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A review by latviadugan
The Story of Christianity: A History of 2000 Years of the Christian Faith by David Bentley Hart
5.0
Covering 2,000 years of history, Hart's book is necessarily brief. In spite of it's brevity, it is thorough in covering Christian history beginning with the eternal glory of God and ending with the explosive growth of the Church in the contemporary Global South. Nearly everything in between is mentioned.
I appreciated that Hart begins his history of the Church with the content of the gospel. All that happens after the preaching of the Good News by Jesus and the apostles are echoes of God's declaration that He is for us, that Christ is with us. Of course, Hart doesn't gloss over the times the Church has fallen short of faithfulness to this Good News. He takes an honest and candid look at the various schisms in the Church, the Crusades, and the syncretistic tendencies throughout history.
Each chapter begins with a summary paragraph, which in itself provides a quick and complete history of Christianity. The chapters are short, and though they don't go into much depth, they provide the reader with an initial awareness of the Christian trajectory throughout history and throughout the world.
This is an excellent first book for anyone who has never read a history of Christianity. Highly recommended.
I appreciated that Hart begins his history of the Church with the content of the gospel. All that happens after the preaching of the Good News by Jesus and the apostles are echoes of God's declaration that He is for us, that Christ is with us. Of course, Hart doesn't gloss over the times the Church has fallen short of faithfulness to this Good News. He takes an honest and candid look at the various schisms in the Church, the Crusades, and the syncretistic tendencies throughout history.
Each chapter begins with a summary paragraph, which in itself provides a quick and complete history of Christianity. The chapters are short, and though they don't go into much depth, they provide the reader with an initial awareness of the Christian trajectory throughout history and throughout the world.
This is an excellent first book for anyone who has never read a history of Christianity. Highly recommended.