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It came highly recommended and deserved the high rating. The author's writing is interesting and accessible A couple of Although I have taught much of this era to college history classes, I learned a lot from several chapters in this book. A couple of the later chapters seemed to be written just to fill out his consideration of the "global" aspects of early Christianity. Mar 04, Lance Kinzer rated it really liked it. For a relatively brief book "The First Thousand Years" covers a great deal of ground in an engaging fashion.
As a matter of necessity many important issues and figures are treated in only summary fashion, but as an introduction it is a valuable work. I wish that the author had given greater attention to the substance of Western arguments against the veneration of icons and the Filioque question, but of course there are more specialized works where these can be found.
May 27, Ryan rated it really liked it. A fairly good history of the first thousand years ending with the Baptism of Vladimir and the Slavs. Fills in a lot of gaps that most introductions to Church history fail to cover like art and architecture.
I also appreciate him getting into the ancient Nubian church which lives only in the memory of a small company of scholars today. May 01, Kent rated it liked it Shelves: Some things that stood out to me: To give a flavor, this book, among other things, Overall, a good read.
At times I got lost in the geography and the large cast of characters and peoples, which detracted a bit. This is all the more impressive because as the Christian community grew the line separating the church and 'the world' were blurred if not erased. The parade of luminaries is impressive: Yet Augustine towers above all.
It is not hyperbolic to say that during his lifetime he was the most intelligent man in the Mediterranean world. From the time of Plato and Aristotle, the great philosophers of ancient Greece, across more than fifteen centuries until Thomas Aquinas in the High Middle Ages, he has no equal. More than any other Christian author in the early centuries, he is a world.
He lived very long, seventy-six years, and wrote more profusely and thought more profoundly than any other early Christian, and his vigorous intelligence and fertile imagination moved across a much larger canvas. Care must be taken to order the guild of undertakers to place a very big and heavy stone on his grave to stop him coming back here.
Few irruptions in history have transformed societies as rapidly and irrevocably as did the conquest and expansion of the Arabs of Islam in the seventh century. And none came with greater swiftness. Of all the history books I've had to read, I probably enjoyed this one the most of all. This is a book that is written almost in story book fashion. It's not like a textbook like it was meant to be. As the title points out, it covers the first thousand years of Christianity and its rise.
It begins with a very brief overview of the life of Jesus. It talks about the Acts of the Apostles; the controversies in the early Church such as: It outlines Of all the history books I've had to read, I probably enjoyed this one the most of all. It outlines the formation of the organized church, Papias Greek Apostolic Father, Bishop of Hierapolis pushing for the Gospels to be written down, and for the rule of Bishop like you'd see in the early Catholic church.
It covers a broad range of topics like the first instances of Monasticism, the Gnostic Gospels and arguments against them, and the people started them.
There's a lot more, and too much for an overview. I thought this was a very well-written history book. It has more of a storybook type tone that really guides you through different time periods in an interesting and frankly enjoyable way to read. I would recommend it to anyone who would like to know more about the early church, and the formation of the church as you would see it today.
I give it 5 stars. A very clear, concise, and captivating review of the early history of the Church. I've taken a class in seminary which required this text, and I would recommend it to Christians in general for its non-scholarly tone, and its openness to the neglected areas of history like the rise of Islam and the Church of the East. I also liked it was approximately ten pages for each chapter which led to smooth progression from one step in history to the other without being too overbearing on a specific subjec A very clear, concise, and captivating review of the early history of the Church.
I also liked it was approximately ten pages for each chapter which led to smooth progression from one step in history to the other without being too overbearing on a specific subject. Oct 31, Brian rated it it was amazing Shelves: Excellent overview of the first thousand years of Christian history. Due attention given to the Coptic, Ethiopian, Armenian, and Syriac churches generally neglected in survey style history books, while focused on key figures and ideas in the Catholic west and Orthodox east.
