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271st out of 283 books
—
176 voters
A People's History of Christianity: The Other Side of the Story
For too long, the history of Christianity has been told as the triumph of orthodox doctrine imposed through power and hierarchy. In A People's History of Christianity, historian and religion expert Diana Butler Bass reveals an alternate history that includes a deep social ethic and far-reaching inclusivity: "the other side of the story" is not a modern phenomenon, but has...more
Hardcover, 368 pages
Published
March 3rd 2009
by HarperOne
(first published February 20th 2009)
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The author paints a picture of the goodness of Christian practice and thought through two millennia. Providing glimpses, anecdotes and quotes into the Christianity that was, that could have been and could still be, Bass manages to convince us that the adverse elements of organized religion, which so often haunt us, should not be allowed to hide the bright light of Christian love amply demonstrated by so many individuals and movements.
For the sincere reader this book can be a good source of refer...more
For the sincere reader this book can be a good source of refer...more
Jul 30, 2011
James (JD) Dittes
added it
This just in: Christianity is in a state of flux--wrestling with cultural & religious pluralism, lampooned by mainstream media, and "defended" by the likes of Newt Gingrich and Uganda's Yoweri Museveni.
Ms. Bass explains this milieu with her People's History, a look back at the countercurrents of Christian history that drove the faith forward. She keeps the book moving, interspersing anecdotes from today with historic examples from five different eras, including today, which she calls "Conte...more
Ms. Bass explains this milieu with her People's History, a look back at the countercurrents of Christian history that drove the faith forward. She keeps the book moving, interspersing anecdotes from today with historic examples from five different eras, including today, which she calls "Conte...more
A researched confirmation that Christianity or "The Way" was strictly about Two Commandments: 1. Love God with all your heart soul mind and strength and 2. love your neighbor as yourself. The Church was a virgen up until Constantine. After Constantine, the union between our religion and the state set in place new commandments that justified Holy war, Bible battles, and forced morality. Author Diana Butler Bass divides our history into 5 segments: Early Christianity, Medieval Christianity, Reform...more
Diana Butler Bass has very openly used Howard Zinn's successful history of the other sides to her specialty, Church History. In A People's History of Christianity she attempts to draw attention to the threads of hospitality, openness, welcoming and love that purport to be at the center of Christianity, but so often seem missing from Christian history. Much like the history of textbooks, Christian history is generally reduced to conflicts and their victors. What's often ignore (or seen only in in...more
Nov 29, 2009
Drick
rated it
2 of 5 stars
Recommended to Drick by:
drickb@aol.com
Shelves:
history,
theological
I picked up this book because of the title, and assumed that it would tell a lot of untold stories, like Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States. In a sense this is what Diane Butler Bass attempts to do. She says she wants to tell an alternative history to the militant story of "Big C Christianity -- Christ, Constantine, Christendom, Calvin and Christian America" (p. 4). Instead her goal is to tell a story of "generative Christianity, a kind of faith that births new possibilities o...more
The author spoke in Roanoke a couple weeks ago. One comment she made that struck me was when the church does not know its own history, it is like a person who has Alzheimer's. That was a striking image, but it seems to me an exaggeration. She seeks to bring out the good figures and events in Christian history--as a sort of inspiration to liberal/progressive Christians. She may be right that many Christians do not know that history, but it was pretty familiar to me.
One amazing thing I did not kn...more
One amazing thing I did not kn...more
For too long, the history of Christianity has been told as the triumph of orthodox doctrine imposed through power and hierarchy. In A People's History of Christianity, historian and religion expert Diana Butler Bass reveals an alternate history that includes a deep social ethic and far-reaching inclusivity: "the other side of the story" is not a modern phenomenon, but has always been practiced within the church. Butler Bass persuasively argues that corrective--even subversive--beliefs and practi...more
This book is an answer to the question "Why would I ever want to be a Christian when the Christian Religion is responsible for such horrific and tragic events throughout history?". Diana (a history prof) concedes the horrific events, but notes that History is the story of the rich, powerful and successful. Christianity shines among the least, the last and the lost in society, and their stories are rarely ever told. This book brings to light the stories of Christian service, love, and selfless sa...more
Feb 18, 2010
Terence
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Christian progressives (but everyone could learn from it)
Recommended to Terence by:
Library newsletter
A People’s History of Christianity is not so much a “history” (either scholarly or general) as it is an argument for a return to the roots of Christianity that finds fault with both modern expressions of “liberal” and “conservative” religion. As Bass argues in her introduction, liberal theologians and congregations tend to lose their “devotional” memories; their conservative cousins lose their “ethical” memory. The result is a liberal tradition that’s often little more than a social club; and a...more
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A good thesis with so-so delivery. The goal of writing a book that shows the good side of Christian history through short biographies of Christians who used their faith to bring social reform is a great idea and one I very much agree with. The information seems valid, but I was a bit disappointed by some of the people she left out or didn't go that indepth with. But if she did include all the people I could think of the volume might be too long for popular puplication. It is a great book, just n...more
I have a friend who says that a book earns 5 stars for her if it is better the second time she reads it. I think that's a wonderful system to use. My system for rating a book 5 stars is if it makes me cry. I found myself sobbing through the last 30 pages of A People's History of Christianity.
