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12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A great intro to the early church and its controversies, October 24, 2008
This review is from: Heretics for Armchair Theologians (Paperback)
"Heretics for Armchair Theologians" is a great addition to a great series. It is easy to understand and has a light tone, even though it explores some very technical ideas that stump many people.
Perfect for church groups, seminarians, and true "armchair theologians" looking to learn about the great figures in the history of the faith, this particular volume focuses on some of the great debates among the early Christians about what was faithful...and what wasn't.
Strange as it may seem to some, it took centuries to work out the core beliefs of Christian faith, particularly surrounding the "personhood"/divinity of Jesus, and the doctrine of the Trinity. Many different perspectives competed with one another, and all had thoughtful, devout adherents with sincere and well-intentioned motives.
This book gives a window into some of the "alternative" perspectives that, in time, or through intense church politics came to be seen as wrong.
Some readers will see that some of these alternatives are still very much around. Others will gain a historical perspective on how basic Christian doctrine came to be.
If you're someone who wonders WHY Christians believe some of the thing we believe, this book will give some answers without preaching or guilt-tactics.
A great resource for thinking Christians and just generally curious people.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great introduction to the topic, January 22, 2011
This review is from: Heretics for Armchair Theologians (Paperback)
What really amazed me about Heretics for Armchair Theologians was how much material the authors covered in such a small book. The body of the book is only 160 pages, but in it Justo and Catherine Gonzalez find space for all of the major heresies of Christianity's first four and a half centuries.
Briefly, the authors deal with the Ebionites, Gnostics, Marcionists, Montanists, Donatists, Pelagians, Arians, Manicheans, and a number of other smaller groups. The Gonzalezes deal with their topic both chronologically and topically, which is possible since most of the heresies they discuss arose as particular tenets of Christianity--the deity of Christ, the Incarnation, the Trinity--came into question. What is more remarkable, they do justice to those movements--their origins, beliefs, goals, problems--and the response from orthodox Christianity.
One thing that sets this book apart from others--or at least from the way most people think of heresy--is that the Gonzalezes point out that nearly all heresies began as movements within Christianity, rather than as attacks from without. This fact is important for understanding Christian history since, as the Church spread and grew in numbers, it required greater structure and more and more exhaustive definitions of its beliefs. Heresies began as otherwise good Christians sought unsuccessfully to make sense of some Christian idea. The corollary fact is that Christianity defined itself against these errors, gradually correcting its course. When the Ebionites asserted that Jesus was a specially favored man--but only a man--the Church clarified the correct position. When Marcion insisted that the Hebrew Scriptures had been nullified by Christ and drew up a list of books agreeing with his stance, the Church finally codified the Canon. When groups like the Montanists and Donatists insisted on even stricter standards of holiness than those laid down by Christ and the Apostles, the Church corrected them. A central idea of the book is that heresies were inevitable and, in a way, necessary and good for the Church.
The Gonzalezes do a great job of setting the Early Church and its attendant heresies in historical context. Many of these heresies arose as Christians attempted to force their beliefs into agreement with non-Christian ideas like Neoplatonism or Gnosticism. And each response to heresy had historical effects down to the present, the most important and detailed example being the response of St. Augustine to Pelagius. Augustine responded to Pelagius, who argued for the role of humans in making their own salvation, by emphasizing--perhaps overemphasizing--the roles of original sin and divine grace. This reaction was eventually seized upon by the Reformers, especially Calvin, who emphasized it even further against the Catholic Church of his time.
All this, and in a book I read in about two days. Heretics for Armchair Theologians is an excellent introduction and guide to the first four centuries of Christianity's struggle with heresy.
Highly recommended.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Light reading on complicated topics., June 21, 2009
This review is from: Heretics for Armchair Theologians (Paperback)
The book does a good job of discussing how different doctrines developed especially in the first five centuries of the Christian Church. The explanations were almost too sparse at times. For example, in talking the Pelagian heresy, they referred to Thomas Aquinas as supporting the Synod of Orange positions. The problem is that the authors were very sparse on the Synod of Orange.
The other problem is probably inherent with a book like this is that they simplified the arguments too much. However, for the most part this a good introduction to the history of doctrines, especially Christology. They made the point several times that heretics were not evil, but sincere Christians who just emphasized one truth too much at the expense of the others. The authors also emphasized that these heresies do inform our biblical theology and how we think about Christ. These truths are just not esoteric trivia, but they have impact on our beliefs.
I get no pleasure from the cartoons. I usually just ignore them. The recommended reading section did not look that interesting. They recommended their own books several times.
The book covers a lot of territory in a very entertaining way. They point out that this issues are complicated and need to be studied. On the whole, they did a good job. I like the Armchair Theologians series. This book is a very good representative of the series.
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