Christianity: The First Three Thousand Years [Paperback]

 

 

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The reader, when taking on anything by British historian Diarmaid Macculloch, will invariably encounter some well-developed and coherent arguments. This study on the history of Christianity over the last three millenia is no exception. It investigates in enormous detail a number of critical trends and developments associated with its emergence, from its prophetic origins centuries before the birth of Christ in Palestine to its current transforming presence worldwide. Here are some interesting aspects of Macculloch's work that make it an outstanding piece of scholarship for all inquiring minds:
A. Christianity is both a spiritually complex and historically dynamic religion which, in its many forms, continues to profoundly impact on all cultures of the world;
B. The prophetic utterances of old announced the coming of Messiah to deliver the Jewish people from the hand of the oppressor. It is that message, originally intended for the Jew, that became the essence of the Christian gospel, through the death and ressurrection of Jesus of Nazareth, and spread to the four corners of the globe over two thousand years;
C. Along the way, there are many special defining moments that will come as a bit of a shock to some of us accustomed to seeing history as a straight-line progression going from East to West. It is Macculloch's belief that various branches of Christianity, in the form of the Nestorian and Miaphysite movements, moved east into Asia over the centuries following Christ's ministry and the founding of the Jerusalem Church. The historical record shows that these monastic movements made extensive inroads into cultures as faraway as India and central China;
D. Everything that is remotely Christian is discussed as part of the ever changing face of Christianity. There are some significant references to continual disputes over doctrinal positions, what constituted heresy and how orthodoxy came eventually to be established only to be shakened once again;
E. Macculloch compiles history as one would relate an adventure full of remarkable people, intriguing events and uncertain purpose;
F. There is a definite ebb and flow to the whole history of this great movement. As the Church - Christ's mystical body on earth - strives for unity of purpose, it often remains sorely divided over issues that have to do with proper interpretation of Scripture;
G. The modern age and the rise of statism has done much to redefine the role of Christianity as the spiritual arm of society. While the Catholic Church and its many Protestant counterparts once had the unlimited power to proselytize, the influence of the Enlightenment has made that opportunity harder to exploit. The modern church, as defined by the ever-changing forces of history, is constantly grappling with major philosophical and social issues from within that compromise its ability to win the world for Christ;
H. MacCulloch does an effective job in tracing the development of some key ideas and teachings that have become an integral part of Christianity over the centuries. Papal infallibility, purgatory, and the Holy Trinity are just several that are discussed in detail here;
I. MacCulloch avoids making any assumptions as the rightness or wrongness of the Christian dogma. Even with his strong Anglican background, he is prepared to allow history to speak for itself. His job as an historian is to present the facts in an accurate and orderly fashion so that the reader can make up his or her own mind;
J. The one drawback to this study is its length and intensity of argument. It might have been better released as a set instead of one oversized, densely written volume that is taking me ages to read. Other than that, this book is one you won't want to miss if you want to learn how Christ, the very incarnation of God, has made his presence felt on the world over time.

I received the first DVD in the series for a review and I so glad it was the first one that I received. This is a history of the Christian church not of Jesus nor the gospel. The first DVD follows the Christian church as it heads East rather than West. There were so many things that I didn't know like the fact that the Church of the East was headquartered in Baghdad and that it had send missionaries and established churches in China as early as the 7th Century, long before Western Europe was Christianized. The photography was excellent, interviews with Arabic church leaders were in English so there was no confusion with the translation, and maps were displayed which helped to place the activities in perspective. Living in the West and hearing only about Western Christianity means that I never really even thought about how the early Jewish/Christian church headed East because Rome was killing Christians. The host, David MacCulloch was easy to understand

Maccullogh's prize-winning history needs no encomium from me. Instead I will excoriate his publisher Viking/Penguin for the shoddy cheap binding of the book. As I read through the book, pages just fell out of the spine. Hardback in name only, the glued spine is no more durable than the cheapest paperback. I glued clumps of pages (chiefly the illustrations) back in five locations. This isn't the first Viking publication I have had which behaved this way. I would ask reputable authors to select another publisher or to specify a quality binding in their contract.

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5.0 out of 5 stars A long-perspective, readable view from a knowledgeable scholar
The knowledgeable author and scholar is Diarmaid MacCulloch, Professor of the History of the Church at Oxford and Fellow at St. Cross College. Read more

Published 12 months ago by Janet Doyle

1.0 out of 5 stars A most unpleasant book
My son gave me this book for Christmas, and so far I have found it a rather unpleasant read. MacCulloch treats his subject matter as if it were at the end of a shovel. Read more

Published 16 months ago by Rachelle Cournoyer

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