Christianity Through The Centuries Rev: Amazon.ca: Earle E Cairns: Books

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Book Description

The third edition of this classic textbook on church history is updated to the late twentieth century.200,000 copies are in print through the first three printings.

From the Publisher

%The third edition of Christianity Through the Centuries brings the reader up-to-date by incorporating events and developments in the church into the 1990s. This edition has been redesigned with new typography and greatly improved graphics to increase clarity, accessibility, and usefulness. New chapters examine recent trends and developments (expanding the last section from 2 chapters to 5) New photos. Over 100 photos in all more than twice the number in the previous edition Single-column format for greater readability and a contemporary look Improved maps (21) and charts (39)

Building on the features that have made Christianity Through the Centuries an indispensable text, the author not only explains the development of doctrines, movements, and institutions, but also gives attention to "the impact of Christianity on its times and to the mark of the times on Christianity."

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Inside This Book (Learn More)

First Sentence
IN GALATIANS 4:4 Paul called attention to the historical era of providential preparation that preceded the coming of Christ to earth in human form: "When the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son." Read the first page

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Customer Reviews

9 Reviews

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3.7 out of 5 stars (9 customer reviews)

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3.0 out of 5 stars Good historical context but very ideosyncratic, Oct 18 2009

By

Jacob Fehr (Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: Christianity Through The Centuries Rev (Hardcover)

This book tries to give both a broader historical context to the development of Christianity, and an encyclopedic listing of its facts, names, and dates. The historical overview is interesting and helps to one to understand the rise and spread of Christianity, something that few other histories do, and along the way it provides almost a refresher course in (mostly) Western history. The attempt at summarizing all the "facts" however, doesn't work nearly as well. The book was written as a textbook, for mostly young men, and it shows, being a bit dull and somewhat patronizing. The author is also rather ideosyncratic in his writing, at times trying to be formal and official, at other times getting carried away by personal enthusiams. While trying to organize everything chronologicaly, he jumps back and forth in way that is at times confusing. Some overlap would be understandable but the chapters could be better organized. In other places the author seems to be grimly intent on cramming in as much information as possible; you can almost hear him ticking off a checklist. In particular, the chapters dealing with one of the most crucial events in Church history, the Reformation, are so chock-a-block with names and schisms and dates that your head starts spinning. There is also at least one very glaring omission: he fails to even mention C. S. Lewis, surely one of the most important of modern theologians. Like many other similar histories, it is limited almost entirely to the Western church, with only cursory outlines of the spread of the Gospel to other parts of the world, which is something that interests me particularly. One thing that does deserve full credit however, is that the book is remarkably fair and balanced, at least from a non-denominational Protestant view. While there is a lot of criticism of the Catholic Church, and deservedly so most people except Catholics would agree, it also offers apt criticism of many other movements and leaders, and, except for the above noted exceptions, is quite comprehensive. Overall, it is a good starting point, but it could certainly be improved by editing and by filling in what is most clearly missing.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Quality Introduction to Church History, Oct 3 2001

By

Todd Hudnall (Colorado Springs, CO) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: Christianity Through The Centuries Rev (Hardcover)

Earle Cairns take the reader on an epic journey of the history of the church from the day of Pentecost to the middle of the last decade of the 20th Century. The 560-page volume gives the reader an overview of the people, events, movements, doctrines, and cultures that sometimes shaped the church and that the church often shaped. The author shares little known details (Charlemagne was 7 foot tall), while presenting the broad-brush stroke of two thousand years of history.

The book was written from a conservative, nondenominational perspective. Though the author is from the Reformed tradition, I thought the book was thoughtful, fair, and balanced. It is easy to read and contains an abundance of pictures, photographs, maps and charts. Christianity Through the Centuries is an outstanding introductory presentation of Church history that I would heartily recommend.

Earle E. Cairns is professor emeritus at Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois. He is a member of the American Society of Church History, the American Historical Association, and the Conference on Faith and History.

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2.0 out of 5 stars Worst written and edited book I have ever read!!, Dec 31 2000

By

Edward C. Franks (Pasadena, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Christianity Through The Centuries Rev (Hardcover)

Book is the worst written and edited book I have ever read. Numerous errors, typos; Syntax that frequently defies interpretation. Frequent use of terms that are never defined. Poor maps; Useless diagrams. A real test. The editor must have been asleep on this one. What was Zondervan thinking?

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Most recent customer reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Difficulty read...there are better ones out there.
The only reason I bought the book is b/c it was required for a college course. I found myself turning to other sources to obtain info on Christian History mainly b/c the book is... Read more

Published on May 13 2000

4.0 out of 5 stars Great for those that are not familiar with Church History!
This book is great for the student that has no familiarity with Church History, like me when I first started reading it. Read more

Published on Sep 18 1999 by Eddie Smith