History of the World Christian Movement Volume I

by Dale T. Irvin, Scott W. Sunquist

This first comprehensive account of Christianity as a world religion is a landmark, offering the work of five years of a team of 43 international scholars and consultants. For the first time, the peoples of Asia, Africa, and the Near East take their rightful place in the account of the unfolding of the Christian story from its beginnings to the 15th century.

Genres: History, Theology, Church History, Nonfiction, Christianity, Religion, Christian

512 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2001

Reviews

[Levi · Rating 1 out of 5]

Might be missing a chapter or two, but we'll count it.

Incredibly—and unnecessarily—dense. If there aren't better history books out there, history as a discipline deserves to be destroyed nuclearly.

[C.H.E. Sadaphal · Rating 5 out of 5]

The bottom line: If you want a book on Christian history to 1453, look no further.

In short, History of the World Christian Movement is a comprehensive, insightful, and eye-opening look into the people, politics, cultures, and many other forces that helped to shape early to medieval Christianity. The book truly takes a global lens to analyze the development of Christianity from its beginnings in Palestine to North Africa, Nubia, the Middle East, India and the rest of Asia, Russia, and modern day Europe. The broad approach is very inclusive yet also very complete and does an excellent job of ... http://www.chesadaphal.com/history-of...

[Justin Dewell · Rating 4 out of 5]

The value of this history book is the attention the authors give to the entire world. Other books tend to focus on what happened in Europe; whereas, Irivn and Sunquist have compiled a great survey of names, places, and events left out of other Church History books.

[Mykayla Turner · Rating 2 out of 5]

Technically I didn’t read the last 30 pages but the first 475 came out as a solid 2

[Charlie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Used this as a textbook in a church history class I team-taught. The strength of this book is its breadth. The authors were careful to give due attention to many forms of Christianity rather than simply those found in the genealogy of modern Western denominations. The disadvantage is that its breadth prevents there from being a clear, focused narrative. Also, the book has a committee feel. The prose is very impersonal, reading like a textbook in the worst way. I recommend this as more of a reference book, especially on non-Western traditions. I don't recommend teaching or reading through it linearly.

[Keith · Rating 4 out of 5]

HWCM was one of my text books for a Church History course. The breath and depth of this history was impressive. The writing was clear and accessible. Overall this text and the course helped me get an outline in my head of the Christian Movement from its origins all the way up to the Protestant Reformation.

[Paul Herriott · Rating 4 out of 5]

They brilliantly hit the niche of retelling church history with a focus more on movement then theology. Volume 1 did not disappoint in present a global church perspective.

[Scott Swires · Rating 4 out of 5]

Covers a wide range of topics, but still readable.

[Linden Leman · Rating 2 out of 5]

There's gotta be a better textbook on Christian history than this one. I will admit that this is the only one I've read, so maybe not!

[Carson Harraman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid introduction that I would commend.

[Mar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Course Textbook. At times very detailed, but also very enlightening information. Factual presentation.

[Austyn Dentry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this school book! Great read learning about the early church!

[Foz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quite surprised at the prose and concise structure. Very well done. Brief enough whilst getting to the substantiated point! Highly recommend for those who enjoy an overview of early church history!

[cinlin]

rec: World Christianity & Global Theology, the Graduate Theological Union

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

I appreciate the breadth of the book, as it covers so much of the Christian work outside the west and in places rarely surveyed in works like this. That said, there is a fair bit of repetition in the book, which makes reading tedious at times. And I am also not fond of the portrayal of the earliest Christianity. The authors highlight the discontinuities of the early Christians without the recognition of the many fundamental commonalities that linked the expanding Christian community throughout the Mediterranean region.

[Marti Wade]

This felt like a loooooong read. But it will prove a great resource for teaching; provides confirmation/correction for stories I've collected from diverse sources and puts them in their historical context in a fairly systematic way. It is rather repetitive when read straight through. This book was composed in consultation with a wide variety of global theologians/historians. Disappointed how seldom the authors quoted or cited original sources, however.

On to Volume 2!

[Karen D. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I purchased this book for a class on the history of Christianity which I ended up dropping, but I'm reading the book on my own. Very eye-opening for a Protestant like me who has a huge gap in understanding the time period between the New Testament and the Reformation. I am thoroughly enjoying this.

[Peter Boemler · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book for my Introduction to Christian History class. I think it succeeds in what it sets out to do, in presenting an ecumenical account and a more worldwide picture of Christian history that includes Asia and Africa as opposed to just Europe. I enjoyed it, and it is a great companion to Readings in World Christian History, which is a compilation of source documents.

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a good addition to your shelf. It gives a concise, lucid and lively overview of Christian history from the time of Christ to the fall of Constantinople. It is written for a wide audience and shows the great diversity in Christianity from its beginnings.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's comprehensive, for sure. Redundant, but comprehensive.