Customer Reviews

A Popular History of the Catholic Church

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This was an extremely good introduction to the history of the church. Especially the early church history was written very lively, giving me a new understanding and appreciation for this period in time. The layout and structure of the book, including interesting maps and charts, made the reading very nice too.

I enjoyed the balanced treatment of this topic, neither blaming the church for all negative that ever happened, nor white-washing and excusing dark areas in history. The author mentioned very nicely the conditions of the times leading to new developments, be they negative or good.

This is an historical primer that summarizes 2000 years of Church history in about 270 pages. If you're looking for a basic timeline and a general understanding of key events, the book is ok. However, the author bends over backwards to present a balanced interpretation of these key events. Unfortunately, when every side of every issue is presented as equally reasonable, the cumulative effect is that of a very unreasonable point of view. Case in point: I thought portraying Martin Luther as a reasonable middle-of-the roader was a rather peculiar choice, considering Luther is one of the most extreme and controversial characters in all of religious history. I can imagine someone thinking Luther was the greatest thing that ever happened to Christianity. I can imagine someone thinking Luther was the worst thing that ever happened to Christianity. What I have a hard time imagining is someone thinking, "Oh well. The Reformation was just one of those things." But that is exactly the impression I got of how Mr. Koch feels about it. I would look elsewhere for Church history.

This was an extremely good introduction to the history of the church. Especially the early church history was written very lively, giving me a new understanding and appreciation for this period in time. The layout and structure of the book, including interesting maps and charts, made the reading very nice too.

I enjoyed the balanced treatment of this topic, neither blaming the church for all negative that ever happened, nor white-washing and excusing dark areas in history. The author mentioned very nicely the conditions of the times leading to new developments, be they negative or good.

from Criss Cross, No. 5: "a new resource that can help us to remember by becoming more familiar with the varied colorful history of the Catholic Church. . . can be recommended without hesitation for catechists, parents and all persons wishing to remember our Catholic roots. This history helps us to understand why the Catholic Church exists as it does today, while it gives necessary perspectives for envisioning the future."

Unfortunately, I ordered this book thinking that it was the book by the same title, but written by a true historian--Phillip Hughes. Carl Koch, on the other hand is a professor of education, human development, and English at Saint Mary's University of Minnesota Graduate School. If you are looking for a work on the Church by a true historian, look elsewhere. I recommend strongly the works of H. Daniel Rops, Phillip Hughes, and the especially readable Warren Carroll (History of Christendom series is superb).

The work itself is the typical liberal-'catholic' dogma. Luther was a great guy that had it right and was wronged by the Church. ..those familiar with liberal garbage can probably guess the rest.

from The Faith Connection, 7/12/98: "offers readers a journey into the past so they can see the future. Koch makes a good point: we need to see the church with new eyes so that we can advance its mission with wiser minds and hearts."