Introducing Early Christianity: A Topical Survey of Its Life, Beliefs and Practices

by Laurie Guy

The life and times of the early church were every bit as exciting as our own. But the living pulse of early Christian life, worship and controversy is too often submerged beneath the text of standard introductions to early Christian history. Here from Laurie Guy is an introduction to Christianity of the first four centuries that is readable but not lightweight, interesting but not superficial, informative but not technical. It is a welcome supplement to chronological histories of the early church, a vantage point from which readers may sit aloft and view the broad patterns in the historical terrain. From the apostolic fathers to the great ecumenical councils, we see the church undergoing persecution and martyrdom and then rising to favor under Constantine, shaping its ministry and order while worshiping and developing its understanding of doctrine. Baptism and Eucharist, asceticism and monasticism, and the developing roles of women unfold in this thematic account of the rise of Great Tradition Christianity. Richly illustrated and filled out with maps, charts and close-up windows on related topics, Introducing Early Christianity will inform the curious and enliven courses in early church history.

Genres: Christianity, Church History, History, Nonfiction

310 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2004

Reviews

[Charlie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Guy's text is different from the typical early church survey. It is mainly a topical or thematic investigation of early Christianity with some narrative passages for support. A bit over 300 pages and organized around 11 chapters, it's good for solo reading and would break up into nice sections for assigned readings. The themes themselves are well chosen: persecution and monasticism, gender, organization, church and state, doctrinal development, etc. Most of them are handled quite well.

There are a few flaws in the execution. It falls a bit short chronologically, ending at Chalcedon, mistakenly giving the impression that this was a moment of closure for the church. (Hooray 451, glad those Christological controversies are all behind us!) The author is an evangelical Baptist, and some of that shows through. The New Testament is taken as a given prior to church history rather than as a product of early Christian processes. It also gets referenced parenthetically for seemingly no reason. Baptism takes up about 10% of the text. The development of doctrine is not properly problematized; it just marches to its logical conclusion. The state is presented as merely enforcing the "consensus" reached by the church.

On the whole, it's a decent book. It doesn't make my short list for early church reading material, but a thematic study like this does make a useful contribution.

[Starla Gooch · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of those books that was on my reading list in seminary, so I started it and finally finished seven years later. Because it takes a topical approach, I find it helpful as a reference resource to serve as an introduction to further study on those topics. For example, in seminary, I ended up writing my final paper on martyrdom and Guy's chapter on the subject was a helpful launching point. As a linear read, however, my experience reading from cover to cover was a sludge. Some interesting points along the way, but not a book that greatly enhanced my understanding of church history overall or helped me retain its contents in memory. (Also, the kindle version was atrocious--perhaps the worst formatting of any book I've read. This certainly also contributed to my lessened enjoyment of the book.)

[Emil Bredahl · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book if you are interested in early church history and how it all started. The writing style is rather technical and it take time to understand the book fully but I like the things he talk about and it is clear that he knows his material well.
It is a good book for Theology students as well or just history lovers.
Read and enjoy and please let me know what you think so we can discuss some of the themes of this nice book.