Customer Reviews

A Brief History of the Presbyterians

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This little book is jam-packed with as near a complete history of Presbyterian Heritage as is accessible to the average laity. I was very impressed with the clarity and description, and the charts and photos greatly enhanced my understanding. As a religion student I would highly recommend this to all my Presbyterian brothers and sisters. This is a truly good read.

As a former student of Dr. Smylie, I can attest to his passion for history, in particular the history of the Presbyterian Church in all its forms. With words and pictures, A Brief History helps us understand the foundations of our denomination. It is an invaluable tool for teaching and explaining our journey in the waters in the Reformed Tradition.

As a lifelong Presbyterian, I have been seriously lacking in knowing its historical background. I found this to be a good quick way for me to begin a journey in understanding the roots of my denomination.

The Brief History of the Presbyterians is a good place to start on this subject. It places the growth of the denomination in its proper perspective in time and with the world events taking place. The author has done a good job in "sandwiching" the Presbyterians with events surrounding their origin and growth.

This book is written by a professor of Theology and in my opinion is geared more toward an audience of academicians. It is not an easy read as it is very wordy - to the point of being choppy and lacking flow. I can see it being useful for students of Theology for purposes of research papers as it is filled with a wealth of information. However, this is not a book for the casual reader that is just looking to learn more about the history of the Presbyterian religion. While it provides the information you're probably looking for, it reads like a college text book. This is definitely a book for clergy and the world of academia, NOT for the lay person or casual reader.

Excelent resource I am useing it for a research paper it great for putting dates in prespective.