Introduction to the History of Christianity

by Tim Dowley, Robert D. Linder (Editor), John H.Y. Briggs (Editor)

Written by more than sixty specialists from ten countries, this volume tells the dramatic, intriguing, and often surprising story of Christianity’s 2000-year history. Its 25 chapters are illuminated by more than 400 photographs and 30 maps, charts, and diagrams. Enhanced with dozens of short special-feature articles, the tremendously informative and fair text presents the story of Christianity in a strong and engaging narrative, always with an eye to the telling detail and the deeper religious currents that have swept through generations of Christian history.

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

688 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1977

About the author

Tim Dowley (Ph.D. in church history, University of Manchester) has been at the forefront of writing and editing for a new generation of resources on biblical studies and church history.

Reviews

[Tuncay Özdemir · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hıristiyanlığın 2000 yıllık tarihi onlarca tanrı bilimci tarafından anlatılıyor. Luther’e kadar ilgimi koruyabildim ama sonrasında biraz dağıldım. Çünkü ondan sonra, önemli önemsiz çok fazla mezhep ve tarikat detayına girilmiş ve odak tam korunamamış bana kalırsa. Bu yönüyle kitabın ağırlığı biraz uyanışçı ve müjdeci kiliselere kaymış; Ortodoks kiliselerinde en azından modern çağda ne olup bittiğine çok girilmemiş. Diğer yandan Hırıstiyanlık’ın en tartışmalı olduğu konulara da (Hypatia’nın öldürülmesi, Bruno’nun yakılması, Katolik Kilisesi’ndeki çocuk istismarı vs) çok girilmemiş. Aydınlanma düşünürlerinin dine meydan okuyuşu bazı yerlerde açıkça hedef alınmış, bu yönüyle de bazı yerlerde objektiflik kaybolur gibi olmuş ama en azından teolojik açıdan Hırıstiyanlık inancının serüvenini, mezhepler arası farklılıkları ve bunların bulundukları ülkelerin siyasal sistemleriyle ne şekilde uyumlandığını / karşı karşıya geldiğini merak edenler için güzel bir okuma olabilir.

[Josiah Richardson · Rating 3 out of 5]

The benefit of this book is also its detriment. Every section of the book has its own author, which means that you are able to read many, many authors with different perspectives and fields of expertise. At the same time, that means you are left with puzzling and often conflicting statements where it is clear that the authors have different opinions on theological issues. It also leaves the book to be quite disjointed for the reader instead of the flow from a single or just a few minds.

[John Yelverton · Rating 3 out of 5]

The information at the beginning of the book is incredibly helpful and insightful, and the information at the end of the book is abysmal and wanders into speculation rather than history. What was most frustrating was that the different subjects are written by different authors, and this discombobulation gives a much varied look on history. For example: One author will discuss John Calvin with near reverence, while another author has all but thinly veiled contempt for Calvinism.

[Jenni Lathrop · Rating 3 out of 5]

Didn't read this cover to cover, but read this for a class on Christian history. The book is good. Easy to read. Sometimes the writing wasn't great and sentences were structured weird. As someone who doesn't like reading history books, though, this was a great book.

[Vaughn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This text gives an easy to read, well organized account of key events spanning the early church through the reformation. As an introduction, it is better than average, but it won't be the only book in your church history library.

[Andy Hickman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful resource for beginners and experts, giving a clear overview whilst thorough in it's scope.
Easily understood terminology and fully illustrated.

Dowley, Tim, ed. The History of Christianity. Oxford, England: Lion, 1990

[Rui Coelho · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great resource on the history of Christianism. It tells the reader about the main denominations (Catholicism, Lutheranism...) and smaller groups like Lolards and Hussites without overlooking the relevant theologians and books.

[Sylvia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book reminded me of my Catholic school days.=)

[Joshua Duffy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book, but didn't love it. I thought it was a little too dry, although I loved the biographical sections a lot.
I definitely prefer Bruce Shelley's 'Church History in Plain Language'.

[Justin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Outdated and dry. As a general rule more helpful the more distant the time period being covered.

[JR Snow · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think the idea of having a textbook written by multiple authors defeats one of the main purposes of a "textbook": introduction, synthesis, and overview. Having multiple authors necessarily breaks down the ability for there to be a cohesive narrative.

The argument about having experts in their fields write chapters is spurious, because again, this is an introductory textbook–and in my opinion, the lack of cohesiveness and awareness of the surrounding chapters and their context outweighs the benefits of having multiple authors.

Another drawback of this volume is that it suffers, even more than many textbooks, from the disease of textbookitis–writing analysis and summary in an attempt to cover all possible sides of a particular issue–and by saying everything, you really say nothing. Part of this is an attempt to conform to how textbooks are written, and part of it is an attempt to be unbiased and PC. But it's not helpful, in my opinion.

I might do a more in-depth review and if so will link the review here. In the meantime, read Gonzalez if you want pictures; Maculloch if you want lively narration; Shelley if you want an introductory text; or Cairns if you want an authors' actual opinion now and then (plus good integration/impact of the historical situation).

I've also heard really good things about Nick Needham's multiple-volume set.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Used for both my History of Christianity parts 1 and 2 classes in seminary. Didn't read cover to cover but somewhere around 60-70% over the two courses. The last 1/3-1/4 of the book hits more recent church history which was not covered in the classes. I found this work accessible and informative. Lots of good maps and charts.

[LMS · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thorough overview. Each entry is written by a different author, so they can differ in quality, but are generally very good. A great resource. The photographs and little blue boxes with biographies were helpful. This is the first edition so a little outdated, but the current edition cost more than $50 so I am satisfied with this!

[Tyler Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good overview of the church’s history. Coming at just under 700 pages, it covers a lot, and doesn’t have space for great detail. It is split into articles by diverse authors. This makes it more manageable as several sections are rather dry.

[Stephen Ring · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was my textbook for a course through Acadia Divinity College to be completed by April 7th, and I have read all assigned chapters for the course.
Excellent albeit very general overview of History of Christianity from beginnings to current events through the 21st century.

[Connor Longaphie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not sure what can really be said about this. It gives REALLY minimal information on a REALLY large amount of topics. It was "okay".

[Ryan Watson · Rating 2 out of 5]

A really long and sometimes tedious read. I'm sure the information is decent, but it is really difficult to digest at times.

[Jeremy Kruizinga · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dowley does a great job at looking at the people and events that shaped the History of Christianity. I highly recommend this for anyone looking to understand the History of the Christian faith.

[Daniel Bandrabur · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you have only one church history book, this should be it.

[Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

Phenomenal book....so very helpful.

[Jim Gulley · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fine textbook covering the history of Christianity from the time of Christ through the 20th century. It is well-written and a handy reference for the major historical events of the faith.

[Jackson Roderick · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this one more than I thought. It handled the task of pacing through our history well but also going on tangent themes to make points in a way that was helpful.

[Nicholas Whyte · Rating 1 out of 5]

http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/1873337...

It's an assembly of short and very short essays, aimed at evangelical Anglicans in the UK, originally published in 1977 and revised in 1990. The one thing I really did learn from it was the Great Awakening of the eighteenth century, which I now realise was a hugely important step towards American independence in religious culture, leading to the political reality. But there was a lot that set my teeth on edge: the irritating point-scoring about which denominations performed well against Fascism, the total complacency about missionary activity. Apparently the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel was founded in 1701 by "devout Anglican clergymen, shocked at the prevalence of Presbyterianism and vice in the American colonies." Well, as a lapsed Papist, I don't have a dog in that fight. An amusing misprint has the pre-Reformation Church troubled by "sexual immortality", that extra letter converting the description from cliché to erotic surrealism. The closing chapters touch rather superficially on the ordination of women. Homosexuality is not mentioned at all.

[Nicholas Whyte · Rating 1 out of 5]

http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/1873337...

It's an assembly of short and very short essays, aimed at evangelical Anglicans in the UK, originally published in 1977 and revised in 1990. The one thing I really did learn from it was the Great Awakening of the eighteenth century, which I now realise was a hugely important step towards American independence in religious culture, leading to the political reality. But there was a lot that set my teeth on edge: the irritating point-scoring about which denominations performed well against Fascism, the total complacency about missionary activity. Apparently the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel was founded in 1701 by "devout Anglican clergymen, shocked at the prevalence of Presbyterianism and vice in the American colonies." Well, as a lapsed Papist, I don't have a dog in that fight. An amusing misprint has the pre-Reformation Church troubled by "sexual immortality", that extra letter converting the description from cliché to erotic surrealism. The closing chapters touch rather superficially on the ordination of women. Homosexuality is not mentioned at all.

[Adam T. Calvert · Rating 4 out of 5]

A true reference for those interested in Church History. This book is divided into eight manageable sections and packed with solid information. With over 60 contributors, this book is amazingly easy to follow from chapter to chapter.

The book contains plenty of maps and charts for useful reference as well as displays of art and culture along the way. The little box cut-outs focusing on significant people, events, or movements are also very helpful.

While it's no novel (I mean, come on, it's a book on church history), this is surely a great resource on understanding the history and development of the Christian Church. It's no wonder it's been a standard textbook for so long.

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good text on Christian History which includes a CD with the book's contents for the ultimate in portability.

I honestly prefer the writing and layout style of Justo Gonzalez's two volume The Story of Christianity but this will be the text I take along (on CD) when I move and have to leave much of my library behind. It is a very good work that is aethetically pleasing to read and provides the book on CD as a bonus. The only criticism I have of it is that it is simply not as well written or comprehensive as The Story of Christianity.

[Eddie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A helpful addition to your 'Church History' shelf, this book traces the last 2000 years of Christianity. Articles, pictures, maps, and page layouts (including the multiple indexes) make it easy to find topics whilst sections are informative and to the point. As a cover-to-cover read, probably a little daunting (although the writing style is very accessible) but as a one-stop reference, up there with the best.

(Note: Though academically solid and fair, this is written from an Protestant [dare I say Evangelical] perspective)

[Robin Cunninghame Graham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Though now dated, it remains a good introductory text. I would have liked to see a section on the explosion of cults during the latter half of the 20th century and what response Christians should be making.

[James Jacob · Rating 3 out of 5]

Probably deserves more stars, but I just got tired of it. Couldn't keep up with all those old dead white men... Read (much of) it for Survey of Church History.

[Keith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read selections for a course on Global Christianity. Also read it for a church history course back in 2001. Good evangelical stuff.