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A Cloud of Witnesses: An Introductory History of the Development of Christian Doctrine to 500 AD, New Revised Edition
First published in 1989, A Cloud of Witnesses has been completely rewritten to incorporate a multitude of minor amendments and a considerable amount of additional information. Like the first edition, it is intended as an introduction to the formative first five hundred years of the Christian theological tradition. In these pages the opinions and personalities of the Fathers of the Church that emerge are presented against the intellectual, social, and political world of their times, but since the book is only an introduction, the author presents the development of Christian doctrine in a rather more logical and cohesive manner than was the case in reality.
240 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 1989
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
January 7, 2016
David Bell sees the history of the development of Christian doctrine as something that is quite tangible and readily available to all who seek the truth. Thus in the second edition of his work A Cloud of Witnesses Bell desires to make the history of the development of Christian doctrine of the first 500 years of the Church – available, accessible, and easy to digest.
HIS APPROACH
The book is primarily narrative and easy for a reader at any level to digest and follow his train of thought. His use of narrative not only engages the reader, keeping him/her interested, but it also makes the history just that – a “story”. To the reader the past is not just a collection of facts and details but a family story that is pertinent and understandable to all the baptized.
An interesting and effective technique of Bell’s is that he uses the history of thought/ideas before Christ (of ancient Greece primarily) to demonstrate how and why certain theological and Christological ideas, doctrines, controversies, councils and the like appear, and came about. This gives the reader the necessary scaffolding, if you will, to see how the early Christian doctrines and their “framers” were influenced to come up with these ideas. He does not show the development of these ideas in a vacuum or as static as some theological/historical texts do.
Bell also develops the history of the early Church into categories. He gives a thorough survey of the main phases of the early Church: The apostolic writers – Clement of Rome, Ignatius of Antioch, Hermas, etc.; The apologists – Justin Martyr, Irenaeus of Lyons, Theophilus of Antioch, etc. He also chooses to juxtapose things like the East and the West, Antioch and Alexandria, etc. This approach seems to develop a thorough survey and an analytic synthesis of the different theological and Christological ideas, heresies, ecumenical councils and the major players that were involved. He is able to take some of the periods in which great theological consternation existed. He then synthesizes the highlights with accounts of interpersonal conflict, and even a touch of intrigue (a la Nestorius vs. Cyril or Athanasius and Arius). He intends to give hermeneutic of continuity and integration of all that was involved in the East and the West during the first 500 years of the Church.
Simply speaking Bell is a clear and clever writer. His narrative style is not only engaging but it presents a historical analysis that is fresh, logical, and with just enough substance to make it profound as well as thought provoking. In his unique style he brings in humorous and witty examples to illumine many of the historical situations or theological concepts. The reader gets the sense of being a part of one of Bell’s class lectures at the University of Newfoundland.
Overall the work is well thought out and clearly explained. Bell asks many good questions to get to the heart of a doctrine and refrains from just regurgitating the doctrine of one of the “players” from the early Church, or regurgitating the historical details. In essence when presenting the Fathers of the Church, David Bell does a good job of maintaining objectivity in most of the debates, opening the murky world of what we would now call “heterodoxy,” but which earlier antagonists referred to as nothing short of “heresy.” He is at his best when he shows the intricacies of those with perceived heretical doctrines. Arius might not have been an actual Arian and Nestorius probably was not a Nestorian, and Bell does a great job of showing how history does not always do justice to those who are made the enemies of Christian “orthodoxy”.
The logical breakup of his chapters is to be commended as well. Bell not only places the chapters in chronological and historical order, but categorizes them into “type” as well. He presents the Christological doctrines and disputes, and then he moves into questions about grace and places Augustine and Pelagius at the center of his narrative. He asks questions about the nature of the Church, authority, sacraments, in his relating of the story of Novatian and Cornelius, and likewise tells the story of Donatism and Augustine. He likewise treats the issue of papal authority and Pope Stephen and Cyprian, followed by Leo, etc. All of these points effectively demonstrate the intricacies of the early Church and the faith.
