Shapers of Christianity

by Nick Needham

Genres: Theology, Church History

112 pages, Paperback

Published May 9, 2025

Reviews

[Blue Morse · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book. Needham's introduction had me all in when he kicked off his intro by saying, "Christ is the human face of God. In similar fashion, godly individuals are the human face of church history." However, I walked away terribly disappointed.

His intent was to provide brief sketches of twelve Christians from the past 2,000 years who "stand out for their human interest and theological significance," with the disclaimer that he did "not always make obvious choices."

However, I found he did a poor job describing the lasting effect these men had on "shaping Christianity." With the exception of Irenaeus, instead of "wanting more" I was at times left wondering what their impact really was and why I should care about these men (with the exception of some of the more popular names like Wycliffe, Wesley, and Edwards).

Yet, my biggest critique was with who made his list and even more importantly, who failed to make the cut. For example, many of the men who made his list were orthodox or arminean in their theology and one was open to an evolutionary worldview.

But the most confounding fact is that NOT A SINGLE Puritan made the cut! I found this staggering given this book was published by Banner of Truth, whose hallmark is distributing Puritan writings. I also didn't appreciate how he negatively spoke of Whitefield (once again ironic given Whitefield is in the BOT Logo), whilst appearing to justify Wesley as a "light" arminean, ignoring the fact that he and his brother aggressively sought to cancel Whitefield over this doctrinal issue.

Below are the "shapers" with the best summary quotation I could find to save you from reading this book:

- Irenaeus of Lyons (AD 175-195): His mentor was mentored by the apostle John, Irenaeus was "hailed as the first great biblical theologian after the age of the apostles."

- Gregory of Nazianzus (AD 330-390): "Almost any biblical argument for the deity of Christ, and the divine personhood of the Holy Spirit, with which we are familiar today, was probably anticipated by Gregory." ... I loved Gregory's quote: "Have you placed your hope in a Jesus who was a human being but lacked a human mind? Then you yourself are truly mindless."

- Anselm of Canterbury (1033-1109): "One of the few medieval theologians who escaped the most scathing criticisms of the Protestant Reformers."

I loved this prayer he wrote (even copied it in my Bible):

Come along now, litte man,
Leave yourdaily work for a while
Get away for a while from the swirling storm of your thoughts
Put those heavy anxieties to one side,
Free yourself for God for a little while,
And rest for a little while in Him.
Retreat into the innermost room in your soul,
Lock out everything else except God
And whatever can aid your in seeking Him;
And when you have closed the door,
Then seek Him.
Now, my whole heart, say to God,
'I seek Your face;
Lord, it is Your face I am seeking.'

- Theophylact of Ochrid (1050-1109): called "the Matthew Henry of the Eastern Church."

- John Wycliffe (1330-1384): "the Morning Star of the Reformation"

- Peter Martyr (1499-1562): John Calvin praised him as "the best and purest of men"

- Francis Turretin (1623-1687): "Born in Geneva to a distinguished Reformed family of Italian origin ... His purpose was to expose his mind to the diversity and fullness of Reformed theology, by experiencing all its educational centres of influence."

- 1600-1700: NO PURITANS?!?!?!

- John Wesley (1703-1791): Regarding Wesley's poor theology, Whitefield said: "A truly sovereign God need not limit Himself to working through those with a fully correct understanding of his sovereignty."

- Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758): "If Whitefield was the foremost preacher of America's Great Awakening, Edwards became its foremost theologian."

- Tikhon of Zadonsk (1724-1783): A strange Russian "confluence of Orthodox and Lutheran piety that has edified untold millions" ... "He often sang the psalms, having memorised them all."

- Benjamin Breckenridge Warfield (1851-1921): "Warfield did not think there was anything in Scripture that ruled our an evolutionary account of life's development." What?! I guess if you throw out Gen 1-3 you could begin to make this case...

- J. Gresham Machen (1881-1937): "the man in whom the tensions between traditional credal Christianity and the forces of liberalising modernism broke into the open in titanic conflict ... "outstanding championship of historic Christianity and the Reformed faith during the Fundamnetalist-Modernist controversy."

[Ethan McCarter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Needham writes in a thoroughly enjoyable style that's informative and easy to access. This short book is a quick read that won't require too much processing or time since it's designed as an introduction to several major figures of Christian history. Some are well-known figures such as J. Gresham Machen or Anselm of Canterbury, while others are less famed like Tikhon of Zadonsk. It seems that Needham's intent is to offer a short few pages on a figure for the purpose of showing their importance and value of study. Some of them are more informative than others, some he chose specifically because they are less familiar to modern Evangelicals (Vermigli was a titan of his time, but largely unknown today). It's not an exhaustive read. It's not going to answer all questions a reader may have. And it's not exactly meant for those well acquainted with the persons and their works. It serves as an introduction that's worth the short read.

[Guilherme Cruz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Highly recommend! Bought yesterday at Keith Jones and finished it this morning. By Christian historian and Reformed Baptist Nick Needham. He compiles notable and obscure christ-followers throughout the history of Christ's church like Tikhon of Zadonsk. He was a Eastern Orthodox follower who proclaimed justification by faith alone in the 18th century yet is a canonized saint in the EO Church. And deepened my understanding of others like B.B Warfield, Gresham Machen and opened up my understanding of Francis Turretin, whose Systematic Theology is as relevant as ever in the Catholic and Protestant debates of today.

[Caleb Anderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s a great read for the average layman in the pew; informative, with bite-sized chapters that are easy to understand and read in a single sitting. I especially enjoyed the chapters on Peter Martyr (6), Francis Turretin (7), Tikhon of Zadonsk (10), and J. Gresham Machen (12), as I was previously unfamiliar with their backgrounds.

[J Hawkes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nick Needham knows how to find diamonds in the rough! Theophylact of Ochrid and Tikhon are two examples. These sketches are too brief to cover much but certainly whet the appetite for more.