Christian History Made Easy

There’s an unintentional (I think) irony in this title, because there’s nothing “easy” about this whirlwind voyage through church history.

“Simplified” might be a better word. Written for those interested in getting a snapshot of the big picture of church history, Christian History Made Easy: 13 Weeks to a Better Understanding of Church History includes a leader’s guide in the back, suggestions for how to structure a Sunday school class or small group study on this topic, and a list of other materials to enhance the experience.

Covering 2,000 years in 141 pages of text, author Timothy Paul Jones paints a summary in broad strokes. Punctuated here and there with sometimes tone-deaf attempts at humor, the language and perspective are simple and beginner-friendly. At the start of each chapter is a list of key terms, names, and events to be learned for each period. The margins contain pictures, relevant links, concepts and questions, and quotations from historic figures.

The voyage is anything but “easy,” though. The story of the church’s evolution from the teachings of Jesus and the apostles through bloodshed, flirtation with political power and wealth, and split after split on issues of doctrine, is a harrowing and often heartbreaking tale. Because it moves at such a fast pace, the text raises lots of questions. But as a person who learns in layers, I value this book as a foundation, a timeline and broad overview of its subject.

Overall, based on this reading, my favorite era was the early centuries of church history. I think I’ve always had a skepticism, or at least a wariness, of constructed creeds and theology. I still do. Yet in these early chapters of the story, I see their purpose. Their preoccupation was in preserving a clear and correct view of who Christ was, and I could see why this was needed. Later in the story, the disputes become more peripheral, and reflect the ideological biases of their age.

I found in these pages a number of books and people I had already read, but that weren’t anchored in a firm context in my thoughts. I knew more of the story than I realized, but have never considered it all at once, as a sub-category of history. I’d like to go back and fill in more details now, perhaps with Church History in Plain Language, before reading any more of the “living books” of the time. An overview helps to carve a path through the mind, to be embellished and clarified later with more readings of those who were there.