to give deep thought to and plenty to consider in light of how much aspects of our faith have changed, some for better and some for worse.

[Jonathan Asbun · Rating 4 out of 5]

Primary sources

Very good compendium of primary sources since the beginning of the Church to the Middle Ages.
Not all the documents are recorded in full. But the translations and arrangements are excellent

[C. McLeish · Rating 5 out of 5]

Comprehensive and enlightening

It was a good, long read that sheds much light on different aspects of people, places and doctrine that forms the foundation of Christianity from a historical purview.

[Mar · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is a textbook of primary source readings for a course in Christian history. I liked some of the readings more than others, but that is based more on my interest in the topics and my comprehension of the various authors than on the anthology itself.

[Bledar · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you want to read directly from the sources, this anthology is a good one. The editor only makes minor comments and lets you read the material and judge for yourself.

[Jeff Schroeder · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent reader to help people engage with primary source documents from the early centuries of the Church.

[Michael Allen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not a “narrative” book, but absolutely fascinating collections of writings from the patristic church into medieval eras. So cool.

[Danny Petersen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great conglomeration of primary sources from the early church.

[Gissele Sosa]

Read for University.

[Austyn Dentry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gives great portions of historical letters and writings!

[Ryan King]

It’s a bunch of primary Christian history sources. If that’s what you are looking for then this delivers it.

[Olivia Jones-Hatton · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m sure I’ll reference this book a ton over the next few years!!

[Nolan Butler · Rating 4 out of 5]

An invaluable anthology

[C.H.E. Sadaphal · Rating 4 out of 5]

The bottom line: A worthwhile companion text that presents a broad overview of key and carefully selected Christian writings over the first one and a half millennia A.D.


Readings in World Christian History: Volume I is not meant to be read by itself but is meant to serve as a companion to History of the World Christian Movement: Volume I by Irvin and Sunquist.

Without HWCM to provide context and locate the different authors and texts in history, the book becomes difficult to navigate and reads like a haphazard collection of unrelated compositions.

In this anthology, like HWCM, the editors make it clear that most textbooks tend to adopt a Eurocentric approach to the Christian movement and therefore mold history through a Western lens. This method ignores or diminishes the forces at play outside of Europe. Aware of the distortions inherent in this method, the editors have a “new appreciation of cultural diversity and geographical spread of ancient and medieval Christianity” and their presentation of the faith’s development in this volume is broad and inclusive. Resultantly, this book becomes a series of carefully selected narratives from different peoples, places, traditions and ideologies, as opposed to a unified stream with one point of view.

The book follows a chronological timeline ... http://www.chesadaphal.com/readings-i...

[Charlie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I used this book as a textbook in a church history course I team-taught. This book features excerpts of many important Christian documents. In general the selection and abridgment is sensible. I was pleasantly surprised at the diversity of material included. However, many of the translations are older, public domain works (think Schaff's Ante-Nicene Fathers) that read rather awkwardly. Also, this book really only makes sense when paired with the History of the World Christian Movement textbook, which isn't that great of a textbook.

[Ray · Rating 3 out of 5]

I actually really liked the opportunity in this book to read first hand sources. It could get a little difficult from time to time but (even though I won't often admit it) I'd prefer to be challenged. There was one excerpt by Bernard of Clairvaux titled 'On Loving God' It's a great example of why I liked this book. Very good, but also a little heavy on allegory toward the end.

[Karen D. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book contains primary source material that complements "History of the World Christian Movement." Some excellent resources here!