Christianity

by Roland H. Bainton

In this single absorbing volume, the noted historian and religious scholar Roland Bainton offers a comprehensive, critical portrait of Christianity from its beginnings two thousand years ago to the modern day. From Christ's lowly birth in a stable to the rise of cathedrals and kings, from Roman soliders to Fanciscan monks to Puritans fleeing persecution to a new world across the sea, Bainton paints a rich history of a vast and varied people united by a singular belief. Illustrated with fifty black-and-white photographs, CHRISTIANITY is a perfect introduction for lay readers and a classic in its field.

Genres: History, Christianity, Religion, Church History, Theology, Nonfiction, New Testament

432 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1986

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

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

The history of Christianity spans over 2000 years, across three then five continents, and numerous individuals doing their best to follow the example of Jesus. Roland H. Bainton’s Christianity is a survey of the history, theology developments, and impact of the faith has had on society over the length of its existence since the ministry of Christ on earth.

Beginning with the various cultural backgrounds that influenced the life of Jesus and the society he lived and teach in, Bainton writes an easily read survey of Christianity. Everything from the Apostolic Age through the persecution by the Roman Empire then its long progression of conversation through the Western Empire’s fall is covered very well. However with Rome’s fall, the book’s focus begins to be firmly placed in Western Europe—later to expand to the Americas—with all the culture, historical, political, and theological developments that are well-known to anyone with a general knowledge of the history of Western civilization. Given the book is less than 400 pages in length, Bainton’s having to choose the best way to get through the history of Christianity meant having to neglect the developments of East Orthodox, Oriental, and Coptic Christianity in favor to everything connected to Western Christianity.

Though not all facets are covered, Roland H. Bainton’s Christianity is a well-written survey that covers the basics of everything related to Western Christianity. For anyone looking for general information of Christianity, I recommend this book to you.

[Seth · Rating 3 out of 5]

About as brief a history as one can make of Christianity in the West. A lot of my lay education has been along the lines of, “So and so believed X a LOT! So much that they changed society!” This book was particularly helpful in illuminating (briefly), the context and politics out of which church fathers, kings, popes, reformers, etc. made their work. I very much appreciated Bainton’s tracking of justifications for war. Unfortunately, Bainton makes almost no mention of women apart from the occasional princess and queen, and indulges himself in some red scare rhetoric in a very weak final chapter. No mention at all is made of Black faith in America, which is a giant gap when every other sect/denomination gets a mention. It really seems to lose some rigor as it closes in on the present. Overall, probably helpful to get a gist and yielded a more productive picture of figures I often hear nearly idolized, particularly Luther, Calvin and the other reformers.

Overall pretty helpful, but with some big holes.

[Pat]

I remember being repulsed, but then again, I read this book at that funny time in my life when I was sure that I was clever and correct about everything.

[Bradley Voyles · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great first 3/4 and then it loses interest and direction.

[Drrod · Rating 3 out of 5]

1991