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24th out of 100 books
—
559 voters
Christianity: The First Three Thousand Years
The author of The Reformation returns with the definitive history of Xianity for our time. Once in a generation a historian will redefine his field, producing a book that demands to be read--a product of electrifying scholarship conveyed with commanding skill. Diarmaid MacCulloch's Christianity is such a book. Ambitious, it ranges back to the origins of the Hebrew Bible &...more
Hardcover, 1179 pages
Published
February 18th 2010
by Viking/Penguin Group (USA)
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It took three library renewals to get through this book (and thanks to an ice storm, the fifth this year!, I still owe the library a one day fine, a whole nickel that they thank you for and dump in a desk drawer with a bunch of rubber bands, and I love living in the country and having that library), and then work kind of slammed me a little, so it’s just been sitting there languishing on my currently-reading shelf for two weeks. And in all that time I still haven’t come up with something deeply...more
‘What religion am I?’ asks Homer Simpson in one episode of his family's eponymous cartoon. ‘I'm the one with all the well-meaning rules that don't work out in real life…uh…Christianity.’ One of the many pleasures in Diarmaid MacCulloch's amazingly comprehensive book is getting a handle on what historical basis there is for the rules and doctrines of this prolific and mercurial religion, which nowadays seems characterized by extreme reactions of either perfect secular indifference or increasingly...more
This is a very good history. It depresses me a bit because it is written in the cynical, anti-establishment style which is typical of the educated elite today, but it is valuable for its quality and the insight which it offers regarding the multitude of different takes on Christianity (most of them sincere and justified, none of them isolated from political expediency) which were the fruit of the early Church. Its quite humbling for those who maintain 'the correct doctrines' and at the same time...more
9 likes · like · see review
May 02, 2013
Erik Graff
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Christians
Recommended to Erik by:
Kelly Kingdon
Shelves:
religion
This book may be too ambitious. It claims to cover three thousand years of global history, but it does so sketchily, most of its focus being on, first, the Middle East and, second, Europe and America. The Britishness of the author is clear as is the fact that he himself is not a Christian. The content ranges from the breezy, as in his descriptions of modern trends, to the dense, as in his treatment of the controversies animating the earliest church councils. Most readers will find parts of it ob...more
1 like · like · see review
to read 1100+ pages of christianity's history is to read 1100+ pages of world history since christianity has been a prime mover of human history. every continent and every religion has found a place of clarity in this book. it does not disappoint. whereas it is true that to cover 3000 years of human and religious history, the writer must default to an inch and a half below the surface and some readers may be disappointed in that factor, i decidedly was not. the sheer breadth of the work, by defa...more
Aug 12, 2012
Dinah Küng
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommended to Dinah by:
my son
Well, I'm currently reading this, and probably will be for some time. This is my go-to book at bedtime. It's rich with explanations of periods and time that my education skipped over—oh, let's be frank, my education didn't even go faintly near, periods like the entire history of the Eastern Christian Church and the millenium of Byzantine history.
Where I come from, the midwest of the 1950's, it just didn't happen, right?
Trying to make up for that now, I'm discovering whole worlds of thought and d...more
Where I come from, the midwest of the 1950's, it just didn't happen, right?
Trying to make up for that now, I'm discovering whole worlds of thought and d...more
3 likes · like · see review
I was looking for a straight forward, unbiased and thorough history of Christianity so when I found this book at my local bookshop and read the title I assumed that exactly what it was. Unfortunately, after reading the first 300 pages I decided to put it down. This book is certainly thorough, however, it is neither straight forward or unbiased. Firstly, the author's style of writing is very "busy". Points and ideas that could easily be made in 1 or 2 sentences usually takes the writer 4 or 5 to...more
This kind of book is exactly why the adjective "magisterial" was invented. It's so learned, engaging, and comprehensive that by the time you finish it your mind feels full. It's nothing less than an attempt at a truly "ecumenical" (pun intended) history of Christianity, covering not only its temporal history, which as you can tell by the subtitle goes back much farther than the BC-AD line, but also all of the different denominations, their doctrinal disputes, the major figures, philosophical lin...more
I'm what you might call a slightly bewildered agnostic, but I've always had a particular interest in Christianity. So much of its own history - fragmented, argumentative and hypocritical - has always seemed to be at odds with much of Christ's core message, and I've never quit understood how so many Christians can fail to see that contradiction in their own faith's history. But this book, which is surely destined to become a classic in the field, goes a long way to explaining why Christianity has...more
Dec 21, 2010
Libby
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
favorites,
fun-with-the-middle-ages
This is a monster of a book, in size, in scope, in depth of research and in impact. First of all---size---all I can say is, DON'T drop it on your foot. This is an humonga-chonga thick, heavy doorstop of a book. Scope---well duh! Every little thing for 3000 years! That's a lot of little and not so little things. As for research, just check out the notes and bibliography. Makes me tired just to think about it. And what next? Oh yeah, impact. I chose that word deliberately. This one definitely make...more
In Canada religious statistics come out every decade. The 2001 census determined that 16% of Canadians are irreligious. More telling is that only 32% of Canadians actually go to church once a month or more.
