Church History In Plain Language [Paperback]

Bruce L. Shelley (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 7, 1996

It's about time that someone wrote church history that tells about people, not just about "eras" and "ages." Church History in Plain Language taps the roots of our Christian family tree. It combines authoritative research with a captivating style to bring our heritage home to us.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Dr. Bruce Shelley was Senior Professor of Church History and Historical Theology at Denver Theological Seminary. He held the M.Div. degree from Fuller Theological Seminary and Ph.D. from the University of Iowa. Among his previous publications are The Church: God's People; Evangelicalism in America; and The Cross and the Flame.

Product Details

• Paperback: 544 pages
• Publisher: Thomas Nelson; 2nd edition (May 7, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0849938619
• ISBN-13: 978-0849938610
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.8 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (81 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #332,196 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

145 of 150 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Very compact and clear. Excellent organization of the text. November 28, 2000

By Spiff

Format:Paperback

Shelley's book is indeed easy to read and very clear most of the time. The writer doesn't seem biased, so readers don't have to worry about being lead to ideas that don't really reflect what happened. The book mentions people and their motivations, and covers history from the time of Jesus until relatively modern days.

Sometimes it's not so easy to follow the timeline, as Shelley often jumps back and forth in time, but that lack of linearity seems to better necessary to explain some events. The subjects covered are also very dense and such brief explanation might sometimes raise more questions than those it answers. That's the price to pay for trying to cover so many years of history in around 500 pages focusing on clarity. Eventually, you might want to check other sources for a more detailed coverage. The author provides some of the major titles on each chapter, so that will be a start. I fully disagree with the reader from Oklahoma who thinks "the book's format screams "boring," with page after page of bare text, no text boxes, too few paragraph breaks", The second edition has nothing to point regarding that, there are many paragraphs and breaks, several sub-topics inside each chapter. You seldom read more than 2 pages without reaching some break or topic change. In fact, that's an area where Shelley did a really good job, the text separation is superb. (I wonder what the Oklahoma reader would think about G.K.Chesterton's (brilliant) "The Everlasting Man", now THAT is having NO breaks) :-)

Regarding content, I'll mention a few of the main topics of each chapter: The book starts with the Jesus movement, the apostles, and proceeds to the age of Catholic Christianity (Persecution, Rise of orthodoxy, the formation of the bible, the power of the bishops, etc).... From there, the age of Christian Roman Empire (Conversion, doctrine of the Trinity, Augustine, The beginning of the papacy, eastern orthodoxy, etc). And we reach the Middle Ages (Gregory the great, Charlemagne and Christendom, the papacy, Scholasticism, The apostolic life-style, decline of the papacy, Wyclif and Hus,etc). In the Age of Reformation Shelly tells us about Martin Luther and Protestantism, The Anabaptists, John Calvin, the Church of England, The Catholic Reformation, America and Asia's situation, Puritanism and denominations. Next come the days of Reason and Revival (Cult of reason, Pascal and the Pietists, Wesley and Methodism and the Great Awakening). In the more recent times the book covers Catholicism in the Age of progress, 19 th century England, protestant missions, Christian America, protestant liberalism, the social crisis, 20 th century ideologies, American evangelicals, the ecumenical movement, roman Catholicism (Vatican II), Christianity in the 3 rd world and Christianity on the world scene. The book also has a list of popes from Leo I to present (John Paul II) and decent indexes (organized by people, movements and events).

The only thing I missed was perhaps a short summary of each age's central events and ideologies at the end of each chapter. (Shelley has some timeline charts, but they are not as useful). Very well organized, very compact (sometimes too much) and perfect for the layman wanting to know more about church history. This is one of the titles that come to my mind when people start asking what's truly the difference between Protestants and Catholics, for instance.

Well worth checking out. Read more ›

46 of 49 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars clear, engaging, and well written April 9, 2002

By NotATameLion

Format:Paperback

When I first purchased this book, I was rather wary. All too often, historians dealing with religion bring along a few spare axes to grind when writing their texts. I was happily surprised by Bruce Shelley's "Church History in Plain Language." It is a clear, reader-friendly overview of the history of Christianity.

Shelley is as fair as can be expected. He approaches history as neutrally as possible while still acknowledging his Protestant background. Instead of trying to fit history into a doctrinal box, Shelley presents facts. Shelley focuses on the key events and personalities that shaped the history of Christianity.

The most appealing thing about "Church History in Plain Language" is its readability. The author's narrative goes a long way in making what could be dry and boring into an engaging story. In some cases, Shelley has made me feel closer to some of his subjects (Augustine, Gregory the Great, and Calvin) in just a few pages than other authors have with whole books.

I highly recommend Bruce Shelley's "Church History in Plain Language." It is probably the best one volume introduction to the history of Christianity available.

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great overview for laypersons December 7, 1999

By Kathryn May

Format:Paperback

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.

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars A good sketch of church history, but thin in its coverage. November 3, 1999

By Dr. Marc Axelrod VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

This is a good, basic intro to church history. Perfect for newbie Christians. But for those who want more of the full story, get Justo Gonzalez or Mark Noll or Kenneth Latourette.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent overview March 21, 2001

By "scoobra"

Format:Paperback

Mr. Shelley's Church History In Plain Language stands up to its title. Mr. Shelley does an excellent job over viewing the major historical events and conceptual changes found through out the history of Christianity. Above all his easy reading style is wonderful. This book made me feel like I was in a personal conversation with my favorite college professor. Mr. Shelley goes out of his way to make the reading experience enjoyable and enlightening.

My reservation with the book is found in its weak approach to the Eastern Church. From 1200 AD forward the Eastern Christians are mostly forgotten. There was also an over detailed focus of the trends in Christianity over the last 50 years. I found the last seven chapters to be too detailed and disconnected from the clear style of the earlier chapters, but the book as a whole is an excellent read for anyone interested in Christian history.

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great book for beginners and serious History Buffs! March 27, 2000

By David Ianetta

Format:Paperback

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!