A Short History of Christianity Rating :
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12 of 14 people found the following review helpful.
All you need to know is a compact presentation
By wizard_chef
Stephen Tomkins was a writer for Monte Python, but he also has strong credentials as a religious scholar. Thus, his presentation displays his dry wit, making the reading a pleasure. OK, maybe he does pick some of the most bizarre characters of Christian history, but there they are! The history of Christianity is indeed bizarre, and Tomkins makes this abundantly clear in his presentation. This is a must read for most Christians who want a short read and quick understanding of the history of their faith. If you expect Tomkins to sugar-coat the past, don't buy this book. If you don't know much about the history of Christianity, be prepared!
12 of 14 people found the following review helpful.who says history has to be boring?
By J. Johnson
Not many authors can get cover blurbs from a serious theologian like J. I. Packer and from ageniius like Terry Jones from Monty Python. It's indicitive of how well Tomkins walks a narrow line-getting history in a readable, concise format, and writing succinctly with wit. Simply put every minister needs a copy of this book. Tomkins boils events down into the barest narrative, yet he holds the essentials.
He writes short chapters that cover several hundred years in a jump or he discusses one great individual. When you need to brush up the basic set of facts and how they influenced the development of the culture-perhaps for a sermon or class, perhaps to answer a question from a parishioner, this book is incredibly useful. If you have someone who is growing in faith and they are curious about church history, this is a book that is accurate and will not put them to sleep or overwhelm them with its erudition.
I highly recommend this book.
6 of 8 people found the following review helpful.A Success, Mr. Tomkins!
By Gregory E. Foster
First, please note the slightly wry Review Title here.
Now to the review of this fascinating, and "successful" little book. I have tried for years to digest historical, religious-related or oriented material, to not much success, as it bogs down and becomes so mundane that I cannot focus on it further and "give it up".
The past couple years I have read a lot about the Knights Templar, early Christianity from Jesus' time until about 500 years later. Personally, I seek the early "pure" (as I refer to it) Christian orthodoxy (or whatever one wishes to refer to it as), before it was transferred to Rome, and re-worked and twisted into something completely different than what it originally was supposed to be.
In the process of reading this book, I was very pleased with what Tomkins has to say "before" Rome, and also everything he says "about" Rome, and also, everything after that. Here we have an incapsulated, and 100-year or so, stepped history from the beginnings until today, right up to 9-11. This is fascinating to get this kind of overview, and I was most intrigued throughout this journey of 250 pages or so. It "snagged" me in several places, pricking my interest, and leaving me wanting to "know more" about certain eras, sects, etc. So, my reading list just got a little longer! And that is certainly OK!
Thus, the "Success" in the review title. Mr. Tomkins has succeeded very well (with others, too, I'm sure) in pricking my interest, and enlightening me, and making me want to go further in deeper readings of some of this material. So, he has certainly done his job, at least in my case, and I consider myself thankful to him for his enlightenment.
As a closing, might I also add that Mr. Tomkins is very clever in his writing style, adding just the slightest wry, humorous edge to his words, making this history so easy to get through.
If you're curious, by all means grab yourself a copy of this fascinating little book and do enjoy! ~operabruin
Product Description
Takes readers on an entertaining and enlightening journey through the key stages of Christian development, covering the people, the events, the movements, and the controversies of the church.
Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #285416 in Books
- Published on: 2006-06-09
- Original language:English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 8.74" h x5.98" w x.64" l,.79 pounds
- Binding: Paperback
- 256 pages
Features
- ISBN13: 9780802833822
- Notes: 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!
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