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Christianity: The First Three Thousand Years, by Diarmaid MacCulloch

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Review

Praise for Christianity“Immensely ambitious and absorbing.”—Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker“A landmark contribution . . . It is difficult to imagine a more comprehensive and surprisingly accessible volume than MacCulloch’s.”—Jon Meacham, The New York Times Book Review“A prodigious, thrilling, masterclass of a history book. MacCulloch is to be congratulated for his accessible handling of so much complex, difficult material.”—John Cornwell, Financial Times“A tour de force: it has enormous range, is gracefully and wittily written, and from page one holds the attention. Everyone who reads it will learn things they didn’t know.”—Eamon Duffy, author of Saints and Sinners“MacCulloch brings an insider’s wit to tracing the fate of official Christianity in an age of doubt, and to addressing modern surges of zeal, from Mormons to Pentecostals.”—The Economist“A triumphantly executed achievement. This book is a landmark in its field, astonishing in its range, compulsively readable, full of insight even for the most jaded professional and of illumination for the interested general reader. It will have few, if any, rivals in the English language.”—Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury“A well-informed and—bless the man—witty narrative guaranteed to please and at the same time displease every single reader, if hardly in identical measure. . . . The author’s prose style is fluent, well-judged, and wholly free of cant. . . . You will shut this large book with gratitude for a long and stimulating journey.”—The Washington Times“A tour de force . . . The great strength of the book is that it covers, in sufficient but not oppressive detail, huge areas of Christian history which are dealt with cursorily in traditional accounts of the subject and are unfamiliar to most English-speaking readers. . . . MacCulloch’s analysis of why Christianity has taken root in Korea but made such a hash in India is perceptive and his account of the nineteenth-century missions in Africa and the Pacific is first-rate and full of insight. . . . The most brilliant point of this remarkable book is its identification of the U.S. as the prime example of the kind of nation the reformers hoped to create.”—Paul Johnson, The Spectator

About the Author

Diarmaid MacCulloch is a fellow of St. Cross College, Oxford, and professor of the history of the church at Oxford University. His books include Suffolk and the Tudors, winner of the Royal Historical Society’s Whitfield Prize, and Thomas Cranmer: A Life, which won the Whitbread Biography Prize, the James Tait Black Prize, and the Duff Cooper Prize. A former Anglican deacon, he has presented many highly celebrated documentaries for television and radio, and was knighted in 2012 for his services to scholarship. He lives in Oxford, England.

Product details

Paperback: 1184 pages

Publisher: Penguin Books; Reprint edition (February 22, 2011)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 9780143118695

ISBN-13: 978-0143118695

ASIN: 0143118692

Product Dimensions:

6 x 2 x 9 inches

Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review:

4.2 out of 5 stars

325 customer reviews

Amazon Best Sellers Rank:

#46,884 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

MacCulloch's very detailed Christianity starts a thousand years before Christ with the Greek and Jewish foundations that formed the world's biggest religion. MacCulloch describes himself as a "a candid friend of Christianity" (p. 10), and perhaps some will find his viewpoint more objective than that of a devoted believer. I am less enthusiastic. But I am glad I read the book.To the extent that I am qualified to comment, I find his views in line with mainstream Christian scholarship. Since I have difficulty with what I will uncharitably call the biblical revisionism that forms the foundation for much of the modern understanding of ancient Judaism, Christianity, and the Bible, at least in mainstream liberal critical circles, I found his exposition of Jewish and Christian history, through the second century, disappointing but unsurprising. I look forward to the day when scholars come to terms with the fact that, if they reject the more speculative aspects of nineteenth and early twentieth century biblical revisionism, they must also reject the more recent extrapolations of the earlier conclusions. My viewpoints are much more inline with those of Bruce, Carson, Kitchen, Longman, and Robinson.*After introducing himself, MacCulloch starts his book with a discussion of ancient Greek history and philosophy, and its influence on Christian belief and theology. I found this very helpful. MacCulloch explained how Greek culture influenced Jewish culture throughout the Roman empire. He discussed how Greek notions of the perfection of God clashed with the more personal, passionate, and earthy Jewish God of the Bible. He pointed out how that for Greeks, the God of the Old Testament was the almost the antithesis of their ideas of God. Included in the discussion was Diogenes, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, and Pythagoras. MacCulloch later shows how these philosophers influenced both mainstream and heretical Christian belief throughout Christian history.MacCulloch is really quite ambitious to try to teach all of Christian history, in all the world, from before Christ to now. This is not just a broad brush summary of Christian history: there is depth and detail, in my opinion, too much detail. In any given century, there seem to be about a half a dozen major heresies, at least two or three mainstream accepted theologies, a number of important Christian leaders, several major wars, one or more genocides, a new expectation of the end of the world, a few major missionary efforts, one or several large political shifts, a new understanding of what it means to be Christian, and the relentless expansion of the Christian church. There is a lot of information here, and I would like to assimilate it better, but for me, I am overwhelmed.I like MacCulloch's story telling style. It is enjoyable and informative and very readable. But I had trouble absorbing key points. As MacCulloch points out, many Christian leaders and theologies continue to impact the faith for centuries after their inception. When a student first encounters these leaders and theologies, it is not obvious which ones will become important. As I am reading about them, I don't know what to focus on. Without knowing history, I don't know how to read history! A little help from the teacher in this instance would be appreciated.As an example, MacCulloch describes Martin Luther's theology in the context of his life, including his upbringing, rivalries, influences, politics, and travel. We then learn the stories of Luther's followers. Eventually great changes are triggered by Luther's writing, several large protestant denominations develop, even the course of nations is changed, and each development has a history of its own. MacCulloch expounds seemingly on each development of theology, ritual, art, politics, and culture, decade by decade, throughout Europe, and then beyond. In the midst of all this information, I become lost. What was it that Luther was trying to say? The problem with history is there is just too much of it!In spite of my complaints, I am glad I read the book. It has made me aware of the size and diversity of Christianity. I have learned a little about tolerance, and especially intolerance. I have learned about the quest for power, influence, and control in human institutions, churches, and nations, and especially the horror that can result. And I have learned a little about belief, faith, hope, and spirit; I think I have especially learned that humility is key to love and understanding, for each other and our creator. Overall, I liked the book, not a lot, but I liked it. I may read it again, and if I do, I will take better notes. I hesitantly recommend it.--------------------* That is I more closely embrace the viewpoints expressed in the following books:- Bruce, F. F. The New Testament documents : are they reliable. Grand Rapids, Mich. Downers Grove, Ill: Eerdmans InterVarsity Press, 2003.- Carson, D. A., and Douglas J. Moo. An introduction to the New Testament. Grand Rapids, Mich: Zondervan, 2009.- Kitchen, K. A. On the reliability of the Old Testament. Grand Rapids, Mich: W.B. Eerdmans, 2006.- Longman, Tremper, and Raymond B. Dillard. An introduction to the Old Testament. Grand Rapids, Mich: Zondervan, 2006.- Robinson, John A. Redating the New Testament. London: S.C.M. Press, 1976.Note: Rated three out of five stars on Goodreads, as Goodreads defines three stars as "I like it" and two stars as "It's okay".

