 Great overview for laypersons |
| Review Date: December 7, 1999 |
| Reviewer: Kathryn May, Phoenix, Arizona |
| This is the first book on church history that didn't put me to sleep after two pages...instead I found that I couldn't put it down. At long last, I understand what it means to be a Protestant or a Catholic. I've considered myself a Christian for years with little or no comprehension of the church's early years or continuing struggle to define itself. This book has encouraged me to learn more about my faith. I highly recommend it to all laypersons for its readability. |
A Great book for beginners and serious History Buffs!
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| Review Date: March 27, 2000 |
| Reviewer: David Ianetta, |
| This book is without a doubt one of the best I have ever read! Without denominational bias, the author takes you from the times of Jesus to present day. For those wanting answers on how the Christian Church came to be the way it is today, this is for you. If you don't normally like to read History books, you will love this one. The Chapters read more like a good friend telling you a story. This book is for those who know nothing of Church History and would like to get started as well as those who have been studying the subject for years and would like a "quick" reference or want to fill in some gaps. I have purchased this book twice, simply because I read the cover off the first one! |
Excellent single-source overview
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| Review Date: February 22, 1999 |
| Reviewer: , |
| Having recently used this book as a primary reference for a class on church history, I found it succinct, clear and easy to read, with minimal bias. Readers should not expect comprehensive coverage, and should be aware of the author's mainline protestant background. Aside from these caveats, Shelley provides an excellent overview for those who wish to get a broad perspective without reading multiple volumes. |
Excellent Overview of Christian Church History
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| Review Date: February 18, 2003 |
| Reviewer: Wayne A. Smith, Wilmington, DE |
| For anyone looking for a history of how the catholic church came to be and splintered into the many denominations that now represent organized Christianity, this is a very good place to start. Bruce Shelley has told the story of the Church's founding, growth, splits, doctrinal disputes, theological development and major personalities in a well organized and interesting way. While some interesting aspects of church history may strike the reader as covered briefly, this is necessary to discuss all the major facets of a 2,000 year old institution. Helpfully, the author includes four or five "For Further Reading" suggestions at the end of each chapter so those who want to plumb the depths of various topics have somewhere to go. This book is scholarly without being pedantic and unbiased without being unfaithful to the centrality of Christ's life and divinity as the bedrock of all the Christian churches. From reading the text, I could not discern whether the author is a Catholic or Protestant -- he does a good job of describing their histories and conflicts without taking sides. It is all here. The early church story is described well -- a period that I have found give short shrift in other histories of the church. The growth of the church from a spiritual movement of the outback of the Roman empire to state religion and preeminent institution is a fascinating story that is told well and succinctly. The growth of the nation state and the resulting conflict with Christendom and the Reformation and organized religion's struggle with modernity round out the second half of the book. Finally, the book describes current Christianity -- it's growth as a world movement in Africa and South America and some of the very recent aspects of Church Christianity in America (tele-evangelism, Billy Graham, secularization, etc.) end the book. This book is a fascinating overview of Church History -- "In Plain Language" as advertised. |
Perfect Primer for Plain Folks!
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| Review Date: July 18, 1998 |
| Reviewer: , |
| Okay, so I used too much alliteration in the above headline...but if you're interested in Church History, and have never read any, this IS the book for you! Shelley has done a tremendous job in about 500 pages. Anecdotes and simple explanations of complex ideas are appreciated by the non-expert. "Plain Language" DOESN'T have to be read straight-through, either. Shelley GENERALLY follows "Topical" subjects in each of his 10-12 page chapters. For instance: interested in John Wesley? Read the chapter on Wesley and Methodism. Interested in how the Creeds or Canon were formulated? There's a chapter on each of those, too. What about Eastern Orthodoxy? Yep...well, you get the idea. AND Shelley doesn't stop there--IF the student is particularly interested in a subject, EACH CHAPTER has a bibliography to point him/her in the right direction. "Church History In Plain Language" is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! |
An easy book to read
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| Review Date: August 2, 2002 |
| Reviewer: Eric N. Landstrom, Bloomington, MN United States |
I have often said that the major difference between the clergy and the laity is a working knowledge of church history. Knowledge of church history not only gives a person an understanding how Western civilization formed, but also how and why theological distinctives were accepted and/or jettisoned.
This is an entertaining book to read. Shelley's style of writing will keep you flipping the pages eager to continue onto the end. He gives enough depth for the reader to understand exactly how and why events came to pass as they did without going overboard by putting the reader to sleep. It is a great book for anybody to read through who is interested in learning history and why the world is the way it is. Regarding this aspect, I heartily recommend Shelly's book for others to read.
That having been said, I do have two caveats about the book. The first is style related. The author has seen fit to not include footnotes at the bottom of the page and to not include direct references in the text to the end notes that are included at the back of the book. Although the endnotes are divided up by chapter (thankfully) this still means a gallop through the back of the book if you want to reference a quote and that you need to read all of the chapter endnotes to determine which one applies to the quote your looking for. Annoying. Secondly, after the East-West Schism, don't look for anything written about the Orthodox church aside from random references because they simply aren't there. Hence the book, titled properly, should have been "Western Church History in Plain Language."
All in all it is a good book that is easy to read and engaging and well worth the asking price. |
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