Reviews for Christianity Through the Cenuries: A History of the Christian Church

The average rating for Christianity Through the Cenuries: A History of the Christian Church based on 2 reviews is 3.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2011-01-16 00:00:00 Scott Kelly In this book Dr. Cairns has skillfully crafted a brilliant and accessible survey of the history of the Christian Church from its inception all the way up to the present day (latest ed. 1996). His writing is engaging, helpful, and honest. Obviously with a survey book, no one can include all the details of any significant person, event, or movement. But Dr. Cairns does a wonderful job (as any historian would do) of selecting which things to include and which things the reader can do without. The book is very well divided into 42 chapters from 11 sections in 3 major periods. The text alone is enough for the price of the book, both in content and lucidity; but there are also great pictures, maps, and charts along the way. While many don't understand the importance of knowing church history, if you are someone with the remotest interest in the subject (and even if you're not), I highly recommend this work. There is not one better survey I know of in this field. It will change and shape your understanding of your very roots as a Christian.

Review # 2 was written on 2020-04-16 00:00:00 Dddd Ddddddddddd I read this book for my Church History courses under Dr. Randy Cloud. While I learned a lot from Cairns' treatment of Church History, I have three major criticisms of this book. The first is more superficial: Cairns' charts are not helpful. They make little sense and could be designed in a much more understandable way. Secondly: It is very obvious when reading that Cairns comes from a strongly evangelical perspective. He is quick to point out the flaws in other Christian traditions and not one time (that I noticed) did he do the same with evangelicalism. Now, evangelicalism is not bad, but it was clearly given the preferred and untouchable position which is scholastically irresponsible. Finally, and flowing out of my second criticism: Cairns gives 90% of his attention to the family tree of evangelicalism. This led to a great neglect of the Roman Catholic Church (which received several sections in total), the Eastern Orthodox Church (which received a few paragraphs in total), and the development of Christianity in outside of Europe prior to the 1800s (which received the equivalent of a few footnotes). The final two chapters of the book itself (41 & 42) are largely dedicated to singing the praises of the growth and influence of evangelicalism rather than to giving a wide overview of the church universal as it stands today. While I have no quarrel with evangelicalism as it comes to reporting church history, a book that claims to be "A History of the Christian Church" should have a much wider scope than an ethnocentric highlight reel of the West and should at least try to mute its radiant praises of one Christian tradition to the detriment of all others.