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The Didache Complete Course #3
The History of the Church: A Complete Course
This comprehensive history of the Catholic Church includes every major event in the Church’s history from the life of her founder, Jesus Christ, to the present day. This text places the Church in her context throughout history and explains the role that the Church and her leaders have played in the shaping of history for better and worse. Complete with maps, timelines, sidebars, paintings, and photographs, The History of the Church is a critical historical resource for Catholic and non-Catholic historians alike. The Didache Complete Course Series is a series of four high school textbooks, teacher's manuals, student workbooks, and teacher's answer guides published by Midwest Theological Forum. Each title spans one academic year. As of 2009, they were being used in about one-third Catholic high schools. This textbook is published with ecclesiastical approval from the Archdiocese of Chicago, and it has been granted conformity with the Catechism of the Catholic Church by the USCCB Subcommittee on the Catechism.
Hardcover
First published October 1, 2005
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
March 17, 2023
Would give a 0 star if I could, as "The History of the Church: A Complete Course (hardcover)" gives zero insight to St. Xenoplates, the patron saint of Stultus, who was an important figure during the protestant reformation of Falsa in 1669. Xenoplates truly is one of the most important religious figures in all of time, and it is an absolute disgrace that he is not mentioned, even with a passing glance, in this book. However, "The History of the Church: A Complete Course (hardcover)" does do an adequate job of conveying the religious significance of Sister Travesta of Lolsi, which earns "The History of the Church: A Complete Course (hardcover)" the generous rating of 0.3/10.
June 15, 2017
Excellent history of the Catholic Church and Her part in world history,
February 8, 2022
1. This textbook begins with the Greeks, but does such a disservice to the importance of the Greek culture and thought by barely touching on it at all.
The author covered the Romans much better, though. I think he struck a good balance between pertinent information, scant information, and too much information.
2. I am always appalled by how many Catholics continue to believe in and spread the ridiculous notion of Q Theory. Listen…
Mark. Did. Not. Write. His. Gospel. First.
Matthew did. The Church Fathers say so, and they would know much better than some German Protestants in the 18th century.
Stop trying to make Q happen. It’s not going to happen!
3. The pictures are quite beautiful, but the formatting of the art and the text is outdated.
4. The explanations in the text are sorely in some need of substance. It’s great that the author mentions the martyrdom of St. Stephen… but he doesn’t explain the cultural and religious reasons behind the stoning. Where’s the explanation of the importance of the Temple for the Jews? That’s why they stoned Stephen… because he was seemingly speaking against the Temple. Where’s the explanation behind stoning? The author gave no background… no explanation of cause and effect. This is a history book, c’mon! Write like a historian already.
5. There isn’t enough nuance provided; but instead, the author makes broad sweeping statements. Such as, “Unlike most of the Apostles, St. Paul was well-educated in the Jewish Law…” Well, what do you mean by well-educated? Almost all of the Apostles were devout Jews, and knew the Scriptures well because they had to live out the commands of the law. It’s true that St. Paul had a stronger grasp of the Scriptures, knowing much of the Jewish commentary on them. However, I wouldn’t say most of the Apostles weren’t “well-educated” on the Law. They lived out the Law, which requires knowing it.
Remember, this is written for high school students. If you don’t provide a more thorough explanation, they’ll walk away after reading this with the idea that the majority of the apostles didn’t know the Law.
6. I love that each chapter ends with supplemental reading from primary sources and the Catechism.
At the same time, why are primary sources “supplemental”? High school students should be reading primary sources constantly. (We expect too little of people today in their education.)
7. The chapter on martyrdoms in the Early Church was quite good. It was succinct in its descriptions of the various Roman Emperors and the lives of some of the martyrs, but also provided a well-rounded look at what the early Christians had to face.
Also, this chapter incorporated primary sources well, even quoting an article from the Summa Theologiae.
8. The section on Charlemagne was lacking in substance.
The author covered the Romans much better, though. I think he struck a good balance between pertinent information, scant information, and too much information.
2. I am always appalled by how many Catholics continue to believe in and spread the ridiculous notion of Q Theory. Listen…
Mark. Did. Not. Write. His. Gospel. First.
Matthew did. The Church Fathers say so, and they would know much better than some German Protestants in the 18th century.
Stop trying to make Q happen. It’s not going to happen!
3. The pictures are quite beautiful, but the formatting of the art and the text is outdated.
4. The explanations in the text are sorely in some need of substance. It’s great that the author mentions the martyrdom of St. Stephen… but he doesn’t explain the cultural and religious reasons behind the stoning. Where’s the explanation of the importance of the Temple for the Jews? That’s why they stoned Stephen… because he was seemingly speaking against the Temple. Where’s the explanation behind stoning? The author gave no background… no explanation of cause and effect. This is a history book, c’mon! Write like a historian already.
5. There isn’t enough nuance provided; but instead, the author makes broad sweeping statements. Such as, “Unlike most of the Apostles, St. Paul was well-educated in the Jewish Law…” Well, what do you mean by well-educated? Almost all of the Apostles were devout Jews, and knew the Scriptures well because they had to live out the commands of the law. It’s true that St. Paul had a stronger grasp of the Scriptures, knowing much of the Jewish commentary on them. However, I wouldn’t say most of the Apostles weren’t “well-educated” on the Law. They lived out the Law, which requires knowing it.
Remember, this is written for high school students. If you don’t provide a more thorough explanation, they’ll walk away after reading this with the idea that the majority of the apostles didn’t know the Law.
6. I love that each chapter ends with supplemental reading from primary sources and the Catechism.
At the same time, why are primary sources “supplemental”? High school students should be reading primary sources constantly. (We expect too little of people today in their education.)
7. The chapter on martyrdoms in the Early Church was quite good. It was succinct in its descriptions of the various Roman Emperors and the lives of some of the martyrs, but also provided a well-rounded look at what the early Christians had to face.
Also, this chapter incorporated primary sources well, even quoting an article from the Summa Theologiae.
8. The section on Charlemagne was lacking in substance.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews