Christianity Through the Centuries [Hardcover]

Earle E. Cairns (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 1996

The third edition of Christianity Through the Centuries brings the reader up-to-date by discussing events and developments in the church into the 1990s. This edition has been redesigned with new typography and greatly improved graphics to increase clarity, accessibility, and usefulness. - New chapters examine recent trends and developments (expanding the last section from 2 chapters to 5) - New photos. Over 100 photos in all -- more than twice the number in the previous edition - Single-column format for greater readability and a contemporary look - Improved maps (21) and charts (39) Building on the features that have made Christianity Through the Centuries an indispensable text, the author not only explains the development of doctrines, movements, and institutions, but also gives attention to 'the impact of Christianity on its times and to the mark of the times on Christianity.'

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

%The third edition of Christianity Through the Centuries brings the reader up-to-date by incorporating events and developments in the church into the 1990s. This edition has been redesigned with new typography and greatly improved graphics to increase clarity, accessibility, and usefulness. New chapters examine recent trends and developments (expanding the last section from 2 chapters to 5) New photos. Over 100 photos in all more than twice the number in the previous edition Single-column format for greater readability and a contemporary look Improved maps (21) and charts (39)

Building on the features that have made Christianity Through the Centuries an indispensable text, the author not only explains the development of doctrines, movements, and institutions, but also gives attention to "the impact of Christianity on its times and to the mark of the times on Christianity."

From the Author

Earle E. Cairns, professor emeritus of Wheaton College, is a graduate of Presbyterian Theological Seminary at Omaha (Th.B.) and the University of Nebraska (Ph.D.). He is a member of the American Society of Church History, the American Historical Association, and the Conference on Faith and History. He taught at Wheaton for thirty-five years and was department chairman for much of that time. He was consulting editor for the New International Dictionary of the Christian Church

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Hardcover: 560 pages
• Publisher: Zondervan; 3 Rev Sub edition (December 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0310208122
• ISBN-13: 978-0310208129
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 7.6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #59,099 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Clear, but some mistakes and a strong bias, January 30, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Christianity Through the Centuries (Hardcover)

What is good about this book is its clarity and readability. It also contains many maps and charts.

Although I am myself Protestant I am ashamed of the strong calvinist bias of this book. Very little is said of the Catholic Thomas Aquinas, although he is probably the greatest philosopher and theologian of all times. Worse: the little that is said about Aquinas is false (accusing him of creating a two contradictories realms of knowledge, truths, whereas it is on the contrary Aquinas who solved this problem). The views of Augustine are also misrepresented (Cairns follows the common protestant myth that Augustine believed that faith was prior to reason, p. 229), this just to name a few examples. Some Catholic major thinkers of the 20th century (Maritain, Gilson) are simply ignored. All what is Catholic is under- and misrepresented. Calvinists thinkers are on the contrary over-represented, and too well spoken of.

Concerning Christian movements, the book contains also many mistakes (e. g. that Darby founded the Brethren movement! He never did, only joined them later; when he had become influential he created a schism and took full control of a large fraction, the "exclusive" brethren). Or for example there is no mention that the montanist heretics were charismatic.

The auithor is very (too) enthousiast about some charismatic ideas such as the (short term) growth movement of the third charismatic wave. It is a pity that he never speaks of the authentic spiritual revival happening through the work of Norman Geisler and J. P. Moreland. Although I am also an evangelical, I must say that I find the author much too uncritical of the evangelical movement (there is no mention of the scandal of the evangelical mind, and the emphasis on experiences and emotions).

27 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Quality Introduction to Church History, October 3, 2001

By 

Todd Hudnall (Colorado Springs, CO) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Christianity Through the Centuries (Hardcover)

Earle Cairns take the reader on an epic journey of the history of the church from the day of Pentecost to the middle of the last decade of the 20th Century. The 560-page volume gives the reader an overview of the people, events, movements, doctrines, and cultures that sometimes shaped the church and that the church often shaped. The author shares little known details (Charlemagne was 7 foot tall), while presenting the broad-brush stroke of two thousand years of history.

The book was written from a conservative, nondenominational perspective. Though the author is from the Reformed tradition, I thought the book was thoughtful, fair, and balanced. It is easy to read and contains an abundance of pictures, photographs, maps and charts. Christianity Through the Centuries is an outstanding introductory presentation of Church history that I would heartily recommend.

Earle E. Cairns is professor emeritus at Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois. He is a member of the American Society of Church History, the American Historical Association, and the Conference on Faith and History.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Clarity yes! Accuracy...depth..?, January 25, 2011

By 

Mark (SPOKANE, WA, United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Christianity Through the Centuries (Hardcover)

I felt this book had a clear approach, and was concise in scope and delivery...to those points the work stands as an admirable contribution and clearly is important in terms of advancing modern notions of what really is a history of Christianity supposed to present. That being said, with all due respect I feel that this book does not significantly contribute in its intended mode of providing an accurate and unbiased history of Christianity (albeit an extremely difficult task that the author himself admits is not accomplishable with complete neutrality). Cairns does claim that his text is carefully selected and founded in impartiality (18) as necessitated by its genre. It is here that I feel he clearly misses the mark.

I am as conservative in my theology as you will find, and although I am relatively new to the scholarly/academic arena this book began leaving a foul bias after-taste in my mouth from the earliest chapters. I was so very discouraged to discover that balanced history was so easily and rapidly replaced by agenda promotion. I am a charismatic by association, but do not adhere to denominational constrictions. I love my RC brethren, I love my seeking humanist friends who have not quite yet fully experienced the terrestrial and spiritual treasures of a life in full intellectual submission to the authoritative Spirit of Holy Scripture; I myself am only beginning to plumb the depths of a life in full submission to God by the power of his Holy Spirit through Jesus Christ and his living Word.

Cairns summary of the meaning of Christ in Ch. 2 was especially troubling (57), talk about leaving out the good stuff...heaven forbid he should include the words love or forgiveness when talking about the meaning of Jesus in a "text book". Without adequate space to properly discuss points of theological distinction it seems irresponsible in the least (deceptive and misleading if I were to be destructive with my criticism) to posit denominational ideologies so frequently camouflaged by the shroud of historical objectivity.

This is especially dangerous for those seeking an introductory text. As others have commented before me, an effective argument in favor of evangelical considerations would acknowledge and address criticisms of the broader movement (eighth grade English...thank you Ms. Tinder). It is fascinating how easily these authors justify their distortions; perhaps they have not read their own material. It seems if there truly was a hidden agenda, Cairns would have more cleverly masked his deep bias.