The Nag Hammadi Library68 reviews James M. Robinson HarperOne, 1990 Nag Hammadi + A Definitive New Translation? The Three Sins of James M.Robinson + I like a newer volume of these texts. + Good, but not "definitive" + Necessary             The Christological Controversy (Sources of Early Christian Thought)4 reviews William G. Rusch Augsburg Fortress Publishers, 1980 Review of The Christological Controversy + Well Written and Concise + In Defense of Orthodoxy: Patristic Fathers on Christology + Person of Christ Doctrine; A Patristic approach             Early Christian Women and Pagan Opinion: The Power of the Hysterical Woman1 review Margaret Y. MacDonald Cambridge University Press, 1996 New Insights into the women of early Christianity MacDonald's book is wonderful in the way she picks up on clues that had been passed over before. By examining Christian texts and texts that criticized Christianity, we are able to find out what were the concerns of society in the first two centuries in regard to Christian women. She did a ...             The Story of Christianity, Volume 1: The Early Church to the Dawn of the Reformation (Story of Christianity)28 reviews Justo L. Gonzalez HarperOne, 1984 Easy to read summary on Church History + Events, Politics, Social Structure plus a little Theology + Very Good text book + Simply outstanding             The Church in Ancient Society: From Galilee to Gregory the Great (Oxford History of the Christian Church)1 review Henry Chadwick Oxford University Press, USA, 2003 On doctrine and church order This is a excellent work, but it only focuses on the development of doctrine and church official structure (the story of their definition is summarised with concision, interpretation being reduced to a minimum, and with themes often split between different chapters).Because of that, the book is a ...             The Johannine Gospel in Gnostic Exegesis (Monograph Series (Society of Biblical Literature))3 reviews Elaine, H. Pagels Society of Biblical Literature, 1989 A New Take on Early Christianity + An important contribution to Gnostic hermeneutics If you have the urge to really understand early Christianity, this volume will be of help, but will not provide definitive answers( it was not intended to do so). Though it is, at times, dry and a little pedantic, it is a source for information you are unlikely to find elsewhere.             Remembering the Christian Past3 reviews Robert Louis Wilken Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1995 The Relevance of the Past + absolutely outstanding! + An excellent Collection Worth 10 Stars A few years ago I was asked to review for this journal a book on contemporary ecumenical responses to the classic Christian creeds of the fourth century. In that review, I commended the book for demonstrating so clearly how important patristic research is to the present ecclesiastical situation, ...             Christian Spirituality, Vol. 1: Origins to the Twelfth Century (World Spirituality, Vol. 16) (World ...1 review The Crossroad Publishing Company, 1987 Exquisite This is the only book that I have ever read that I would give 6 stars to if I could; the amount of depth that this book has really is quite fantastic. And, what is more, this volume is the first of three volumes, so if one desires to read the entire set, one will have not only a historical ...             Readings in the History of Christian Theology, Volume 1: From Its Beginnings to the Eve of the Reformation ...8 reviews Westminster John Knox Press, 1988 More of their own words... + Theological readings of the works of the Church Fathers that enable us to Revive our Ecumenical Theology + Broad Range of Authors. Not deep enough on important ones. + Broad Survey of Documents, Not deep enough for me.             Orthodoxy and Heresy in Earliest Christianity2 reviews Walter Bauer Sigler Press, 1996 Our Christianity was not the first Christianity + To the Victor Falls the Prerogative of Rewriting the History of the Conflict For hundreds of years everyone assumed that the earliest Christians were orthodox New Testament Roman Christians, and"heretical" Christianities--like Gnosticism and Marcionism--developed later, branches off the original orthodox trunk. Then in the 1930s this German guy named Walter Bauer decided ...             The History of the Church: From Christ to Constantine (Penguin Classics)25 reviews Eusebius Penguin Classics, 1990 Should be required reading for all Christians + Early church + Faithful account of Christian churches from the first century to the third + One of the most important books that a Christian can own             The First Seven Ecumenical Councils (325-787): Their History and Theology (Theology and Life Series 21)11 reviews Leo Donald Davis Liturgical Press, 1990 Christian History + Outstanding + An outstanding examination . . . + The best one on the subject             The Body and Society6 reviews Peter Brown Columbia University Press, 1988 an excellent, scholarly study + A beautiful exposition of the ignorance of the Church Fathers! + An Excellent History of Early Christianity Brown's book is the finest study available on sexuality and the body in the early Church. This book sheds great light on the classical, Jewish , and Christian conceptions of the body and how important those conceptions were in early Christianity, especially for early Christian asceticism. This is ...             Biblical Exegesis and the Formation of Christian Culture1 review Frances M. Young Hendrickson Publishers, 2002 Historical Look at the Rhetoric of Late Antique Exegesis This book builds on the recent turn toward hermeneutics in biblical studies, that is the systems we bring to studying the Bible. By comparing the rhetorical methods of literary criticism in the Mediterranean basic of late Antiquity, the author argues that early Christian biblical criticism (Latin, ...             Desert Christians: An Introduction to the Literature of Early Monasticism5 reviews William Harmless Oxford University Press, USA, 2004 Introduction and Reflection + An Amazing Study of Early Monastic Literature + A Worthy Introduction with Moments of Depth + A Fine Reference on Ancient Christian Monasticism, Early Coptic Christianity and Literature + From Oxford University Press:             The Christian Tradition: A History of the Development of Doctrine, Vol. 1: The Emergence of the Catholic ...17 reviews Jaroslav Pelikan University Of Chicago Press, 1975 A monument of scholarship + Standard Reference + Inventive, thorough and concise scholarship + Every Christian needs to read this book + Learn at the Feet of a Master Historian             Apostolic Fathers, The: Greek Texts and English Translations9 reviews Baker Academic, 1999 Perfect + Very Nice + third edition gets it (almost) right! + Excellent Resource + The often overlooked founders of the early church             In Her Words: Women's Writings in the History of Christian Thought1 review Amy Oden United Methodist Publishing House, 1994 We love you Dr. Oden! Hi, It's me Adrian. Liz and I were looking at Amazon books and ended up here. Dr. Pasto's translation is also on this sight. He translated a work by Sor Juana Inez de La Cruz. I found your book to be a good addition to our history of Christian thought class. If I ever become a professor I ...             St. Augustine Confessions (Oxford World's Classics)47 reviews Saint Augustine Oxford University Press, USA, 1998 Tolle, lege + A sinner's guide to Christianity + An amazing look at the life of a spiritual giant I've long since lost the religious fervor that led me to read Augustine's Confessions for the first time some 40 years ago. But I've never tired of re-reading it, which I do every five years or so. For in addition to being an exquisitely written prayer, it's also a penetrating analysis of the ...             The Early Church (The Penguin History of the Church)23 reviews Henry Chadwick Penguin, 1993 A Cool and Reserved account of Early Church History + An Admirable Effort + Understand The Names You Recognize! + Concise and interesting + Concise, readable overview.