Review of Church History in Plain Language by Bruce Shelley

Mike Leake

Author: Bruce Shelley

Pages: 544 pgs

Publisher: Thomas Nelson

Price: 19.79

Genre: Church History

Quick Summary:

Church History in Plain Language is just that; a history of the church written in plain language. Dr. Shelley writes church history as a compelling story of real people with real struggles. The book is broken up into eight parts (each a great age of the church). The history in this volume seems to end with the globalization of the mid 1990’s. This book has been reprinted numerous times with three editions and is often a standard text in college classrooms.

What I Liked:

Dr. Shelley manages to write about church history in a plain and compelling fashion. As an historian does he makes decisions about certain events but he seems to do this often while being fair to every side of the issue. This book would be easy enough for a junior high student to read but compelling enough for a seminary student to enjoy. Dr. Shelley (who passed away recently) is one of the better historians the church has produced and this book is a masterpiece for overviews of Western church history.

What I Disliked:

As is the case many times this would be better termed Western Church History in Plain Language. There is very little in here about Eastern Orthodoxy, the rise of Christianity in the East, etc. Fortunately there are many newer volumes that are beginning to tackle the difficulties of Eastern Church History.

Should You Buy It?

I think every Christian (and even unbelievers) could benefit from this edition. This and Justo Gonzalez’s The Story of Christianity are on the same level. Sometimes you can find older editions of this book for cheaper and not much has changed in the newer editions. It’d be worth your time and money to track down a copy of this book .

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Why All the Homage to Kenny Loggins?

Mike Leake

I owe this joke to my good friend Brian.  One day he humorously quipped, “oh, that’s Jesus, I had always wondered why all the pictures of Kenny Loggins.  In case you are unaware of Kenny Loggins here is a comparison:

 

Jesus should obviously sue Kenny Loggins for stealing his look.  Or should he?  According to a newer study by Popular Mechanics Jesus probably looked more like this:

Something tells me we’d be uncomfortable with having pictures of the real Jesus plastered all over our churches.  Justin Taylor provides an interesting article on this; check it out. 

What do you think?  To be honest Jesus not having long hair rocks my world, kind of like finding out that Bing Crosby wasn’t a black guy. 

The Trinitarian Controversy ed. by William Rusch Review

Mike Leake 1 Comment

Author: ed. William G. Rusch

Pages: 182pgs

Publisher: Fortress Press

Price: 18.00 or Used for 3.00

Genre: Church History/Theology

Quick Summary:

The Trinity is one of the most difficult doctrines (if not THE most difficult doctrine) to understand in all of Christendom. Issues related to the Godhead dominated early Christian discussion. The Trinitarian Controversy is a volume in the Sources of Early Christian Though series. In this series original sources are brought to light to discuss certain theological issues. In this particular volume the reader gets to hear from Arius, Alexander of Alexandria, Athanasius, Gregory of Nazianzus, Gregory of Nyssa, Augustine, and a fair amount of Creeds, Letters, and Canons.

What I Liked:

It is always fun to read the original sources—though undoubtedly some is lost in translation. This series is a great idea, and probably a very difficult task. The introduction to the issue and bibliography is also helpful for further study. I read through this for a church history class and it was somewhat helpful to understand the issues surrounding the Trinitarian debates of the first centuries.

What I Disliked:

This is a pretty difficult read. Reading things from the first five centuries of Christendom is often a difficult task. The Trinity is hard enough to understand; trying to moderately grasp the Trinity and also understand the mind of early Christian thinkers is a difficult task. It’s fun, but it’s tough. But this book is not meant for light study.

Should You Buy It?

If you are a seminary student or studying the Trinity in depth this is a great resource. If you are just casually interested in Trinitarian debates there are probably better places to go to get a summary of early Christian thought.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars