Customer Reviews

Church History In Plain Language

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3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

Having recently used this book as a primary reference for a class on church history, I found it succinct, clear and easy to read, with minimal bias. Readers should not expect comprehensive coverage, and should be aware of the author's mainline protestant background. Aside from these caveats, Shelley provides an excellent overview for those who wish to get a broad perspective without reading multiple volumes.

For anyone looking for a history of how the catholic church came to be and splintered into the many denominations that now represent organized Christianity, this is a very good place to start.

Bruce Shelley has told the story of the Church's founding, growth, splits, doctrinal disputes, theological development and major personalities in a well organized and interesting way. While some interesting aspects of church history may strike the reader as covered briefly, this is necessary to discuss all the major facets of a 2,000 year old institution. Helpfully, the author includes four or five "For Further Reading" suggestions at the end of each chapter so those who want to plumb the depths of various topics have somewhere to go.

This book is scholarly without being pedantic and unbiased without being unfaithful to the centrality of Christ's life and divinity as the bedrock of all the Christian churches. From reading the text, I could not discern whether the author is a Catholic or Protestant -- he does a good job of describing their histories and conflicts without taking sides.

It is all here. The early church story is described well -- a period that I have found give short shrift in other histories of the church. The growth of the church from a spiritual movement of the outback of the Roman empire to state religion and preeminent institution is a fascinating story that is told well and succinctly. The growth of the nation state and the resulting conflict with Christendom and the Reformation and organized religion's struggle with modernity round out the second half of the book. Finally, the book describes current Christianity -- it's growth as a world movement in Africa and South America and some of the very recent aspects of Church Christianity in America (tele-evangelism, Billy Graham, secularization, etc.) end the book.

This book is a fascinating overview of Church History -- "In Plain Language" as advertised.

"Church History in Plain Language is a very valuable resource in the learning of the roots of the Church. It relates and analyzes the revival, growth, and recession of the Church in a simple yet interesting way." Paul (age 16, from Mcleansville, North Carolina)


Defining Christianity:
As a Church historian, Shelly asks, "Is the church a movement or an institution?" He shows in his book what he believes that, "the people of God in history live in tension between an ideal-the universal communion of saints-and the specific-the particular people in a definite time and place."
Dr. Shelley makes his presentation of the Church by dividing Christianity into eight episodes from the age of Jesus' Apostles, to our own age of postmodern Ideologies, in a journey of Progress through the age of universal(Catholic) Christianity, the age of the Roman Christianized Empire, the Middle Ages of Christianity, the Reformation, the age of Reason and Revival.

Book Methodology & Tools:
Shelley's use of narrative, biography, and visual aids keeps his account lively. He uses time charts throughout his progressive church episodes to clarify with milestone events the course of the flow, relating Christian characters with world events. His use of charts and tables is instrumental in his mission to decipher the progress of the 'Kingdom,' in the world through Gnostic concepts with an 'Old Roman Creed,' and defining the canon of NT Books, with a comparative table which culminates in Athanasius paschal letter of 367. His three indices, rather than a combined index, provide listings under the headings of characters, movements, and events. He provides a selected list of suggestions for further reading at the close of chapters, that are some of the best available at hand, and are likely to be reliable readings, not necessarily in agreement of his book.

History and Doctrine:
He progresses church belief and doctrine about Christ as divine, Human, and as one person in simple block diagrams. He treats the monastic Ideal from Tertullian, Origen, Cyperian to Anthony's example, first introduced in the West by Athanasius written biography on the Desert Father. Shelly alleges the Genius of the West in Benedict administrative adoption of Cassian writings on the rules of European monasticism that led Christianity through the dark ages.
The Protestant Reformation and the Counter-Reformation, two important events in European history, are treated as a vital part of the Renaissance, presenting the point at which the power of the church collapses in favor of the power of Christian monarchy. The author gives a clear and rather detailed chronological account with fairly clear unfolding of the development of Protestant thought, and the diversification of its parties and factions, helpful to Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, as much as Protestant and Reformed. The study is written for English speakers, mainly seminarians, focusing on western Christianity, rather than an ecumenical treatment.

Selected Reviews:
"Shelley's style of writing will keep you flipping the pages eager to continue onto the end. He gives enough depth for the reader to understand exactly how and why events came to pass as they did ..." Eric N. Landstrom"
"The growth of the church from a spiritual movement of the outback of the Roman empire to state religion and preeminent institution is a fascinating story that is told well and succinctly. ...But, readers beware: though Dr. Shelley tries to be unbiased, he is sometimes unsuccessful." Wayne A. Smith
"Shelley's 554-page book, on the other hand, is one of the most evenhanded, concise church histories I have come across." Cathy Duffy review
"The book answered the following questions for me: ...
- How could Christians in the south justify slavery, and those in Germany follow the Nazi's?" Jim from OldTruth.com"

I have often said that the major difference between the clergy and the laity is a working knowledge of church history. Knowledge of church history not only gives a person an understanding how Western civilization formed, but also how and why theological distinctives were accepted and/or jettisoned.

This is an entertaining book to read. Shelley's style of writing will keep you flipping the pages eager to continue onto the end. He gives enough depth for the reader to understand exactly how and why events came to pass as they did without going overboard by putting the reader to sleep. It is a great book for anybody to read through who is interested in learning history and why the world is the way it is. Regarding this aspect, I heartily recommend Shelly's book for others to read.

That having been said, I do have two caveats about the book. The first is style related. The author has seen fit to not include footnotes at the bottom of the page and to not include direct references in the text to the end notes that are included at the back of the book. Although the endnotes are divided up by chapter (thankfully) this still means a gallop through the back of the book if you want to reference a quote and that you need to read all of the chapter endnotes to determine which one applies to the quote your looking for. Annoying. Secondly, after the East-West Schism, don't look for anything written about the Orthodox church aside from random references because they simply aren't there. Hence the book, titled properly, should have been "Western Church History in Plain Language."

All in all it is a good book that is easy to read and engaging and well worth the asking price.