I picked up this book because it was recommended by a friend. When I found out that Bass counts Phyllis Tickle, Marcus Borg, Brian McLaren, Barbara Brown Taylor, Jim Wallis and Lauren Winner in her circle o...more
I picked up this book because it was recommended by a friend. When I found out that Bass counts Phyllis Tickle, Marcus Borg, Brian McLaren, Barbara Brown Taylor, Jim Wallis and Lauren Winner in her circle o...more
This is a good book for those who don't know a lot about the history of Christianity and want a broad view while also being a reasonable length and easy to read. Be warned however, that her goal is to highlight broad trends in christian thinking over the centuries and to bring out the good over the bad. She does not pretend certain events did not happen; rather she is trying to record christianity at its best. I think she does meet this goal but someone who wants more depth and a more complete h...more
Bass treads lightly around the more difficult and dirty issues surrounding Christianity, switching seamlessly between social reporting and personal anecdote. She posits Christianity as best realized in its post-dogma, post-church, post-conservative form, and though my personal sympathies lean slightly this way, I've heard this message countless times before. I didn't care for Bass's interest in Christian syncretism; mixing and matching your personal faith is all well and good, but she never poin...more
I was between giving this 4 stars or 5 stars and ended up going for 5 based on how much I highlighted and how many things I wish everyone knew about Christianity. I found her to be fairly accessible, regardless of one's personal belief system, and very straightforward. I highly recommend this book to anyone who thinks the militant "Big C" Christianity (as she calls it) is the only form of Christianity that exists, as well as to anyone who wonders how Christians in the first few centuries after J...more
i've been a churchgoer most of my life so i thought i knew what christianity was all about, and that the way it is now is the way it has always been. I was amazed to find so much information in this i had never heard before, people and ideas that have hugely influenced the version of Christianity we have today in the United States. This and the other book I reviewed, "The House Church" were big influences on my decision to join a house church network.
This is one of my favorite authors lately. She has written a very accessible history of Christian faith, with a focus on people who have made a difference by putting heart and legs and hands into the Good News. She is an historian and an educator, as well as a budding theologian, which inspires her writing with passion and encouragement.
With explicit reference to Howard Zinn, Diana Butler Bass provides an alternative view of Christian history by looking at what ordinary people of were doing in the midst of wars, schisms, church councils, and theological arguments. It's a refreshing and encouraging look at how the Spirit moves even in dark times. Unsentimental and surprising.
This book was burdened by my expectations, which it definitely did not match. I was hoping for a better view of the doctrine and theology that did not make it into the history books (something like Zinn's People's History of the United States). Instead, this book is a survey of what Bass thinks Christianity needs to regain to fulfill its promise as a living and vibrant faith system. There wasn't much in here I had not heard before. It is not bad, but I was just hoping for what (to me) is the oth...more
Highly readable and I almost wish Butler Bass had elaborated a bit more on certain historical points. No surprises in this book but a good, well-rounded summary of the tug of war between devotion and ethics, belief and practice, doctrine and faith.
Of course, I always love a good Jesus book.
Of course, I always love a good Jesus book.
Mixed feelings. Many of the "historical" snippets were helpful and encouraging that what is important about faith in Christ is rooted in real people throughout the Christian age. Some stories, however, left you with the feeling, "Gee, those medieval people were just like us postmoderns..." Perhaps a bit of a stretch.
I guess I was looking for a history book relating how real people lived out the command to love God and neighbor. But what left me queasy was a feeling that the book is a polemic for...more
I guess I was looking for a history book relating how real people lived out the command to love God and neighbor. But what left me queasy was a feeling that the book is a polemic for...more
In a day when Christianity seems to be appropriated by the religious right, Bass gives us a history of other, non-dominant, now-all-but-silenced voices that speak up for pacifism, social justice, radical love, and, yes, communism, etc.
Following the history of "Great Commandment" Christianity (as opposed to "Big C" Christianity), Basss offers a window into a Christianity that has made, is making, and will continue to make a positive difference in the world.
someone else should try to tell that story. as it is, i found this disappointingly cliche-ridden, drab, and lifeless.
This is a good corrective to narrow views of Christian History.
Highly readable so I gave her 4 stars instead of 3. Really I would have give 3 and half if we could do halfs. I like her prose and apperciate the way she tells the stories of Christian History, but as others have said, Bass hardly offers any new material or new inisights for someone who is already well read on the subject of Christian History.
Apr 28, 2013
Jon Edward
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
theology,
religious-history
An excellent history of Christianity from the perspective of people practicing the faith for the past two thousand years. Bass writes with a breadth of knowledge and experience that should satisfy most readers and the manner in which she writes is straight-forward and easy to read. You won't find any nuanced theological arguments here, but you will come away with a deeper appreciation for those, right up to the present day, who have sought to follow Jesus in deed and not only in word.
Very interesting look at some more obscure and inspirational stories of the history of Christianity. Filled with anecdotes from Ms Bass's own life, it's not dry at all. So far as history books go, this is one of the more enthralling ones I've read.
This was a pretty fantastic view of the peoples' practice of Christianity throughout the years, as opposed to the institution of Christianity. It doesn't address the really negative effects of Christianity, but I don't think that was the point. Inspiring, and recommended to any progressive Christian or religious inquirer.
Definitely easy to read, but perhaps a little too easy, which takes away from the traceability of its sources. She has done her research, but it is difficult to trace where she gets most of her facts from. Broken down into worship (devotion) and action (ethics) common in Christianity over the centuries.
It's formatted to look like "A People's History of The United States" but it is not the same writing style or quality. It is, nonetheless, insightful and gently written, and I enjoyed it in a passing way.
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Diana Butler Bass is an author, speaker, and independent scholar specializing in American religion and culture. She holds a PhD in religious studies from Duke University and is the author of seven books, including the bestselling Christianity for the Rest of Us, released by HarperOne in 2006. It was named as one of the best religion books of the year by Publishers Weekly and Christian Century, won...more
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