Documents of the Christian Church

You'll be amazed at how much is provided in just over 450 pages. A vast amount of the essential writings of Western Christianity are collected here: early church fathers, heretics, synods, councils, popes, eucharistic treatises, various dogmas, monastic rites, scholasticism, reformers, etc. As I noted, this is largely focused on Western Christianity with little on Eastern Orthodoxy...which is good because if Eastern Orthodoxy were included, then much material would have to be sacrificed. Bettenson was the Bishop of London, which explains the great amount of Anglican writings included; however, Catholics and Protestants (mainly Lutherans, Calvinists, Baptists, and Methodists) are well covered. The 3rd edition includes contemporary issues such as ecumenism, feminist theology, liberation theology, and contraception. Even though feminist theology has become largely irrelevant and liberation theology has proven useless, they are still important to understand as products (relics?) of the 20th century, although feminist theology will surely become even more radicalized and continue in a cultish fashion among the academic "elite." All in all, this is an essential reference book of primary sources for those studying the history of Christian doctrines. This, of course, should be supplemented with secondary sources such as Robert Louis Wilken (Roman Catholic), Jaroslav Pelikan (Greek Orthodox), and Henry Chadwick (Anglican)...the big three of early church studies.

Henry Bettenson and Chris Maunder have done a great job of collecting some of the most important documents of the Christian religion from the beginning until today. Almost every major controversy in the universal Church is represented by a document or two. For instance, Arianism, Montanism, Sabellianism, etc, are all covered. Sometimes the writings of the heretics are thrown in for a more balanced perspective. As the authors move past the Reformation, the book becomes less useful. Since there are so many documents from various denominations, it becomes impossible to fit all of them in one small book. The Church of England is heavily represented, as are other religious movements in England. The documents of the Roman Catholic Church are represented, including documents of Trent and Vatican II. Luther's entire `95 Theses' are included. Some of the modern documents relate to issues of women's ordination, black theology, social justice, homosexuality, ecumenical relations, and AIDS. These are useful because they give documents from our own time. Overall this is a good collection. However, for every document included, there were 20 more that could have been added. This is just the nature of the book. The editors did a great job of choosing relevant documents. So it's a good collection that will scratch the surface, acting as an introduction, but is by no means the only book someone studying Christian thought in-depth would need. However, the book provides original texts, which many people rarely get to read, so that is quite a treat. While the book is small, the print is tiny, so they manage to squeeze in a lot of material in 461 pages! As a collection of primary texts, this is one of the best introductions to the thought of the Church from its birth until today.

If you are a student of theology, Western history of almost any sort, church-state relations, sociology of religion, philosophy of religion, or are just a mad autodidact, you already have this book. All primary sources, and fascinating reading for any occasion. If it played a role in the formation of Western theology and political-ecclesiological development, it is in this small book. There is information in this book you don't even know that you are missing, so look at it this way: church histories are necessary and very important, but wouldn't you like to read the same documents the historians are reading, and draw your own conclusions? An essential tool for professors, students, pastors, and educated Westerners of all stripes.

Good collection of the most important writings from Church history. Although it is not intended to give a statement of every denominational affiliation, it is an excellent resource for those interested in primary source documents.

This is a must-have for anyone interested in church history, doctrine, or theology. Important documents from the early days of Christianity up until modern times are included, and new ones are added when new editions are printed. Excellent!