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Truth Triumphant
*A gripping account of the teachings of Jesus Christ and the apostles as those doctrines were preserved through the Dark Ages by Heroes of the Cross. *The True church in Ireland, Scotland, and Englend under the leadership of Patrick, Columba, and Aidan. *The valiant struggle of the Waldenses to preserve the Bible and the pure doctrines of the apostles. *March of truth in Syria, India, China, and the Philippines under tha hand of God. *This book features the triumph in the period from 538 to 1798, a chapter of God's leadings long hidden by intolerance and falsehood.
- GenresReligion
424 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1994
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
November 22, 2020
One might call this an alternative history of Christianity. Wilkinson was, so far as I am aware, a Seventh Day Adventist. Thus, he routes the history of Christianity through Sabbath-keeping groups across time, arguing essentially that Protestantism has its foundation not so much in the Reformation of the Roman Catholic Church as in those surviving sects from the early church that continued to observe the seventh-day Sabbath, most particularly the Church of the East. Inspired by such sects and making their move based on the teachings from such sects, Luther and others brought schism to Rome.
Wilkinson grounds his argument in Biblical prophecy, seeing the "1260 days" of Daniel and Revelation as being symbolic of 1260 years in which the church would be in the wilderness, which he dates from around 538, when Justinian unified church and state, to the Reformation and, more precisely, Napoleon's eventual takeover of the Italian peninsula and the religious freedom that that brought to the peoples of Europe in 1798. The prophetic elements make up the first and last chapters of the twenty-four chapters in the book, which means that they don't take up that much space, which is good, since one could likely argue quite a few things with regard to what the 1260 days of the Bible refer to. My interest was more in the history.
What I really enjoyed about the book is that Wilkinson pulls in a lot of sources with which I was not otherwise terribly familiar. Most studies I've read about church history focus on the West, and generally they follow a pretty straight line through Rome, ignoring many of the "heretical" sects that continued to exist long after Christianity was institutionalized within the realm of the Papacy. Beyond that is the Church of the East, which had a much different history, much of which has either not been studied as extensively (since the languages of such people are non-Western) or has been expunged in the course of time with the spread of Papal teachings further to the East.
But there disadvantages to Wilkinson's study as well. Much of his case with regard to the history of the Church of the East is based on the idea that the Christians in the East, though not necessarily Nestorians (a particular heretical sect), were generally called such, no matter their actual beliefs. While this is probably the case, given that often our understandings of the doctrines of particular peoples are not terribly complete and given that doctrines change over time such that a certain type of Christian in once century is not nearly the same type centuries later, even though they might share a secterian name. But there is also a level on which one has to be careful in making such claims, and often, it seemed to me that Wilkinson made claims that were a bit more than what other scholarship and what the primary sources actually attest to. Lucian of Antioch, for example, plays a large role in Wilkinson's work, and of course, Lucian was important. His own Bible translation was based on a different kind of translation theory and was into a language other than Greek, and it would form the foundation for much of the work of the Church of the East. But what Lucian actually believed is, so far as what I have read elsewhere, largely conjecture. He didn't leave other writings behind. In Wilkinson's work, Lucian becomes a non-allegorist, as opposed to the kind of scriptural readings occurring in Alexandria and Rome. That is one interpretation offered by scholars; here, that is the only one offered, which means one gets a sort of twisted picture of Lucian and whoever Wilkinson connects to him, which in turn draws into question the accuracy of his others observations (many of which, in the footnotes, are backed up merely by cross-references to chapters within his own book rather than outside sources).
But that qualm I have is balanced against the many sources that Wilkinson has drawn on and his focus on areas less written about. It's a fantastic foundation for further study.
Wilkinson grounds his argument in Biblical prophecy, seeing the "1260 days" of Daniel and Revelation as being symbolic of 1260 years in which the church would be in the wilderness, which he dates from around 538, when Justinian unified church and state, to the Reformation and, more precisely, Napoleon's eventual takeover of the Italian peninsula and the religious freedom that that brought to the peoples of Europe in 1798. The prophetic elements make up the first and last chapters of the twenty-four chapters in the book, which means that they don't take up that much space, which is good, since one could likely argue quite a few things with regard to what the 1260 days of the Bible refer to. My interest was more in the history.
