Christianity Through the Centuries: A History of the Christian Church

I believe this fine work by Dr. Cairns is in process of becoming a conservative evangelical classic. Almost everyone I have talked with who has gone through a seminary or Bible College survey of Church History course has used this text in some capacity. It is very accurate and surprisingly readable. Cairns does a great job of showing Church History in the context of world history, and the interdependencies of the two. Although a strong Christian world-view is evident, Cairns objectively analyzes various movements and events and does not bless or condemn in wholesale fashion. The purchase price is a bargain for the wealth of information and this is a keeper for the library. You'll refer to it again and again. I do hope that the publisher will continue to update it, as the decade which has passed since the last edition has been ripe with significant events and movements.

In my humble opinion, Cairns has written and excellent title on the spread of Christianity over the centuries. The book is divided into 3 main periods: 1. Ancient Church History (5 B.C. - A.D. 590). 2. Medieval Church History (590 - 1517). 3. Modern Church History (1517 and After). In all, the book contains 42 chapters roughly divded into the three periods. The writing style is interesting, easy to follow and is supported by several charts and maps. I was required to read the book for a class and thoroughly enjoyed the title and have referred to it often when teaching a Bible study lesson. An excellent source of information, I highly recommend the book. Read and enjoy!

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.

Cairns' work, though not necessarily monumental, is powerful, insightful, and scholarly. I have used several excellent church histories and in my experience, Cairns is certainly among the best. Contrary to what one reviewer said, Cairns takes neither an overly Calvanistic approach to theological anthropology nor does he appear to prefer any one form of Christianity over another. However, he does go to great lengths to present an unbiased, scholarly view of how the Holy Spirit guided church leaders and the historical developments of the church over time. I strongly recommend this book as an introduction to church history for anyone in church leadership who desires a history of the Christian church that pulls no punches and tells it like it was.

This book's endurance--it first appeared in 1954--is a testament to its excellence. Few if any introductory church history texts present their subject matter as concisely yet clearly as this one. Especially appealing to those who believe humanity's fall affected the mind, not just the will.