The Story of Christianity, Volume 1: The Early Church to the Dawn of the Reformation (Story of Christianity)

The Story of Christianity, Volume 1, is an informative, interesting, and consistently readable narrative history. It brings alive the people, dramatic events, and ideas that shaped the first fifteen centuries of Europe, such as the Spanish and Portuguese conquest of the New World. Historian Justo Gonzalez shows how various social, political, and economic movements affected Christianity's internal growth.

Gonzalez skillfully weaves in relevant details from the lives of prominent figures from the apostles to John Wycliffe, tracing out core theological issues and developments as reflected in the lives and struggles of leading thinkers within the various traditions of the church. "The history of the church, while showing all the characteristics fo human history, is much more than the history of an institution or movement," Gonzalez stresses. "It is a history of the deeds of the spirit in and through the men and women who have gone before in the faith." The Story of Christianity demonstrates at each point what new challenges and opportunities faced the church, and how Christians struggled with the various options open to them, thereby shaping the future direction of the church.

The Story of Christianity will serve as a fascinating introduction to the panoramic history of Christianity for students and teachers of church history, for pastors, and for general readers.

Gonzalez, as another reviewer mentioned, is Protestant. From what I have read he does not have an anti-Catholic bias, but he does cover the materials in a more Protestant way. One example is his lack of coverage of Pseudo-Dionysus. However, this book is only an introduction, and does not claim to be the end all guide to every figure in church history.

Overall, Gonzalez has written a fine work that is now a standard textbook in many Catholic and Protestant Seminaries and Universities. I particularly enjoyed his chapter on "Eastern Christianity." You don't have to be a scholar to get into church history. I think Gonzalez will get you interested if you read his book.


History Comes Alive   December 15, 2000
Michael Janke (San Diego, CA)
39 out of 41 found this review helpful

In THE STORY OF CHRISTIANITY, divided into two volumes, Justo Gonzales does a fantastic job of bringing the history of the church alive. His writing style is engaging and the text tends to read more like a novel at times than a typical textbook. And for me that is what this was: a textbook for a Church History class. But by the end of the semester I found myself reading more for pleasure than class requirements.

Gonzales focuses on the high points for the most part because these books are surveys. In particular, there is a greater focus on men like Constantine, Augustine, Luther, and Calvin. He is fair in his research and opinions, and no matter what background you come from you'll find that he presents the facts in an honest and unbiased (as possible) fashion. Coming from an evangelical background I learned much about the roots of that movement and was also very pleased to find a wealth of information on the eastern churches, liberal protestantism, scholasticism, etc. The development of the church in early Latin America, Africa, and Asia is also given attention. Gonzales covers all of the bases.

THE STORY OF CHRISTIANITY is a fine resource for those who wish to gain a firm understanding of the history of the Christian church or for anyone who desires to have a quality resource on the subject available to them. For student, layperson, or teacher, this is an excellent buy. Five Stars.


A great introductory text   April 1, 2005
FrKurt Messick (Bloomington, IN USA)
16 out of 16 found this review helpful

In another text ('The Changing Shape of Church History'), Justo Gonzalez writes about the shift away from a Eurocentric focus on the history of Christianity to a recognition that Christianity is a global phenomenon, not just due to Western missionary activity, but rather has been since its earliest day. Gonzalez keeps this global perspective in mind in his two volume narrative history, 'The Story of Christianity'.

This first volume looks at the history of Christianity from the first century to the dawn of the Reformation period. In his section on the early church, Gonzalez explores the Jewish and Roman worlds of the time, and how the early churches, from Jerusalem prior to the destruction of the Second Temple and the missions of Paul to the early teachers and leaders of the church as it grew in various ways. The persecutions of the early centuries and the martyrs, as well as many of the controversies and heresies, are presented with an interesting analysis. Gonzalez does not take the position that just because something has been labeled a heresy historically that it is necessarily bad or wrong doctrine.

The second section begins with Constantine and continues through most of late antiquity - this is the period of the church becoming an official arm of the state, many of the great creedal councils, and some of the leading lights in Christian theological development. Persons such as the Cappadocians (Gonzalez includes Macrina as a person in her own right here, and so avoids the general term 'Cappadocian Fathers'), Ambrose, John Chrystostom, and Augustine are highlighted. Gonzalez also looks at the major heresies of the time - Donatism and Arianism.

The third section looks at the high and late medieval periods, including the sometimes termed 'dark ages' in Western Europe. However, in Eastern Christianity, there were no such dark ages, and the Carolingian Renaissance led to developments that continued in various ways toward the 'Golden Age' of medieval Christianity, a period of increasing development in theology, architecture, music and devotion. Gonzalez also highlights some pre-Reformation figures such as John Wycliffe, John Huss, Savonarola and others whose influence will be felt in succeeding generations more forcefully.

The final section of this text explores the very beginnings of European expansion into the world, with Spain and Portugal's division of the world and early colonial movements. This sets the stage for the next volume.

Each major section is introduced by a chronology; while generally acceptable, more detail here would be helpful, particularly as it relates to the history of ideas. Incorporation of authors, artists, philosophers and others apart from the specifically political and church-related figures would be helpful for the overall context. Each major section also includes a list of suggested readings, but these lists do not include many recent works of merit - Gonzalez himself admits that this text is due for a revised edition.

Gonzalez has a broadly ecumenical and open approach, striving to cover a massive amount of material with fair attention both to major topics and oft-neglected voices. He does a very good job at this, and despite some minor shortcomings, this remains one of the better general church history texts available.



An excellent overview for any believer searching their faith   July 21, 1998
bleftwic@ix.netcom.com or Mazie Leftwich (Stafford, Texas)
12 out of 12 found this review helpful

An excellent overview for any believer searching for a deeper understanding of their faith. This book (and the companion Vol.2), brings the reader through a detailed but fascinating journey of the trials and tribulations of humanity's search for a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Many questions are answered that have long been confusing,such as: How and why did celebacy of priests begin? Why do some believe in purgatory when it is not in the Bible? Why do some churches recite The Apostles' Creed and The Nicene Creed and why do these creeds exist? My husband and I are now on our third time reading the two volumes and will probably read them again. I encourage all believers and all who are searching but stumble because of unanswered questions about man-made religion to read both volumes.


Essential and fascinating   September 2, 2005
Q (my office)
9 out of 9 found this review helpful

This is a very readable and detailed history (in two volumes) of the Christian religion from the time of the Apostles until 1984, when the book was published. I read this book out of general interest, although I understand that it is widely used for college courses on church history and doctrine. The history of the church is a huge topic, and Gonzalez has a real talent for summarizing complex developments and making them very accessible for a general reader. No special background in theology or history is required to appreciate this wonderful account. Gonzalez is apparently Protestant, but he gives a fair and balanced account of all denominations, including Catholic and Orthodox. He also includes mysticism and the radical sects. He is aware of the current scholarship, but he doesn't get bogged down in the numerous scholarly controversies of historians. He doesn't succumb to revisionism and p.c.; he's not afraid to call a spade a spade. But if there is genuine ambiguity and grounds for debate, he does mention that. The two volumes of this book also work well as a concise history of western civilization from year one until 1984. Gonzalez is able to identify the most important events and issues and describe them clearly and concisely. The major theological movements are described very briefly. This is not primarily a history of doctrine, but rather a history of the various Christian churches.

Footnotes are kept to an absolute minimum here, in order to avoid unnecessary distractions. Suggestions for further reading are given at the end of each section, but these are very incomplete. For example, the only suggestion for further reading on English Puritanism was published in 1912.

Gonzalez's area of special interest is Latin American Christianity, and so he devotes some space to the history of Christianity there from the time of the Spanish Conquistadores to the Liberation theology of the late 20th century. Since this book was written before the demise of the Soviet Union, I think a revised edition is in order.