While this book could be used as an entry level text in college or seminary (I've taught both), it's really aimed at a general audience. While the author presumes little (other than an acceptance that the evidences of history, archeology and logic should have meaning for readers of the Bible and theology), and does not make assumptions concerning the faith of its readers, it does come from a perspective faith seeking understanding, and the embedded presumption that Christianity can and should have meaning in people's lives. With this said, I found it to be a well informed theological and historical exploration of the first 3000 years of Christianity. The opening chapters, being a whirlwind of Biblical criticism and Greek and Latin history move along very briskly. Sometimes bits of detail are missing, but not often.

There's no doubt that MacCulloch is a great scholar of Church History and has, rightly, acquired an international reputation in his field. This work is, therefore, what one would expect from such a renowned scholar: a work of much erudition and intellectual reflection. I would normally give it a five star review except for two caveats. The first problem with the book, in my humble opinion, is that it is ostensibly directed at the average layman and intended to introduce the average reading public with the history of the Christian Church. The problem therein lies in one of the beauties of the work: it is so erudite. As a church buddy of mine commented on reading the book, "He mentions things he obviously expects me to know but he hasn't given me any explanation or background." I feel this is a correct assessment of the book. If you dive into it without any previous study of Church history it will be confusing at times. The second issue I have with MacCulloch is a more personal one (although I certainly don't mean this to be an ad hominem attack on a scholar I greatly admire). He has a distressing tendency to present personal opinion (or- shall we say- minority academic opinion) with fact agreed upon by the consensus of scholars. Just a couple examples, MacCulloch opines that Jesus spoke mediocre "market-place" Greek. He says this as a fact that is indisputable. Actually, of course, no one knows what type of Greek Jesus spoke- if any at all. Some scholars believe that Jesus' Greek was fluent; others have maintained that he spoke no Greek at all. But you would never know there was any disagreement on this issue from MacCulloch who- as I say- presents his own opinion as fact. Another example is his interesting and rather long discussion of the meaning of the Greek "epiousios" in the Lord's Prayer. He flatly states that the word relates to future events and connects it with Jesus' proclamation of the imminent end of the world and his parousia. However, there is absolutely no consensus in the academic community that this is what the word "epiousios" (usually translated "daily' as in "daily bread") means. Many scholars believe it means what it is normally translated to mean: i.e., "daily". Other scholars frankly admit that the word is enigmatic and let their readers know that there is no definitive academic position on its meaning. MacCulloch, however, in his typical fashion presents his theory (which may, of course, be the correct one) and doesn't let his reader have the benefit of knowing that this is a debated point among scholars So, long story short, I think this is overall a great work of Church history that every serious student should probably read. Even if you disagree with MacCulloch, which I often find myself doing, he provokes thought and that is always a good thing. If you decide to read Christianity: the First Three Thousand Years just do yourself a favor and read a shorter, simpler introduction to Christianity first and, then, as you are reading the work always keep in mind that some of his assertions may be more personal opinion than scholarly consensus. With these two caveats in mind, I think any reader will enjoy the book and find it a gold mine of information.

This book is over 1,000 pages long (excluding notes and index). Reading it is more like a way of life or a devotion than reading a normal book. I've been at it for months already, reading a little each day, and I'm determined to finish it -- because if I do, I will have learned the entire history of Christianity, all 3,000 years of it! It is a long and crazy history, but reading this book will give you a basis for being much more informed about Christianity's long and varied history, which has affected so much in our world. There are aspects of Christianity I simply had never heard anything about before -- for example, the Armenian church, the Orthodox church, Christianity in Africa, etc. It is very well written and dense but not difficult writing. I also watched the 6 part DVD that accompanies this. You can see Diarmaid MacCulloch's passion for the subject, which comes through in every page. He is a truly passionate scholar.

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