Christianity: The First Three Thousand Years

Let me say at the outset that I try to be a rationalist and am an atheist. I came to this book looking to understand Christianity, which like any other religion inspires in me a quiet unease, given its reliance on faith in the supernatural rather than seeking a rational understanding of our world. I have found that although called a religion 'of the Book', Christianity cannot be understood by reading the Bible alone (as I have), because that tells you nothing about its evolution or how it is actually practiced in the world today... or about the concerns and issues that face its adherents. To say I'm happy I read it is an understatement. It is a slog, being of a size normally reserved for the door-blocks belted out by authors of high fantasy. It took me (a reasonably fast reader) over three months to read properly. I took plenty of breaks for long trawls on Wikipedia, when persons or subjects explored in the book caught my fancy though. The style of the book is lucid yet academical. While it reads more like a story than a textbook of history, there are copious footnotes that make up nearly half the volume of the Kindle edition I read. There is also a well curated selection of photographs/ plates that add to the reading experience. I mean it as a compliment when I say that while reading it I wasn't sure if the author was himself a believer or not because he's found the right mix of passionate story-telling, dispassionate description, and at a times, tongue in cheek jibing. As the sub-title suggests, this covers about 3000 years of history from the pre-Christian era to the final chapter that looks at the period from the 1960s to the George W Bush presidency in the US. That is a vast span, which the book nimbly covers. It starts in the pre-Christian era, and describes the Greek (and Roman) influences alongside the Jewish heritage that went into the melting pot of ideas that was the early Christian Church. Without dwelling too much on the historicity of the life of Jesus, it covers what few facts of his life are known, and moves on swiftly to matters of doctrine and creed and dogma. It lays before you an array of beliefs - sects, prophets, heresies, ideas come and go and Christianity swiftly evolves into several branches - the 'Catholic', the Orthodox, and eventually the smorgasbord of Protestant faiths. To my delight as a etymology fan, along the way it shows the origin of such words as "Presbyterian" (from the Greek presbytoros or elder) "Episcopal" (from the Greek episkopos or overseer). It also delighted me as a trivia fan by revealing quirky things like the "Jesus Messiah Sutra", authored in the local sutra style by some of the first missionaries in China. There were a lot of surprises for me as I read through the book, the sutra being just an oddity. The presentation of Rome, Istanbul, and Moscow as the three centers of Christianity one after the other was a surprise, as was the overall history of the Orthodox Churches of the East, and of such other lesser known (to me) churches such as the Bulgarian. Each variant (from the earliest schisms at the Council of Chalcedon to the modern phenomenon that is Mormonism) finds mention and some explication in this book; no mean feat in itself. My only complaint was that this book did not spend more time discussing the 20th and 21st century. Although it mentions or name-drops every 'hot topic' I had expected to find mentioned - be it the abuse of children by priests, or the Evangelical interest in the Israel/ Palestine issue - I found myself wanting more discussion and elaboration on some of the points. That said, I do understand that in a work that covers 3000 years of history, such a focus might be puzzling, even off-putting to some. I think this is a must read for anyone interested in history or religion. It is one of those books that informs and changes your world-view. I have more respect for some aspects of Christianity after reading it, but reading the long and blood-soaked history, when so much of the blood was shed on what seem to me inane questions, was depressing. My exhilaration at learning so much was therefore tempered. So what if the author closes on a hopeful note?

I bought McCullogh's extensive work after watching the BBC series ' History of Christianity: The First Three Thousand Years ', presented by McCullogh. The book was written while the program was recorded. Just like the series, the book covers the history of Christianity worldwide and from its very beginnings, including an educated guess about the future of this faith (as the subtitle suggests). The book has several sections with beautiful illustrations and even a cover that continues to look great in my living room. The book is both comprehensive and comprehendible, although it helps to have a little background in Christian history. With a lot of subtle humour and a great deal of knowledge and insight, McCullogh unravels many, many interesting aspects of this world faith. Parts of the book tend to be enumerations of complicated theological debates, but generally, McCullogh puts these dry bits in their historical context to put things in perspective. The author's excellent writing skills will also help readers to grasp most of the book in one reading. The book contains many details, so it is a very useful reference work with an extensive index. On the other hand, because of its readability, it is also very inviting to be read entirely. The book also contains useful suggestions for further reading. The author is a historian and calls himself 'a candid friend of Christianity'. This background influences the way in which he renders Church and Biblical history. After a careful introduction of his views, McCullogh critically evaluates the historical credibility of the Bible as we know it by using scientific standards. He respectfully acknowledges that it is not possible to make any scientific claims about the resurrection of Jesus Christ, which therefore remains a matter of faith.

This is a large book, and I am a long way from finishing it, but it was been excellent so far. If it goes off the rails, I'll update this review and remove some stars, but I except it will continue to be interesting and informative.

Thorough, in-depth, and comprehensive review of the history of Christianity. The author's style of writing is extremely readable, not drab or boring in the least. The author mentions about eastern orthodox Christianity, including about Syriac Christians of Kerala, which other Western authors seem to skim over. Total no. of pages - 1184, with 68 colour plates.

It’s worth spending a part of life reading this book. The opens all unseen vistas of Christianity from an esoteric sect to a dominant denomination.

Una lectura excelente que cubre el tema de una forma completa y con profundidad.

I came to this book, not as a religious person, nor as an atheist - I can see the contradictions in religious dogma but also find lazy, Rickie Gervais style, militant atheism tedious and unnecessary. Therefore I approached this book for its historical content; I wanted to understand how Christianity developed over the millennia. Some reviews from, presumably Christians, attack this book as modern-liberal and dismissive towards Christianity. I didn't find that at all. The text felt very pragmatic, it discusses the subject objectively and unbiasedly. It is written from a historian's perspective, not that of the priest or the atheist. When something contradictory or clearly invented is stated by e.g. an historical reforming bishop, the author discusses this. The author discusses how certain rituals or beliefs came to be and often this is down to misunderstanding or misinterpretation of early Greek texts - it would be remiss to dismiss the author as anti-Christianity or anti-Religion because of this; this is a history book, not a religious text and the author is simply exploring the facts he has available. An example of this is the virgin birth: The author discusses how the original Greek is more accurately translated that the Messiah will be born of a "young woman" but has been mistranslated as "virgin" - this is further compounded by the historical information we have that Jesus is said to have had siblings, most famously James who became the leader of Jesus' followers in the Holy Land after Jesus' Crucifixion. This is not the author putting down Christianity but simply exploring the human misinterpretation of Jesus' life and teachings. Over two thousand years, (mostly) men have tried to make fragments of information "fit" using mistranslations and presumptions and this has resulted in what is modern Christian belief and practice. The book does not deny the existence of a God or explicitly deny Jesus as a Prophet, Messiah, Christ or as the Son of God, and not once did I get the impression that this was the aim of the author - he is not attempting to offend, he is writing scientifically (i.e. evidence based). He is also not attempting to prove that Jesus WAS any of these things. With regards to the reading experience, for a grand ol' tome of over a thousand pages of tiny Penguin-typical print, it never felt like a slog. I breezed through it and enjoyed it. The author has an easy writing style which makes such an unfathomably complex and huge topic accessible and digestible. The book itself is largely chronological and darts about over the globe, starting with the ancestry of Christianity (judaism, Babylon, Ur etc., then the Hellenistic and then Roman world), onto Jesus and then early Christianity, moving across to Byzantium and the rise of Islam, Charlemagne and the West, to the Crusades and Middle Ages and on and on until modern times. There are discussions on philosophers and philosophy, religion and paganism, interpretations of Holy texts, synods and councils (Nicaea etc.), Emperors, Popes, Khans, Monarchs, Saints, Bishops, Monks and Hermits. Even at a thousand pages of small print, it is a... miracle (pardon the choice of word) that the author has managed to discuss such an unending subject so comprehensively in one book. A strong recommendation from me to anyone and everyone. But if you are religious, I would advise approaching it with an open mind and the understanding that this is not meant to offend your faith, nor persuade you that you are wrong. It doesn't deal in faith and spirituality but earthly factual information and therefore I believe you can safely separate the two worlds and enjoy this book for what it is: A History of Christianity.