What do you think?
Rate this book
From Jesus 'til Now: A Timeline of Captivating Stories That Lead You Inside Church History
This masterful overview of the Western Christian church and its contexts begins with the times into which Jesus was born and concludes in our early 21st century world.
Brief stories bring to life the people of the early church and the communities in which Christianity struggled and grew, providing remarkable perspective for the contemporary reader. Boone allows readers to put themselves into sixth century shoes and contemplate traveling as missionaries to “world’s end” to bring Christianity to England. She puts you into the home of a woman, widowed after her husband was martyred, who hides her son’s clothing so he can’t go out and do the same.She carries us through the very beginnings of Christianity in a part of the world where only 1 in 10 could read through the centuries where printing made religious ideas (and the Bible itself) easily accessible, from small groups of believers in homes through the Holy Roman Empire and the church’s post-Reformation fragmentation, from colonists intent on establishing their own beliefs as tax-supported churches in the Americas to religious revivals and the growth of new church movements in the US.
Each chapter focuses on roughly one century in the life of the Christian church, providing an even-handed view of both early Catholic and Orthodox traditions and the emerging Protestant world. The discussion questions at each chapter’s end offer opportunities to reflect on parallels to church life in more recent times, relevant considerations in a Bible passage, and opportunities for application in your own life and home church. The format makes this an excellent text for a half-year study group at church.
Some of the topics covered
The lives of missionaries and martyrs, monks, popes, priests, and ministers, as well as the ordinary Christians who lived for God across the centuries.Augustine’s City and Luther’s ReformationThe creeds that have defined (and redefined) Christian faith against divergent beliefsSpiritual revivals across the centuries, in Europe and the USSupernatural terrors, including the 400-year purge of “witches” in Europe and the USHow worship and prayer have been practiced as part of the Christian religion across the centuriesWays that Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and Protestant Christianity have interacted with each other and with their surrounding communities of Muslims, Jews and pagans.Contemporary attempts to revive the church in a post-modern world.It’s easy to think churches in our own time face unique challenges never before overcome. This history of Christianity over 2,000 years makes it clear that others have faced similar challenges and have sometimes overcome them. Monasteries solved some problems and created others. The Protestant reformation solved some problems and created others. Revivals in the Americas solved some problems and created others. 21st century “haters” don’t have anything on the Crusades or the Inquisition, and Christianity has been “thinking globally” from its very beginning. Boone’s early church stories will carry you through a geography that extends far beyond the focus of your Holy Land tour book, even as she reminds you that short-term missions in the 21st century church may send ordinary Americans into the far corners of the earth.
If you think history is boring, and also think you should know more about the history of the Christian church, this book is for you.
Brief stories bring to life the people of the early church and the communities in which Christianity struggled and grew, providing remarkable perspective for the contemporary reader. Boone allows readers to put themselves into sixth century shoes and contemplate traveling as missionaries to “world’s end” to bring Christianity to England. She puts you into the home of a woman, widowed after her husband was martyred, who hides her son’s clothing so he can’t go out and do the same.She carries us through the very beginnings of Christianity in a part of the world where only 1 in 10 could read through the centuries where printing made religious ideas (and the Bible itself) easily accessible, from small groups of believers in homes through the Holy Roman Empire and the church’s post-Reformation fragmentation, from colonists intent on establishing their own beliefs as tax-supported churches in the Americas to religious revivals and the growth of new church movements in the US.
Each chapter focuses on roughly one century in the life of the Christian church, providing an even-handed view of both early Catholic and Orthodox traditions and the emerging Protestant world. The discussion questions at each chapter’s end offer opportunities to reflect on parallels to church life in more recent times, relevant considerations in a Bible passage, and opportunities for application in your own life and home church. The format makes this an excellent text for a half-year study group at church.
Some of the topics covered
The lives of missionaries and martyrs, monks, popes, priests, and ministers, as well as the ordinary Christians who lived for God across the centuries.Augustine’s City and Luther’s ReformationThe creeds that have defined (and redefined) Christian faith against divergent beliefsSpiritual revivals across the centuries, in Europe and the USSupernatural terrors, including the 400-year purge of “witches” in Europe and the USHow worship and prayer have been practiced as part of the Christian religion across the centuriesWays that Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and Protestant Christianity have interacted with each other and with their surrounding communities of Muslims, Jews and pagans.Contemporary attempts to revive the church in a post-modern world.It’s easy to think churches in our own time face unique challenges never before overcome. This history of Christianity over 2,000 years makes it clear that others have faced similar challenges and have sometimes overcome them. Monasteries solved some problems and created others. The Protestant reformation solved some problems and created others. Revivals in the Americas solved some problems and created others. 21st century “haters” don’t have anything on the Crusades or the Inquisition, and Christianity has been “thinking globally” from its very beginning. Boone’s early church stories will carry you through a geography that extends far beyond the focus of your Holy Land tour book, even as she reminds you that short-term missions in the 21st century church may send ordinary Americans into the far corners of the earth.
If you think history is boring, and also think you should know more about the history of the Christian church, this book is for you.
335 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 26, 2023
1 person want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
August 9, 2024
just what I needed on vacation
I had a conversation with a family member and realized I needed to spend some time reading church history. As I went to bed that night I had a thought it would be great if there was a book that talked about from Jesus till now. I searched and found this book with that exact title and I’m so blessed to have done so. Thank you God for your guidance, may this book open many other minds and hearts.
I had a conversation with a family member and realized I needed to spend some time reading church history. As I went to bed that night I had a thought it would be great if there was a book that talked about from Jesus till now. I searched and found this book with that exact title and I’m so blessed to have done so. Thank you God for your guidance, may this book open many other minds and hearts.
Displaying 1 of 1 review