Introduction to the History of Christianity

This book is required text for a class that I am in. It is great as a text book from an academic and historical perspective. I find it even better as an apoligetic tool and faith builder!!

I came across this book by accident in a bible bookshop. I haven't heard nor read any review about it before. But i couldn't resist the purchase after flipping through a few pages seeing how incredibly attractive the presentation of the material was. I had finished reading ''Church history in plain langage'' not too long ago, and it was more scholarly presented, meaning its a textbook and just that. Almost no illustration, and paragraphs were packed tightly. That's why i was interested in the Lion Handbook of church history: the layout promised for a more enjoyable read. And indeed it was. The reason this book deserves a full 4 stars is that you actually ''have fun'' reading the chapters: each has many pictures and figures that illustrate a historical aspect, has some famous quotations in the margins from the time period discussed, many maps and charts, and a lot of articles set in a box about important personalities...all printed in color and on excellent ''kodak-like'' paper. It is indeed very handsome! Now mind you, being attractive is in no way useful in a history book unless it is combined with accuracy and scholarly approach. You won't be disappointed here: more than 50 renowned scholars (theologians, historians, analysts,...) are involved in this book which make the book a heavy-weight champ in accuracy. Why not 5 stars? I hesitated a lot before deciding to lower the vote to 4. The book doesnt follow the timeline presentation of history. Rather it takes a particular subject and expand on it like for example : the bible, the liturgy, the bishops, the western church, the eastern church, monasticism, music, art, reformation etc... This approach will make you better understand an important period/theme but might get you confused on the time-line because overlapping will occur. Also, sometimes you find that the authors will insist on minor details and not expand on more important topics. This was (though not often) at times frustrating and tiring. To conclude, this book combines Attractivness (capital A) with accuracy, readability and scholarship. Great addition for your library , great as a gift.

This is a beautifully illustrated overview of 2000 years of Christian history. Great graphics, good biographies and short, readable articles all make for an excellent start to Christian history. If you are looking for a place to begin, or just a single volume that gives you breadth without drowning you in the details, this volume is for you.

Compiled and edited by Tim Dowley from the contributions by more than sixty specialists from ten countries, Introduction To The History Of Christianity is a very highly recommended single-volume reference that spans Christian history from the first century AD down to the present day. Enhanced with a wealth of black-and-white and color photographs, maps, diagrams, The History Of Christianity is a thoroughly "reader friendly", straightforward, and comprehensive chronological presentation of the Christianity's many evolutions. Introduction to The History Of Christianity is a solid, basic, well organized and easily accessible reference which is particularly ideal for use by the non-specialist general reader

The Handbook of the History of Christianity is a wonderful book. Much easier to read than I thought this subject matter would be. It was easy to follow the various changes throughout Early Church History. The pictures were fabulous. The content was very thorough and detailed, yet the writers style made it easy to follow. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in Early Church History.