A fun read from a seasoned historian. Jul 19, Del Herman rated it liked it. There are more comprehensive histories of the Christian faith out there, but this one is still a good read and I especially liked its international focus: Sep 25, Landon Lehman rated it liked it. A bit dry at times, but comprehensive. I found the organization a little confusing.
It was easy to lose track of where the book was in time when parts were organized around different geographical locations. Oct 08, Zach Hollifield rated it it was amazing Shelves: The fact that it is global in perspective is really what sets it apart from similar works.
Highly recommended to anyone interested in the history of the church.
Jul 02, Werner Fourie rated it really liked it. Wilken offers very insightful descriptions into the different ages of the Church. Jan 13, Jedidiah Tritle rated it it was amazing. This is the best survey of 1st-millennium Christian history I've read, and arguably one of the better texts on the market. Contra most surveys, it includes the development of Christianity in regions beyond the Roman and Byzantine Empires like Syria, Egypt, Ethiopia, Armenia, and the other early Sees. As opposed to books such as A Brief History of the Catholic Church, The First Thousand Years never gets bogged down with biographical details, nor does it spend an inordinate amount of time on the This is the best survey of 1st-millennium Christian history I've read, and arguably one of the better texts on the market.
As opposed to books such as A Brief History of the Catholic Church, The First Thousand Years never gets bogged down with biographical details, nor does it spend an inordinate amount of time on the latter-half of the 20th-century. As a apologetic piece, it becomes quite obvious in this text as it does with any amount of academic research that the Protestant assertion that Roman Christianity developed independently of a primordial form of Christianity originating in Palestine is without basis.
However, this book is not polemic.
In fact, it's probably the most objective historical survey I've read. The book highlights the triumphs of Christianity as it spread through the East, West, and Orient, while also portraying the problems associated with the [arguably well-intentioned but poorly enacted] association of the Papacy and the Franks in the latter 8th-century and into the high Middle Ages--a union which would see Roman Catholicism become a strong political force throughout Western Europe until the Protestant Reformation. I'd recommend this to anyone who desires to understand the first millennium of Christianity as it developed historically throughout the world in a general albeit specific enough manner.
May 21, Mac rated it it was amazing. Wilken's overview of the First Thousand Years of Christian history is exceptionally well-written. His short chapters are engaging and full of details and anecdotes that bring the story he is telling to life. I especially liked the fact that Wilken included material on eastern, African, and Egyptian Christians which are often left out or minimized in other surveys of church history.
As a teacher, I was pleased to see that most chapters could stand on their own as short reading assignments for stu Wilken's overview of the First Thousand Years of Christian history is exceptionally well-written. As a teacher, I was pleased to see that most chapters could stand on their own as short reading assignments for students, but the book hangs together well and transitions are smooth. The work is accessible to those who know very little about the history of Christianity but useful even to experts in the field.
One of the most pleasant history texts I've read in a long time. Both seek to branch outside of the traditional focus on Latin Christianity, and both cover much of the same ground. However, the overlap proved rewarding rather than redundant. Oct 09, Margaret Sankey rated it really liked it. Read as a review of my knowledge of the period taken down at the right hand of the Emperor Constantine, my lunatic professor before I cover Early Christianity and the Medieval West in my big survey course starting next week, this is an excellent synthesis of the most recent theology, archaeology and history, with the refreshing orientation of being "Global," that is, including the near east, Indian and African manifestations of Christianity.
Wilken has clearly been polishing this in his mind f Read as a review of my knowledge of the period taken down at the right hand of the Emperor Constantine, my lunatic professor before I cover Early Christianity and the Medieval West in my big survey course starting next week, this is an excellent synthesis of the most recent theology, archaeology and history, with the refreshing orientation of being "Global," that is, including the near east, Indian and African manifestations of Christianity. Wilken has clearly been polishing this in his mind for a long time, and you can see the effects of having taught it in the perfectly turned examples and vivid characters he uses as exemplars.
I also very much appreciate that he runs the narrative in necessary and intimate parallel to the rise of Islam. Wilken provides a great overview of Christian history from the death of Christ through the year I appreciated Wilken's attention to those Christian areas outside the Latin West, where most Christian history is commonly located and discussed. His inclusion of Asia, North African and Byzantium provide a fuller view of the first thousand years of Christianity.
