Excellent breadth, but a few gripes

books:


	• History of the World Christian Movement: Earliest Christianity to 1453 (History of the World Christian ... Dale T. Irvin, Scott W. Sunquist Orbis Books, 2001 - 512 pages average customer review:based on 7 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Looking in New Directions

Church history books typically look at the development of Christianity in the Middle East and then across Europe. This work takes us East into China , South into Egypt and Nubia , and North into Russia. The contributors are from varied backgrounds, are both female and male , and have some new, fresh perspectives. The scholarship is impressive ,yet not obscure . If anything, the reader yearns to know more of certain figures in Christian lore. This is an important and welcome book.

The best Church History book

Dr. Irvin has written the most excellent Church History book. Moving from the traditional -- and limited -- Eurocentric view of Christian history, this book examines Christianity in the worldwide perspective from which it must be viewed. And it is written in a vibrant style that makes the subject come alive.

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Wow, what a great book

Wow, what a great book. these guys really know their stuff! I think my dad is the man, and Dale is an OK guy too. However, Rev. Dr. Mr. Scott Sunquist must watch out for his son, who might out-publish him!! Great book!!

Excellent breadth, but a few gripes

I appreciate the worldwide coverage of the Christian movement from earliest times, something not often found in church history books. I also appreciate the clarity of expression, making this an easy page-turner. The material both strengthened my faith and raised challenges for reflection. For this, I heartily recommend it.

That said, I hope that for the next edition, that the authors get an editor: material gets repeated, sometimes almost verbatim between sections; there are distracting spelling mistakes and grammatical errors. The repeats mean that the reader can use the book as a rapid reference aid for open book tests, which I appreciate, but some might find it off-putting.

Finally, although I found the drawing out of the heroines of the faith to be quite helpful and eye-opening (example: that Jerome's woman colleagues probably had a larger hand in the Vulgate translation than heretofore imagined), at times this felt like a feminist affirmative action program.

That said, I commend the book to all with curiosity about just how broad the world Christian movement has been through history.

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reviews: page 1, 2

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