The Story of Christianity: Volume 1: The Early Church to the Dawn of the Reformation
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About this ebook
In this fully revised and updated edition, the lauded church historian Justo González tells the story of Christianity from its fragile infancy to its pervasive dominance at the dawn of the Protestant Reformation. The Story of Christianity, volume 1, relates the dramatic events, the colorful characters, and the revolutionary ideas that shaped the first fifteen centuries of the church's life and thought.
From Jesus's faithful apostles to the early reformist John Wycliffe, González skillfully weaves details from the lives of prominent figures tracing core theological issues and developments within the various traditions of the church. The Story of Christianity demonstrates at each point what new challenges and opportunities faced the church and how Christians struggled with the various options open to them, thereby shaping the future direction of the church.
This new edition of The Story of Christianity incorporates recent archaeological discoveries to give us a better view of the early Christian communities. Among these are advances in the recovery of Gnostic texts that have revealed a richer diversity of "Christianities" in the first century. González also includes important research done in the past twenty-five years revealing the significant role of women throughout the history of the church.
With lively storytelling incorporating the latest research, The Story of Christianity provides a fascinating introduction to the panoramic history of Christianity.
Justo L. Gonzalez
Justo L. González, retired professor of historical theology and author of the highly praised three-volume History of Christian Thought, attended United Seminary in Cuba and was the youngest person to be awarded a Ph. D in historical theology at Yale University. Over the past thirty years he has focused on developing programs for the theological education of Hispanics, and he has received four honorary doctorates.
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Reviews for The Story of Christianity
17 ratings7 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Very succinct and written in an easy to understand format. Great as a started to learn about church history as 101
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5It's a really easy read. very informative and interesting.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Justo Gonzales gives an excellent succinct review of the history of the early church in this first volume. Gonzalez's writing style is easy to understand and his understanding the history is evident even in an introductory book such as this. This book is an excellent read for anyone interested in church history those who wish to understand the origins of the Christian faith. This book is a well regarded and widely utilized in many seminaries and is endorsed by many professors as a fine reference book for pastors and lay leaders alike.
2 people found this helpful
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Very balanced piece of History, if minor faults by accepting some leftist legends about Brazil at least (most of our Indians were not killed, but absorbed into the general population, for instance). Also many assertions lack cited sources.
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Excellent, easy to read book about the history of Christianity. This does not have a lot of information beyond the reach of the east & west Roman empire. Touches a lot of subjects without going into too great of depth, also has further resources listed after each section.
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Even handed, easy to follow history
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5By far the best introduction to the history of Christianity that I have yet read; definitely the most fair, balanced, and unbiased, a real rarity in a field filled with competing confessional "scholars." This book is the place to start if you're interested in the history of Christianity. I only have two complaints: 1. he includes the typical baseless conjecture about the ministry of women in the early Church and 2. once the book gets out of the early Church, the author focuses almost exclusively on the West; the only time the East is mentioned after about AD 400 is in its relationship with the West. Outside of those two relatively minor complaints, though, this book was excellent.