I think this helps combat our dominating Western ideologies and helps de-center Europe as assumed "hub" of Christian history. Wilken d Wilken provides a great overview of Christian history from the death of Christ through the year Wilken does an excellent job hitting all the main points and connecting the issues of different regions to provide the reader with a beautiful, broad stroke overview of Christian history that encapsulates all its different ethnicities and locations. I enjoyed this book a great deal. Often Wilken's small details give a glimpse into a particular period that add flavor and a sense of the time.
My takeaways from this book are: This is a v I enjoyed this book a great deal. This is a very readable book, and a very solid introduction to Christianity's first millennium. This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. He didn't just focus on Western Europe and the Roman Catholic church. It was easy to read and quite comprehensive.
It didn't go strictly in chronological order, but focused on different themes he may go over the same years three times, but in one chapter focusing on the Coptic Christians, then the next on Nubia, then the next chapter on Christians east of Jerusalem. Jan 03, Joyce rated it it was amazing.
Great summary of the first millennium of Christianity - not an easy feat! It covered a breadth of time and space, from Spain to Ethiopia to China.
I appreciated the information about the many councils, especially Nicaea and Chalcedon! The author seems to be Roman Catholic, so there might be a bias. Not having read much Church history on the past though, it's hard for me to say for sure; it seemed pretty fair and balanced to me. The chapters on art, music, and architecture, as well as on the infl Great summary of the first millennium of Christianity - not an easy feat! The chapters on art, music, and architecture, as well as on the influence of the rise of Islam were very enriching. This is an excellent history of the early period of Christianity.
But this was most definitely not true of early Christianity, where significant disputes were common and usually settled by church councils. Some of those disputes were with currents of thought wholly outside mainstream Christianity, most notably Gnosticism. Others were within Christianity, but still were very substantial and led to lasting cracks. The latter led to whole groups regarding themselves as partially separate, including the Nestorian Christians, whose persecution by the Byzantines resulted, in part, in their cooperation with Muslim conquerors, whom they saw as heretics, not a new religion, a blind spot they recognized too late.
Beginning at the beginning, in Jerusalem, Wilken moves outward in time and space, first to the journeys of Paul, and thence to other areas of the Middle East to which Christianity spread, gradually increasing its hold on the population. Almost all of these areas are areas we think of as Muslim today. He also talks about numerous important individuals, some still famous today Origen; Gregory of Nyssa; Athanasius; Maximus the Confessor and many less famous, at least in the West Shenoute, abbot of the giant White Monastery in Egypt; Mashtots, inventor of the Armenian alphabet, created as part of the work of conversion.
He talks of church dependence on the state, and of its independence. He also discusses the tangled Christian relationship with the Jews—not the later, medieval one of pogroms, but one where Jews, who had large numbers in the Roman Empire, often persecuted Christians, and got the same and more in return. Naturally, Church councils, including Nicaea and Chalcedon, receive a lot of attention, both for the events themselves and for their subsequent ripples through history. Art and architecture, music and literature, are also extensively covered.
But perhaps keeping such hordes at bay is what tungsten rods dropped from orbit are for. Finally, as Islam crests over the historic Christian heartlands, Wilken turns more to the West being reborn, through the Carolingians , the spread of Christianity to the British Isles, and the groundwork for the Crusades being laid as Islam continued to choke the life out of Christians and their culture in the places conquered by the troops of Muhammad and his successors.
But all of these topics get covered in chapters of ten pages or less, and multiple topics are covered in each chapter. Again, this is inherent in the structure of capsule history, and in trying to cover a thousand years in a day. My original plan was to use this as an audiobook to educate my older children in the car as I drove them to school. As an education device for teenagers, this book may be boring to them, and a little boring to me, but it communicates all the relevant information, so maybe I will make them read it after all!
Communicate information is all it does, though, which should be enough, but somehow I was expecting more.