Two Kingdoms: The Church and Culture Through the Ages [Hardcover]

Robert Clouse (Author), Richard Pierard (Author), Edwin Yamauchi (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 22, 1993

For better or worse, church and society have influenced each other greatly over the centuries. Two Kingdoms is a unique inquiry into the impact of the church on culture, and culture on the church from the apostolic age to the end of the twentieth century. Top church historians Robert Clouse, Richard Pierard, and Edwin Yamauchi explore this interaction in every age since New Testament times. In the process they answer the most-asked questions about church history. For instance: What other religions in the Roman Empire competed with early Christianity? Why were the early Christians persecuted by the Roman state? How did the church spread throughout the Roman Empire and beyond? How did key orthodox doctrines triumph over early heresies? In what ways did Constantine's conversion to Christianity gradually change the church? What role did European monarchs play in the development of the Roman papacy? What cultural forces led to the decline of the papacy and the acceptance of the Reformation? What did the nations of northern Europe do to ensure the success of the Reformation? What steps-some good, some bad-did the European monarchs take to make peace between the warring religious factions? What role did both Protestantism and Catholicism play in European exploration and colonialism? What impact did the rise of European monarchial absolutism have on the church? What was the religious, cultural, and political impact of English Puritanism and German Pietism? What was the relationship between colonial expansion and Christian missions? What role did the church play in the founding of America and the creation of the French republic? In what ways did the intellectual climate of nineteenth-century Europe negatively impact the church? How has the church responded to the challenges of industrialization and secularization? How successful has the church been in dealing with the ideological developments of the twentieth century? How well is the Western church adjusting to the shifting of dominance to the Third World?This book is not about the history of theology. Although theological concerns are addressed, the primary focus is the interactive dynamic of church and culture through the centuries. It recognizes that the church has not existed in a vacuum but has played a vital role in two thousand years of world history.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 672 pages
• Publisher: Moody Publishers (July 22, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0802485901
• ISBN-13: 978-0802485908
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #939,877 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Previous reviewers should not influence your decision!, February 15, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Two Kingdoms: The Church and Culture Through the Ages (Hardcover)

I found this book to be most beneficial on church history that I have read. It is compulsory reading at the seminary I attended and for good reason. Its wide arc'ing coverage is second to none. Previous reviewers have obviously bought the book expecting to find the authors to have written from the readers own world view. This is not how historical books are written, before writing a review know the subject being dealt with.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great one volume church history, May 14, 2008

By 

Patrick Oden (San Dimas, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Two Kingdoms: The Church and Culture Through the Ages (Hardcover)

I love church history. I've studied a lot of church history formally and informally. I like to talk about church history and teach church history. It's amazing to me how few even dedicated Christians know about their own history.

But the problem comes in the fact it's hard to find a very solid, thorough and readable church history book that is useful as an introduction in an academic setting and useful to those who just want a basic overview for their own benefit. Two Kingdoms is among the very few books that fits this.

I first read it as an assigned book in Mark Nolls church history class as an undergraduate. Since then this has been the first book I recommend to anyone who doesn't have a foundation in church history and wants to know more. There are more thorough books, to be sure, but none that would be as accessible.

It's a great book. Very balanced in its views, even as it's certainly not comprehensive. The blend of church history and surrounding history makes for a very great understanding of the events and contexts of the last 2000 years.

4 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting, but too leftist, March 12, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Two Kingdoms: The Church and Culture Through the Ages (Hardcover)

This Church history is interesting because it tries to put it back into the overall context, but there is not much of secular history, as the title misleads.
Although I am a Protestant, I think that the Protestant bias of the book is too strong. What I also dislike is the leftist orientation of the book, especially for the modern times (on issues such as poverty & wealth, thirld world, ethnicity, war, environment, and more slightly on feminism and charismatism).