What I really enjoyed about the book is that Wilkinson pulls in a lot of sources with which I was not otherwise terribly familiar. Most studies I've read about church history focus on the West, and generally they follow a pretty straight line through Rome, ignoring many of the "heretical" sects that continued to exist long after Christianity was institutionalized within the realm of the Papacy. Beyond that is the Church of the East, which had a much different history, much of which has either not been studied as extensively (since the languages of such people are non-Western) or has been expunged in the course of time with the spread of Papal teachings further to the East.
But there disadvantages to Wilkinson's study as well. Much of his case with regard to the history of the Church of the East is based on the idea that the Christians in the East, though not necessarily Nestorians (a particular heretical sect), were generally called such, no matter their actual beliefs. While this is probably the case, given that often our understandings of the doctrines of particular peoples are not terribly complete and given that doctrines change over time such that a certain type of Christian in once century is not nearly the same type centuries later, even though they might share a secterian name. But there is also a level on which one has to be careful in making such claims, and often, it seemed to me that Wilkinson made claims that were a bit more than what other scholarship and what the primary sources actually attest to. Lucian of Antioch, for example, plays a large role in Wilkinson's work, and of course, Lucian was important. His own Bible translation was based on a different kind of translation theory and was into a language other than Greek, and it would form the foundation for much of the work of the Church of the East. But what Lucian actually believed is, so far as what I have read elsewhere, largely conjecture. He didn't leave other writings behind. In Wilkinson's work, Lucian becomes a non-allegorist, as opposed to the kind of scriptural readings occurring in Alexandria and Rome. That is one interpretation offered by scholars; here, that is the only one offered, which means one gets a sort of twisted picture of Lucian and whoever Wilkinson connects to him, which in turn draws into question the accuracy of his others observations (many of which, in the footnotes, are backed up merely by cross-references to chapters within his own book rather than outside sources).
But that qualm I have is balanced against the many sources that Wilkinson has drawn on and his focus on areas less written about. It's a fantastic foundation for further study.
August 6, 2019
Great book. It further opened my eyes to the forces of good and evil through Christian history. It is part of a number of books that build the logical basis for understanding the powers involved in the war over freedom and oppression, and good and evil as built from history in order to understand today’s world. This book brings support and furthers the credibility of prophecies in the Bible that help me know that God is still in control of this world and the current religio-political scene is one He predicted long in advance so that His children need not be afraid.
This book details out those people and groups who kept the faith throughout Christian history despite the strong forces seeking to obliterate the truth as it is in Jesus while still proclaiming the name of Jesus as if nothing had changed.
This book details out those people and groups who kept the faith throughout Christian history despite the strong forces seeking to obliterate the truth as it is in Jesus while still proclaiming the name of Jesus as if nothing had changed.
May 14, 2017
This year being the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation, this book should be on your list of top books to read in 2017. It's a chronicle of how powerful the gospel is and how the gospel and the Bible survived throughout history.
It's a telling testimony of how important this work is that, according to some, after the first printing of this book, its opponents destroyed the press blocks from which it was printed. Truth may have powerful enemies, but truth is more powerful than evil -- it is "triumphant."
It's a telling testimony of how important this work is that, according to some, after the first printing of this book, its opponents destroyed the press blocks from which it was printed. Truth may have powerful enemies, but truth is more powerful than evil -- it is "triumphant."
July 29, 2022
Very informative how the original church preserved it’s teachings. I was really wondering if the churches which the apostles established survive at all during the persecutions. Considering the churches now I really couldn’t put them together. Jesus and the apostles were Jews so there should be some jewishness in our churches. But our churches are so worldly, with idols and holidays that aren’t Jewish at all. Jews really have so much respect in God but the modern churches treat God as a common friend/person….like I heard many times in sermons “Hey Lord, c’mon…” says the preachers.
September 9, 2018
Absolutely fascinating! It tells an untold and an often forgotten history of Christianity that is eye-opening and awe-inspiring.
Sometimes the flow can be a little hard to follow, but this is one of those books that I will suggest to anyone interested in the history of the Christian faith!
Sometimes the flow can be a little hard to follow, but this is one of those books that I will suggest to anyone interested in the history of the Christian faith!
November 26, 2021
One of the best books to study about church history through Adventist perspectives.
June 25, 2013
I really liked this book, it teaches you a lot about the waldensians and the papals, and Jesus and his disciples
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews