Church History: Recommended Reading (23 books)

This book list is from Keith Mathison http://www.ligonier.org/blog/church-h...

General Church History

Cross, F.L. The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church.
Gonzales, Justo. The Story of Christianity (2 volumes).
Houghton, S.M. Sketches from Church History.
Kuiper, B.K. The Church in History.
Latourette, Kenneth Scott. A History of Christianity.
Needham, N.R. 2000 Years of Christ’s Power (3 volumes).
Schaff, Philip. History of the Christian Church (8 volumes).
Shelley, Bruce L. Church History in Plain Language.
Tucker, Ruth A. Parade of Faith: A Biographical History of the Christian Church.

If I were to recommend only one of these titles, I would suggest Needham’s set. It only covers the period up to and including the Reformation so far, but more volumes are forthcoming. If you need something covering the entirety of church history, the two volumes by Gonzales are very helpful.

Historical Theology

Allison, Gregg R. Historical Theology: An Introduction to Christian Doctrine.
Berkhof, Louis. The History of Christian Doctrines.
Brown, Harold O. J. Heresies: Heresy and Orthodoxy in the History of the Church.
Cunningham, William. Historical Theology.
Gerrish, B.A. Thinking with the Church: Essays in Historical Theology.
Hägglund, Bengt. History of Theology.
Pelikan, Jaroslav. The Christian Tradition: A History of the Development of Doctrine (5 volumes).

If I were to recommend only one of these titles, I would suggest either Berkhof or Hägglund as an introduction to the subject.

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All Votes Add Books To This List

1	Pontifex Maximus: A Short History of the Popes by Christopher Lascelles (Goodreads Author) 3.92 avg rating — 138 ratings score: 300, and 3 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
2	The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church by Frank Leslie Cross (Editor) 4.47 avg rating — 72 ratings score: 200, and 2 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
3	The Story of Christianity: Volume 1: The Early Church to the Reformation by Justo L. González 4.24 avg rating — 5,094 ratings score: 198, and 2 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
4	40 Days with the Fathers: A daily reading plan by Luke J. Wilson (Goodreads Author) really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 9 ratings score: 100, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
4	A History of Christianity: The First Three Thousand Years by Diarmaid MacCulloch 4.12 avg rating — 6,683 ratings score: 100, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
4	Renewing God's People: A Concise History of Churches of Christ by Gary Holloway 4.20 avg rating — 59 ratings score: 100, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
4	By Water: The Felix Manz Story by Jason Landsel 3.36 avg rating — 64 ratings score: 100, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
8	Sketches from Church History by S.M. Houghton 4.10 avg rating — 129 ratings score: 98, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
9	The Church in History by Barend Klaas Kuiper 3.85 avg rating — 161 ratings score: 97, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
10	A History of Christianity, Vol. 1: Beginnings to 1500 by Kenneth Scott Latourette 3.94 avg rating — 176 ratings score: 96, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
11	2,000 Years of Christ's Power, Part One: The Age of the Early Church Fathers by Nick R. Needham 4.69 avg rating — 938 ratings score: 95, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
12	2,000 Years of Christ's Power, Part Two: The Middle Ages by Nick R. Needham 4.59 avg rating — 463 ratings score: 94, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
13	2000 Years of Christ's Power -- Part 3: Renaissance and Reformation by Nick R. Needham 4.58 avg rating — 311 ratings score: 93, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
14	History of the Christian Church, 8 vols. by Philip Schaff 4.22 avg rating — 349 ratings score: 92, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
15	Church History in Plain Language by Bruce L. Shelley 4.12 avg rating — 5,561 ratings score: 91, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
16	Parade of Faith: A Biographical History of the Christian Church by Ruth A. Tucker 3.88 avg rating — 24 ratings score: 90, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
17	Historical Theology: An Introduction to Christian Doctrine by Gregg R. Allison 4.23 avg rating — 711 ratings score: 89, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
18	The History of Christian Doctrines by Louis Berkhof 4.03 avg rating — 146 ratings score: 88, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
19	Heresies by Harold O.J. Brown 4.18 avg rating — 88 ratings score: 87, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
20	Historical Theology by William Cunningham 4.16 avg rating — 19 ratings score: 86, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
21	Thinking with the Church: Essays in Historical Theology by Brian A. Gerrish really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 2 ratings score: 85, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
22	History of Theology by Bengt Hägglund 4.10 avg rating — 69 ratings score: 84, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
23	The Christian Tradition 5: Christian Doctrine & Modern Culture since 1700 by Jaroslav Pelikan 4.29 avg rating — 162 ratings score: 83, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars