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The Story of Christianity, Volume 1: The Early Church to the Dawn of the Reformation (Story of Christianity) | 
| Author: Justo L. Gonzalez
Publisher: HarperOne
Category: Book
List Price: $23.95
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Rating:  28 reviews
Sales Rank: 12571
Media: Paperback
Pages: 429
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.1
Dimensions (in): 9.2 x 6.2 x 1.4
ISBN: 0060633158
EAN: 9780060633158
ASIN: 0060633158
Publication Date: July 18, 1984
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Product Description
The Story of Christianity, Volume 1, is an informative, interesting, and consistently readable narrative history. It brings alive the people, dramatic events, and ideas that shaped the first fifteen centuries of Europe, such as the Spanish and Portuguese conquest of the New World. Historian Justo Gonzalez shows how various social, political, and economic movements affected Christianity's internal growth. Gonzalez skillfully weaves in relevant details from the lives of prominent figures from the apostles to John Wycliffe, tracing out core theological issues and developments as reflected in the lives and struggles of leading thinkers within the various traditions of the church. "The history of the church, while showing all the characteristics fo human history, is much more than the history of an institution or movement," Gonzalez stresses. "It is a history of the deeds of the spirit in and through the men and women who have gone before in the faith." The Story of Christianity demonstrates at each point what new challenges and opportunities faced the church, and how Christians struggled with the various options open to them, thereby shaping the future direction of the church. The Story of Christianity will serve as a fascinating introduction to the panoramic history of Christianity for students and teachers of church history, for pastors, and for general readers.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 23 more reviews...
 Events, Politics, Social Structure plus a little Theology November 4, 2008
Philip S Roeda (Cook, Illinois United States)
Justo L. Gonzalez has written four volumes on the History of Christian Thought; he has written two volumes on the Story of Christianity. The latter being book on events, political structure, and social structure. Not devoid of Christian theology but not the main thrust of the work. Volume One The Story of Christianity deals with the events that developed Christian Orthodoxy and later Roman Catholic Orthodoxy which was the cause of the Reformation.
The book is divided into four parts and thirty-six chapters. The first part (109 pages) deals with Christianity and the state of Rome: The growth of Christianity through Paul's missionary journeys, state persecution of Christians, further sharing of the faith those fleeing persecution, and the example of those being martyred for their beliefs. The next 111 pages in part two is about the development of Christian orthodoxy. The schism caused by Donatism. How disagreement about the nature of Jesus being both man and God caused a great debate. It is with these facts about the past made a need for the Nicene and Athanansius creed: Which made clear the doctrine of the Trinity. This part also discusses John Chrysomstom, Jerome and Augustine of Hippo. Part three deals with the crusades, but also the development of the Roman Catholic Church in which Martin Luther among others sought to reform. Penance, indulgences, Papacy, clerical mandatory celibacy and simony are a few of these. The theme and purpose of this work is not a composition of theological argument, but to give a reader historic context.
Very Good text book October 30, 2008
Sushil Melville (Mumbai India)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I was recommended this book by [...] as Iam doing this course in Church History. This is an excellent book which arrived earlier than I had expected.This book is very exhaustive yet very interesting as is illustrates each aspect is a detial manner easy for a layman to understand . Yet without diminishing any content. The author illustates with detail and care as Lucidly as possible. Great book
Sushil Melville
 Easy to read summary on Church History August 14, 2008
A. Kaefer (Karlsruhe, Germany)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This book provides insight into the development of the Church from the beginnings to the Protestant Reformation. It is written in chronological sequence and sheds light on the life of important and known individuals of Church history. The author brings in historical facts and mentions traditons leaving out his own interpretation and opinion about them. The easy-to-read writing style allows this book to be captivating reading material for personal interest as well as a helpful source for intensified research on early Church history.
Simply outstanding August 4, 2008
J. Harrison (Fort Worth, TX)
Gonzalez tells history the way it is meant to be told--as a story. This book truly portrays events as a seamless narrative, giving this work remarkable readability. Gonzalez does not compromise information for ease of reading, however; his work is thorough and replete with the pertinent names, dates, locations, etc. Note, though, that this book is meant to be an introductory text. Gonzalez isn't aiming at overwhelming his readers with every minute detail; instead he whets the appetite and provides his readers with a solid foundation for further study. Recommended without reservations.
 A Portrait of the Church Through Its Early Ages March 29, 2008
China Mike (East Asia)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
A readable book, the Story of Christianity Volume 1 will be a simple, but informative read especially for those who never have studied the historical roots and development of Christianity. Dr. Gonzalez takes you back to eras of the first Christians to the beginning of the Renaissance and the Spanish and Portuguese colonization. The first chapters present the first centuries of the church and the frequent persecutions and martyrdoms. Dr. Gonzalez captures the passion of the martyrs as they suffered under the Roman authorities. Later, he leads the reader through various events that shaped the Church, and its followers such as the legalization of the Christian faith under the Emperor Constantine, the various ecumenical councils to address heresies, and formalization of the Church as a legal institute. An interesting chapter was the development of monasticism as a reaction to the decrease in persecution of the Roman Empire and the austerity of monks. This follows growth of the Papacy and its continual tension between the Eastern Roman Empire and the conflicts between the two parties, which were political as much as theological. As the rift grew between the two empires, Western Christianity spread to the various European tribes and their conversion. Especially interesting were the chapters regarding the height of papal power and its political influence through Innocent II, and the Unum Sanctum following under Boniface VIII. The volume ends with the rise of Renaissance humanism and the colonial Altogether, the work provides tremendous insight into the origin of beliefs and practices that are held today by the church's contribution, and its followers through the ages. Dr. Gonzalez narrative is written well and seeks to capture the drama and the conundrums that Christians often found themselves. The one detraction of the book that is it focuses more upon the Western Roman Church and provides a much briefer account of the Eastern orthodox Churches in the latter half of the book and its institutional development and its various mission efforts to spread the gospel to other parts of the world.
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