Reviews for China: A History to 1949 - Valjean McLenighan - Paperback

The average rating for China: A History to 1949 - Valjean McLenighan - Paperback based on 2 reviews is 2.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2017-07-18 00:00:00 Lisa Sica Eusebius (of Caesarea) lived from approximately 260 – 337 A.D. He was a bishop, author of many writings, imprisoned, tortured, and suffered through several Roman persecutions, saw friends martyred including his beloved mentor. Eusebius was a leader and speaker at important early Church councils and synods. He celebrated Constantine’s triumphal accession to power, the ensuing peace and freedom for Christians. Eusebius experienced much of what he put into The Church History. He was not a disinterested historian by any means, nor did he write history as we think of it today. Today we like to hope our historians are completely objective, that they treat objective truth objectively. Personally I think writers can never be completely objective no matter how hard they try. They always have a reason for writing, or they wouldn’t write. But that is just my subjective view. Eusebius wrote his history as a gift to posterity, that is to us. He wasn’t impartial, nor was he trying to be. Neither did he strive for thoroughness. He wanted to inspire, to give hope. And he had his favorites. Origen, Dionysius and Constantine were the top three. I went into Origen more below. Eusebius is often accused of being too fond of Constantine. In the concluding section after Chapter 10, Paul Maier balances Eusebius’s panoply of praise with a superb discussion on Constantine’s varied reputation over the centuries. Sometimes when people read Luke’s account in Acts 2:44-47 they can form an idyllic picture of the early church which is all peace, harmony, sharing and praising God. Eusebius describes a quite different Church, one very similar to ours: suffering, struggling against oppression from without and dissention from within. Perhaps the battle between Good and Evil has not changed so very much after all... We learn about the early church’s attempts to define what it meant to be ‘church’, and Who Jesus Christ actually was. These questions led to accumulating, reviewing and determining the credibility and validity of the many varied writings. Then repeated councils needed to be called and the necessary persons had to assemble from all parts of the known world during a time when travels was hazardous. This led to the development of doctrines and creeds, and also to defining what was and wasn’t heretical. Eusebius isn’t always the best about explaining this, but fortunately in this edition, Paul Maier has a wonderful commentary at the end of each chapter to fill in the gaps. I was so grateful. Although I have studied Church history before, I still got lost. In my preliminary thoughts below I mentioned some of all I learned, so I won’t repeat myself. Those really interested can see below. There is just so much more I could say about this history but let me limit myself to three more points. Although Eusebius is not a perfect source, he is frequently the only source for many ancient documents otherwise lost to history. Maier cites several instances where Eusebius copied out and included a whole section of a writer’s text which happens to be the only surviving bit of it. The rest of work has not survived. So in that sense, if for no other, we owe Eusebius a huge debt. At times I thought Eusebius gloried in the gruesome in recounting his stories of the deaths of the martyrs. As he was an eyewitness to some of them I do not doubt his testimony and he gives other first person narratives as well. The heroics of the early Christian martyrs will haunt you. No, they didn’t all pass the test. Some ran, others caved in and worshipped the Roman ‘gods’, but of those who endured, oh my, what they went through! I thought I had read some awful atrocities today, but there is nothing new under the sun. The Romans were hideously cruel. Well of course they were. Look what they did to Jesus. At the time The Church History was written, 324 AD, the canon of Sacred Scripture, was still not fully formed, that is, no one in the East or the West or anywhere in all of Christendom had a Bible as we know it today! Some of the episodes within that fascinating period of our Christian heritage are told here in this book. How we acquired our beloved scriptures happened during these first 400 years. If you want to know the story, this is as good a place to start as any. There are many fine photos of the areas discussed and the busts of the Roman generals and emperors throughout the book. A fascinating and disturbing read. Our Christian heritage. September 1, 2017: Preliminary review; scattered thoughts. Would that Eusebius’ The Church History be required reading for all Christians regardless of denomination, but then I suspect there would be far fewer of us, as so few today like to read. And yet this fine (for its day) account of the Church’s early days dispels many persistent myths and some new ones. For example, how holy and generous everyone was back then and how idyllic the circumstances—before sinners were let into the Church and ruined everything. Aside, that is, from a Roman persecution every so often… maybe a fire, plague, pillage... Eusebius presents quite a different Church for us; a suffering Church, struggling to define what it meant to be ‘church’, and Who its founder Jesus Christ actually was for starters. These seemingly foundational questions were anything but simple and led to dealing with endless heresies; sorting through numerous writings of varying quality; conducting repeated councils; developing and refining creeds, and yes, even to specifying what concerned Mary, but only because it was her humanity and relationship to Jesus which in the end settled so many questions about Him. Although each heresy was another opportunity to further refine and deepen the Church’s understanding of the great mysteries of God—to those humble enough to submit—it was also a chance for the evil one to lead others astray. There was no official canon then, so these early Christians had to first collect and then sort through all the writings and try to determine what was orthodox from what was not, without computers or any form of communication, all the while battling enemies from within and without. Considering all they were up against, that we have the Sacred Scriptures today is nothing short of miraculous. Eusebius was not a historian as we think of one today. He was neither impartial nor thorough and unapologetically so. He was writing his history for Christian posterity. He has his favorites. Origen was the most important. He devoted his longest chapter, 8, almost exclusively to him. For me it was also the most interesting chapter. I have read bits and pieces about this incredible Church Father—who was also a brilliant apologist* but not a saint—yet never have I encountered so much about Origen as what is here. Still Eusebius neglects to mention why or how Origen’s philosophy strayed into dangerous territory. The reason is because his hero was so remarkably intelligent most could not even understand his writings well-enough to see how they would be controversial. However, if you are interested in an outline of this discussion, read this. One of these days, I am going to have to tackle a biography of this amazing philosopher/theologian or some of his writings. Okay, still reading... *He is often quoted still today, across all branches of Christian denominations, beloved in the East and West. August 12, 2017: Brant Pitre whose course on Jesus of Nazareth: A Biblical Christology I am currently listening to said that members of the infamous Jesus Seminar do not read period documents like this, limiting themselves to the Gospels. However, Eusebius's History is supposedly the best record of the period immediately following the time of the Gospels and even describes how the Gospels were assembled, or so Pitre claims--I haven't read it yet. I have been meaning to read this forever. Need to bite the bullet and just do it!

Review # 2 was written on 2015-09-12 00:00:00 Thomas Barnes The greatest tale of a persecuted religious minority toppling an all-encompassing empire until the release of Star Wars. The awe-inspiring story of a mystical sect of oppressed destitutes ending up as the most widely known religion in human history. Coming soon to a church near you! Eusebius weaves a stunning epic with memorable characters, including JESUS, a young Jewish hero whose heroic challenge to authority causes his ultimate downfall... DIOCLETIAN, an evil tyrant whose bloodthirst against the brave faithful knows no bounds... and last but not least, CONSTANTINE, an ambitious prince determined to herald the winds of change across the world. The result is a harrowing narrative of hope and persistence even in the face of death.