Customer Reviews

Trial and Triumph: Stories from Church History

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is a great way to learn church history through fascinating biographical sketches. It's a children's book, and I have read it aloud to my six- and eight-year-olds, but I enjoyed it for my own reading first. It will make you appreciate your religious freedom in a new way, and inspire you to live a courageous Christian life.

If you want to read an excellent book about stalwart soldiers for Christ, written by a principled (no pun intended), committed, and passionate Christian, and if you want to be "spurred on toward love and good deeds" by the examples of these amazing and courageous believers, read Trial and Triumph! In his writing, Mr. Hannula makes Augustine, Ambrose, Polycarp, and all the others come alive--just as he makes history exciting and real for the students he teaches in his history classes. Do yourself a favor and read his book.

In the great traditions of Fair Sunshine and Foxe's Book ofMartyrs, Hannula has retold many beautiful stories of Christ'sservants. Its simplicity is ideal for children, while its depth is extraordinary for all. Perfect for devotional use as well as a teaching tool.

Very informative and wonderfully written stories of the heroes of the Christian faith. Riveting and inspiring! I've used this with my own children, in teaching Sunday School and in my 4th grade class. It's always the preferred book, even when reading from several other sources. Every Christian should read this book.

We have used this book in our home school studies of the Middle Ages, and have loved it. The author makes the history come alive with his wonderful writing style and interesting information. We have used it alongside other books that sometimes discuss the same people in history, and this one is by far the most interesting narrative. I love it, as do my 5th and 2nd grader. We use it as a read aloud, but an older student could easily tackle it as a reader.

My Uncle has written this book, and I love it.Whenever I read it I get excited to tell others about Christ,just like the people in the book.It is full of missonaries and martyres testimonies.Right now my copy is at my Christian school used for devotions once in a while.

I would recommend this for adults and older children. Most Protestants put so much focus on the Bible that they don't learn much about anything that happened in the Church after the book of Acts. This book will help fill in the gaps.

I'm not sure that there's a time or a place for hagiography. Anyone other than a Christian from a reformed tradition will have difficulty with the biographies here. In general they fail to show the full human-ness of the subjects -- tho' the specifically Catholic or liturgical traditions are, if not condemned outright then certainly have a disapproving eye cast upon them. This work, like others of this kind, fail dismally in that they sanitize the lives of real, sinful human beings -- a standard even the Bible does not aspire to. Yes, many of these Christians have served God faithfully -- but in many more cases God has worked in spite of their failings -- some of which count among the serious sins -- abuse of fellow creatures, adultery etc. To set these people up as some kind of standard to which all Christians should aspire is a real problem, especially when the whole story is not presented. Frankly I find it much more inspiring to know that God can work through little old me, in spite of my many sins and failings. Faithfulness in the midst of sometimes significant short-comings is a much more realistic and holy goal. I bought this book as part of our homeschooling program, but I shall re-sell it. I'm not about to subject my children to these misleading stories.

HANNULA HAS WRITTEN A CLEAR AND THOUGHTFUL ACCOUNT OF SOME OF THE GREATEST HEROES THIS PLANET HAS KNOWN. A GREAT READ FOR INSPIRATION AND AS AN INTRODUCTION TO HEROES OF THE FAITH.

I bought this for my son to use for school reports. I had no idea it would have such an anti-Catholic bias. I thought it would encompass a more universal Christian theme. Rather, its story-telling promotes an agenda highly critical of Catholicism. It lacks objectivity. I plan to give this book away to a Protestant friend.