The Story of Christianity (2 vols.) by Justo Gonzalez

The two volume Church History by Justo Gonzalez is a great introduction to Church History.  These thick volumes (each over 500 pages) serve as a very good orientation to the two thousand years that have transpired since the resurrection of Jesus.  After a short orientation to first century Palestine, Gonzalez moves on to the church in Jerusalem, and does not stop until the conclusion of volume two with a discussion of the church in the world today.


One of the things that the reader will come to appreciate about these books is the concerted effort on the part of the author to show not only the breadth, but the depth of the Christian story.  Gonzalez draws attention to the life of the average believer in the early church, the development of Christianity in  places outside of the empire in the early centuries of the church, and the contribution of more remote remnants of Christianity in places like Egypt and Ethiopia.  To be sure, much of the ink used in these volumes describes Western History, but that is because most of the History of the Church took place in that region or under its influence.  Throughout the book, though, wherever something is happening outside of Western Europe, or among minorities, Gonzalez calls attention to it.


Despite the length of these volumes, it still reads as a fairly high level overview.  It is rare that any one theologian gets more than a few pages.  Augustine, for instance, who is very significant, has a relatively long section of 12 pages.  One must remember that this is an overview and introduction.  It is not likely that the average reader would want or expect much more than this.  This book is here to orient you in the history of the Church.


Included in these volumes are maps and pictures which prove helpful.  For those whose interest is piqued, the end of most chapters contain sometimes lengthy bibliographies which guide you towards further investigation.  Also quite helpful are the time-lines at the beginning of each book and the beginning of each chapter.  These help you to quickly grasp where you are in human history should you decide to read a specific chapter out of order.


This is great two volume set, and well worth the time if you have any interest in Church History.  They are not perfect volumes (for instance, Gonzalez slightly misunderstands Luther's theology), but as an overview, they are great.  Both volumes read very well and integrate the Christian story into the larger political and historical narratives of the day.  The indexes and tables of contents are very useful if you want to brush up on a specific subject, like, say, German Pietism.  It is a useful and readable history, and as a bonus, it has a quite attractive cover that looks great on a bookshelf.  

"Cor meum tibi offero, Domine, prompte et sincere."