In areas where Bell falls short, one could make the claim that he does over simplify the historical issues and their developments. He at times gives blanket causes and solutions to some historical situations or developments. The influences of Platonism on Eastern theologians come to mind, or when looking at Augustine’s theology on grace and the sacraments, or the flow of Ephesus to Chalcedon is another. It seems to me there is not enough scholarly substance developed to an understanding of what doctrine is, what faith is, etc.
If looking for substance, look to Pelican or Dunn in their development of doctrine and the early Church. Adhering more to their style of a scholarly analysis of the writings, thought, culture, and faith of the early Church would be helpful, while keeping his effective writing style. If one is in search of detailed footnotes to assist in deeper research, this is not the text you need. Bell avoids footnotes in order to keep the chapters “short and sweet.” Thus there is not enough scholarly work and rigor for this text to be used at the higher graduate level.
Because of how well written it is, its historical accuracy and Bell’s ability to create an engaging narrative of the Fathers and their counterparts it is thus a good book for an upper level undergrad course in Christology or undergrad course in early Church history. Bell’s work would also be useful as a supplement text for a graduate first level Church history course or an introductory graduate level course in Christology. After all Bell enters the details of the Fathers and their times with enough depth to preserve accuracy yet still maintaining the level of an introductory text. Bell demonstrates that all theological fighting is not necessarily fair, nor is it always accurately remembered.
It is, after all, questionable whether Nestorius was actually a Nestorian. Likewise it is quite true that the Arianism of Arius did not always match the Arianism of the Arians. From this text a student will get a richer understanding of the historical, social, and theological process from which the great Christian doctrines emerged. That is why I prefer it for an introductory course on Christian theology. It's best understood as a starting point, for someone in undergrad, it's a great place to begin, for the theology student in grad school, it makes for a good, light supplemental text in an introductory course. It is also a terrific text for clergy or religious educators who wish to introduce the topic of doctrinal development to the faithful in the pews.
HIS APPROACH
The book is primarily narrative and easy for a reader at any level to digest and follow his train of thought. His use of narrative not only engages the reader, keeping him/her interested, but it also makes the history just that – a “story”. To the reader the past is not just a collection of facts and details but a family story that is pertinent and understandable to all the baptized.
An interesting and effective technique of Bell’s is that he uses the history of thought/ideas before Christ (of ancient Greece primarily) to demonstrate how and why certain theological and Christological ideas, doctrines, controversies, councils and the like appear, and came about. This gives the reader the necessary scaffolding, if you will, to see how the early Christian doctrines and their “framers” were influenced to come up with these ideas. He does not show the development of these ideas in a vacuum or as static as some theological/historical texts do.
Bell also develops the history of the early Church into categories. He gives a thorough survey of the main phases of the early Church: The apostolic writers – Clement of Rome, Ignatius of Antioch, Hermas, etc.; The apologists – Justin Martyr, Irenaeus of Lyons, Theophilus of Antioch, etc. He also chooses to juxtapose things like the East and the West, Antioch and Alexandria, etc. This approach seems to develop a thorough survey and an analytic synthesis of the different theological and Christological ideas, heresies, ecumenical councils and the major players that were involved. He is able to take some of the periods in which great theological consternation existed. He then synthesizes the highlights with accounts of interpersonal conflict, and even a touch of intrigue (a la Nestorius vs. Cyril or Athanasius and Arius). He intends to give hermeneutic of continuity and integration of all that was involved in the East and the West during the first 500 years of the Church.
Simply speaking Bell is a clear and clever writer. His narrative style is not only engaging but it presents a historical analysis that is fresh, logical, and with just enough substance to make it profound as well as thought provoking. In his unique style he brings in humorous and witty examples to illumine many of the historical situations or theological concepts. The reader gets the sense of being a part of one of Bell’s class lectures at the University of Newfoundland.
