Church history in plain language review năm 2024
There are a few things to dislike about this book though. First, it should be called Western Church History with a Calvinist Bias. There are factual errors and conflations of heretical and orthodox teachings. The Eastern church is, by in large, given fair treatment, but the Great Schism between east and west is hardly mentioned, and all of Eastern Christianity simply disappears immediately after, to reappear only in the 20th century—at least the Russian Orthodox church reappears—first as the victims of, and then as shills for the atheistic Soviet government. Show Shelley takes great pains to describe the political climate and machinations that contribute to the rise of Christendom and the Roman Catholic church (as if these political events were the underpinning of the entire movement), but he essentially ignores the politics involved in the spread of the Reformation, leaving one to surmise that Protestantism spread solely by its own merit and Divine Will. The major problems I found are related to Shelley's bias shining through the text at key points throughout the narrative. Some examples follow:
In the first half of the book, discussing the rise of Christendom and the church of Rome, Shelley is careful to point out the political climate and machianations that surround these events, almost as if they are the primary cause. In his discussion of the rise of Protestantism, he makes no attempt to ascribe any political motives to the spread of these new doctrines, assuming they are spread solely by Divine Will and their own merit. In all the talk of the spread of Christianity, there is no discussion of the Christianization of Kievan Rus in 980, which brought Christianity to almost half the world (geographically). He also fails to mention that the Portugese merchants who brought their faith to India encountered Christianity already established there by Thomas the Apostle over 1,000 years prior. This demonstrates the pervasiveness of of Shelley's Western-centric view of Christianity.
It is clear that Shelley's purpose of writing this book was its second half, the rise and spread of Protestantism, and specifically the history of the denominations in America. It's clear because his level of enthusiasm increases as he draws closer to the present. Shelley does an excellent job of documenting the people and processes that got us from Luther to this point, and anyone looking to quickly increase their knowledge of Church history would do well to read this book, keeping in mind the bias mentioned above. Sign into Goodreads to see if any of your friends have read Church History in Plain Language. Sign In » Reading ProgressOctober 15, 2014 –Started Reading October 15, 2014 – Shelved October 16, 2014 – 16.15%"". . . a young law student from Asia Minor named Gregory, later nicknamed the Wonder-Worker, because of his unusually successful missionary labors among his own people." "Nicknamed"? Titles of honor bestowed by the Church are hardly nicknames. And St. Gregory was called Wonderworker because of the many miracles God worked through him, not because he was a good church planter!" October 16, 2014 – 16.35%""Origen's overriding concern was to allow the whole Bible to speak for itself . . ." The whole what? There was no "Bible" in the time of Origen, just various books and letters that circulated among the churches. The Biblical Canon would not be set until more than a century later." October 16, 2014 – 19.62%"Shelley mistakenly includes the Filioque ("and the Son") when quoting the original Nicene creed, and says that this creed "to this day is the standard of orthodoxy in the Roman, Eastern, Anglican, and some other churches." Considering that this phrase was so fundamental to the East/West Schism, one would think the author would have known better." October 16, 2014 – 20.38%""It is clear that wen we think of the Trinity, we should not try to think of three persons in our sense of the term, but three personal disclosures of God that correspond to what he is really like." No it isn't clear at all! The author just spent several pages describing how the Church Fathers wrestled with the concept of a triune God, and then he sums it up in a nice, neat, incorrect analogy." What is the summary of church history?Church history or ecclesiastical history as an academic discipline studies the history of Christianity and the way the Christian Church has developed since its inception. Henry Melvill Gwatkin defined church history as "the spiritual side of the history of civilized people ever since our Master's coming". What is church history in Plain Language 5th Edition about?This 5th edition highlights the development of Christianity from the earliest centuries in Asia, India, and Africa, includes the profiles of 55 notable women and non-Europeans who made significant contributions along the way, and summarizes recent developments such as the growth and influence of Christianity in the ... What do we learn from church history?When we study Church history, we get perspective on where we are now and how we serve as a link to the future. It grounds our identity and purpose within this larger story, giving us a firm anchor in God's plan of salvation. Why do we read church history?We see a history not of heroes, but of weak and feeble people being used by a powerful and mighty God. Church History is incredible because it allows us, time and again, to see the evidence of God at work. 4) Church History encouragess us to give God glory for what He has done. |