One could easily conclude that 3 out of 4 Canadians call themselves Christian but, in reality, never actually go to church. Three quarters of Canadians agree – organized religion is bullshit.
While the insane history of these ideas make us sick inside we can agree they’re fascinating. A survey...more
One could easily conclude that 3 out of 4 Canadians call themselves Christian but, in reality, never actually go to church. Three quarters of Canadians agree – organized religion is bullshit.
While the insane history of these ideas make us sick inside we can agree they’re fascinating. A survey...more
Whew! What did I learn? I don't know how much I can remember but there's a whole lot of very interesting information packed into this book - 1100+ pages. I read MacCullough's The Reformation a few years ago and was very impressed. This book isn't quite as tight as the former but the scope of this book is 10 times as long and many continents broader.
MacCullough covers it all - from the works of "David" to Islamic terrorism. From Jerusalem to New York, China and Africa. From the Israelites to ear...more
MacCullough covers it all - from the works of "David" to Islamic terrorism. From Jerusalem to New York, China and Africa. From the Israelites to ear...more
For all its scope, this never fails at being readable. The style is engaging; MacCulloch clearly loves his subject, but as a product of late western enlightenment ideals, has enough distance to be able to bring an outsider's perspective to it. He is wry and funny and occasionally cynical without being overly critical.
This is not, nor is it intended to be, a coruscating iconoclastic destruction of Christianity. If I have a criticism, it is that MacCulloch too often accepts the justifications of...more
This is not, nor is it intended to be, a coruscating iconoclastic destruction of Christianity. If I have a criticism, it is that MacCulloch too often accepts the justifications of...more
This is a fascinating, all-encompassing look at the history of Christianity--with an emphasis on the word "history". MacCulloch makes no effort to prove or disprove the supernatural faith elements; that's not what this book is about. This is a "just the facts" history of the believers--kings, countries, peasants, saints and sinners--who, over the millennia, made Christianity. Its massive 1,000+ pages cover the various branches of Christianity, and their rise (and sometimes fall) in the scattered...more
There is a part of me that wants to rate this a good solid five, while the other part of me wants to give a mid-line three. The research is fantastic, and the scope comprehensive. Unlike many, MacCulloch's text keeps an eye on the numerous alternatives to the RCC as well as the RCC itself. He does not tend to reduce "Eastern Orthodox" to the "other" Christianity, but shows the diversity of of various forms of Eastern Christianity. Earlier this year I read Paul Johnson's History of Christianity a...more
This thousand page tome is excellent, with all the limitations of a single-volume work on such a large topic. The writing is excellent and the narrative coherent, but it is very dense. Don't expect this to be a quick read. It is heavily documented, but as usual the notes are stuck in the back instead of at the bottom of the page. (Okay, I'll stop ranting now.) The author begins a thousand years before the birth of Jesus and comes right up to the beginning of this millennium. He pays as much atte...more
I got this book from the library to see if it is worth buying (probably will buy used). It's over 1000 pages, maps and illustrations. I read the Introduction and was intrigued. MacCulloch has some interesting ideas and novel thoughts that, if he continues to interest me, I might actually read most of this. For example, he makes the assertion that Christianity moved westward instead of eastward because of the rise of Islam in the East.
In case you wondered about MacCulloch, he says his background...more
In case you wondered about MacCulloch, he says his background...more
A very well written survey (in just over one thousand pages) of the complete history of the Church up to about 2009, plus a good introductory section on Jewish and Greek influences on the early Church. A nice review for students of Church History (and MacCulloch manages to mine some rare gems) and an excellent intro for the neophyte. Particularly of interest (at least to me) where the sections on such forgotten major offshoots such as the Arian Church and Nestorianism as well as the still extant...more
About as all-encompassing as you can get, MacCulloch does a good job of giving one of the best popular Christian histories. An agnostic son of an Anglican priest, the author does a good job of trying to stay neutral about his takes on the "march of faith."
BTW, the first thousand years gives a good overview of our Hebrew and Greeks ancestors, giving a wonderful context for the advent of Jesus and the subsequent Christian church. He does as much with Eastern Christians and other oft-excluded bran...more
BTW, the first thousand years gives a good overview of our Hebrew and Greeks ancestors, giving a wonderful context for the advent of Jesus and the subsequent Christian church. He does as much with Eastern Christians and other oft-excluded bran...more
MacCulloch is so uptight PC he must squeak when he walks. The first tipoff is his use of CE and BCE instead of Anno Domini (AD) and BC. CE refers to a "common era". The terms he uses are used by certain publishing houses and writers to "avoid offending non-Christians". The use of these terms seems ludicrous considering the subject of his book. His survey of Christianity seems to me to not be dispassionate or objective. It gets more PC the closer he gets to our time. The book is over 1,000 pages...more
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Here's the review that got me interested in this book:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/04/books/review/Meacham-t.html?scp=1&sq=christianity:%20the%20first%20three%20thousand%20years&st=cse
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/04/books/review/Meacham-t.html?scp=1&sq=christianity:%20the%20first%20three%20thousand%20years&st=cse
2 likes · like · see review
MacCulloch has written a very long but highly readable history of the Christian church. I am not much acquainted with the history of the early church so was a bet overwhelmed with the disputes over the nature of Christ and the various churches that arose out of these controversies. But I will go back to this book to study these issues in more detail and am confindent that I will gain a better understanding. Overall, MacCulloch argues that the Christian Church has many manifestations rather than...more
This is vast subject, and a vast book. MacCulloch's clear, balanced prose helps make it manageable but it's the organisation of his daunting material that is really impressive here. He has plotted a course through the history of Christianity that is neither simplistic nor revisionist; he is never tempted off his path. This is a compelling if uncontroversial history. MacCulloch's style is never intrusive, always respectful. Towards the end he allows himself the occasional acid-tipped barb at the...more
A good general history of Christianity from Plato's influences to the modern time. The author does his best job describing the early history of Christianity up through the Enlightenment, including its possible influences on Islam. He includes information on the Indian and Asian churches that is interesting and a fairly new perspective. A glossary in the back would have been helpful to keep track of all of the concepts. Warning: since the book is over 1,000 pages, roughly one page in the book cov...more
This was a wonderful review of both Christianity and world history. Who remembers Clovis? Pippin? Mary Stuart? It is a tome -- 1016 pages -- but worth the trip through it. MacCulloch is detailed, but also has a sense of humor and of irony, so he keeps you going from 1000 BC to 2011 CE. My own take: Christianity parted ways from Jesus by the 4th century or so and focused on "Christ" -- a man-made metaphoric figure created to gratify the power dynamics of various kings, popes, patriarchs, emperors...more
Professor Diarmaid MacCullochs History Of Christianity is a brilliant book of history full of insight and interesting stories of the largest confessed religion. It explained quite well the differences and reasons behind different sects of Christianity. The thing that mostly fascinates me about the history of Church is that how people have done such incredible atrocities as well as things of beauty and kindness out of their faith. It´s not for instance difficult to see the similarities in the Cru...more
Easily one of the best books I have ever read. MacCulloch tackles the monumental task of tracing a history of all of Christianity with clear prose, wit, and incredible intelligence. He begins 1000 years before the birth of Jesus, in order to create the context of the world into which he was born and how that context created Jesus as a person, his disciples, the general movement, and the reactions of the authorities. More importantly, he traces the history of the three major 'Churches': Latin (We...more
You'd have to be some kind of megalomaniac to take on the task of writing a single-volume history of Christianity, even if the "first three thousand years" thing is a bit of a cheat -- sixty-odd pages providing an overview of the Greek and Jewish religious and philosophical traditions prevailing at Jesus' time are all you get of the first thousand. Still, it's astonishing how well MacCulloch succeeds at the task he sets himself, following the stories of the various strands of Christianity, mains...more
What a read! As a student of theology and church history by way of profession, I was pleased for this rather pleasant review of things I already knew but never so concisely or accurately written. The history of the church is a remarkable chronicle of blood letting and faith. It seems we have always had it within us to miss the point of our faith with such unimaginable cruelty, that the trail of blood and destruction makes you wonder if anyone ever read The Gospels. And too, as I listen to what p...more
Something of a doorstop, MacCulloch's work covers the history of the world's largest faith in all of it's aspects and fissiaparousness. Unlike many similar histories (Paul Johnson's comes to mind), the Orthodox and Eastern churches receive equal billings. I also found the history of the various Protestant sects in America to be most enlightening, especially given their influence in modern America. The book is fascinating enough to keep you motivated through its 1000+ pages of text, and is an exc...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Great book, but taking forever for me to finish! | 7 | 17 | Aug 20, 2012 04:35am |
Feb 01, 2011 10:56pm
Why is it that we (humans in general) a...more
Mar 25, 2012 03:14pm