Overall the work is well thought out and clearly explained. Bell asks many good questions to get to the heart of a doctrine and refrains from just regurgitating the doctrine of one of the “players” from the early Church, or regurgitating the historical details. In essence when presenting the Fathers of the Church, David Bell does a good job of maintaining objectivity in most of the debates, opening the murky world of what we would now call “heterodoxy,” but which earlier antagonists referred to as nothing short of “heresy.” He is at his best when he shows the intricacies of those with perceived heretical doctrines. Arius might not have been an actual Arian and Nestorius probably was not a Nestorian, and Bell does a great job of showing how history does not always do justice to those who are made the enemies of Christian “orthodoxy”.
The logical breakup of his chapters is to be commended as well. Bell not only places the chapters in chronological and historical order, but categorizes them into “type” as well. He presents the Christological doctrines and disputes, and then he moves into questions about grace and places Augustine and Pelagius at the center of his narrative. He asks questions about the nature of the Church, authority, sacraments, in his relating of the story of Novatian and Cornelius, and likewise tells the story of Donatism and Augustine. He likewise treats the issue of papal authority and Pope Stephen and Cyprian, followed by Leo, etc. All of these points effectively demonstrate the intricacies of the early Church and the faith.
In areas where Bell falls short, one could make the claim that he does over simplify the historical issues and their developments. He at times gives blanket causes and solutions to some historical situations or developments. The influences of Platonism on Eastern theologians come to mind, or when looking at Augustine’s theology on grace and the sacraments, or the flow of Ephesus to Chalcedon is another. It seems to me there is not enough scholarly substance developed to an understanding of what doctrine is, what faith is, etc.
If looking for substance, look to Pelican or Dunn in their development of doctrine and the early Church. Adhering more to their style of a scholarly analysis of the writings, thought, culture, and faith of the early Church would be helpful, while keeping his effective writing style. If one is in search of detailed footnotes to assist in deeper research, this is not the text you need. Bell avoids footnotes in order to keep the chapters “short and sweet.” Thus there is not enough scholarly work and rigor for this text to be used at the higher graduate level.
Because of how well written it is, its historical accuracy and Bell’s ability to create an engaging narrative of the Fathers and their counterparts it is thus a good book for an upper level undergrad course in Christology or undergrad course in early Church history. Bell’s work would also be useful as a supplement text for a graduate first level Church history course or an introductory graduate level course in Christology. After all Bell enters the details of the Fathers and their times with enough depth to preserve accuracy yet still maintaining the level of an introductory text. Bell demonstrates that all theological fighting is not necessarily fair, nor is it always accurately remembered.
It is, after all, questionable whether Nestorius was actually a Nestorian. Likewise it is quite true that the Arianism of Arius did not always match the Arianism of the Arians. From this text a student will get a richer understanding of the historical, social, and theological process from which the great Christian doctrines emerged. That is why I prefer it for an introductory course on Christian theology. It's best understood as a starting point, for someone in undergrad, it's a great place to begin, for the theology student in grad school, it makes for a good, light supplemental text in an introductory course. It is also a terrific text for clergy or religious educators who wish to introduce the topic of doctrinal development to the faithful in the pews.
October 31, 2022
One of the best historians I’ve ever read. Obviously this was on a rather specific topic, but an interesting and informative author overall.
July 18, 2011
For those looking for a readable guide to the unfolding of Christian theology in the first 500 years of the Church's existence, I would recommend this book. Bell does a good job presenting how the Christian east and west developed their differing ideas. Bell doesn't try to homogenize the history - he notes diversity, ambiguity and lapses in the thinking of the various Christian leaders as they dealt with the theological problems facing the growing Christian movement. He also for the most part defends the decisions that were reached by the Christian leaders in each generation.
August 20, 2016
Great introduction to the development of Christian Theology.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews