Epic: An Around-the-World Journey through Christian History (Videos)
Overview
Each generation suffers from self-obsession, and we do well to keep one eye on the past, to consider not only where we wish to go, where we have been. Christianity has a long and storied past that testifies to God's enduring grace, and even though so much of Christian history has passed away and many of its people and objects have been lost to time, a few precious relics and locations remain.
As we consider these objects with careful eyes and look at them in their historical context, we find the beginnings of a story. Through thirty-three carefully selected objects, author and pastor Tim Challies introduces readers to the history of Christianity in a unique and creative way. It's a story that tells us what God is accomplishing in this world, whether through princes or peasants, triumph or trial. Each of these objects offers us a tangible link between the present and the past, between the Christians of the twenty-first century and the Christians who lived and died in centuries past.
In a few cases these objects are hidden away or in private collections, but more commonly they are there for all who wish to see them. Beginning with the relics of the earliest Christians, we journey through history to look at the importance of a peculiar scrawl of graffiti and the creedal significance of an otherwise unremarkable carving. We take a leap forward in time to consider the loving labor of monks and the martyrdom of Christians who called for reform long before the days of Luther. We look at pulpits and paintings and posters and pieces of machinery. And, of course, we look at books and the remains of books - for nothing has so charted and maintained the course of Christian history as its books.
- Uncover the history of Christianity in a unique and creative way
- Explore connections between past and present Christianity
- Take a closer look to what God is accomplishing in this world
- 1 - Israel & Italy
- 2 - England
- 3 - Ireland & Scotland
- 4 - France & Switzerland
- 5 - Germany & Ecuador
- 6 - Australia & New Zealand
- 7 - Zambia & Zimbabwe
- 8 - India
- 9 - China, Philippines & South Korea
- 10 - USA
- Title: Epic: An Around-the-World Journey through Christian History
- Authors: Tim Challies (from Stephen McCaskell)
- Publisher: Zondervan
- Publication Date: 2020
- Resource Type: Video
- Length: 4 hours
- Topic: Church History
A pastor, noted speaker, author, Tim Challies is a pioneer in the Christian blogosphere. Over 20,000 people visit Challies.com each day, making it one of the most widely read and recognized Christian blogs in the world. Tim is also the editor of DiscerningReader.com, a site dedicated to offering thoughtful reviews of books that are of interest to Christians. Tim has written The Discipline of Spiritual Discernment, published by Crossway, and The Next Story, published by Zondervan. He and his family reside near Toronto, Ontario, where he serves as a pastor at Grace Fellowship Church.
Reviews
2 ratings
Stephanus Karnadhi
4/26/2023
75 flights to 24 countries in 6 continents, to 80 museums, countless hours of research packed in 4 hours of video .. worth your time & money even though there are negative comments, probably .. possibly from people with limited experience in the places nor seeing with their own eyes the artefacts.
Mark Holt
5/15/2022
Just watched the Australian NZ episode. There seems to be very little research. The focus is on English missionaries. He is fascinated by hymn books belonging to Brown and ignores the incredible story of how Brown’s wife gave a copy of Luke in Māori to Tarore and the spread of the gospel from there. Similarly, talks about Hobbiton and right next door is birth place of Tamihana Waharoa. Also ignores role of missionaries in founding document or non English missionaries like Wohlers and Pompalier.David B.
11/10/2021
Fun and light. The videos themselves are beautiful. Going into this, I was hoping for something of the quality and substance one would see from a Bettany Hughes or Michael Wood. But instead, found myself repeatedly hoping that Mr. Challies would at least take a cue from Rick Steves or Huell Howser. At his best moments he is closest to Rick Steves. Given time and effort he might become a decent documentary presenter. That said I agree that overall is this is a very myopic view of church history shaped most strongly by popular 21C north american evangelical interests. Overall, a decent freshman effort.
Jeremy Priest
11/9/2021
I appreciated the places and the personal stories the author gives to the places and the objects he visits and highlights on his journeys, but I think his comments on many things are uninformed and uncharitable. It reminded me of C.S. Lewis' comment about his first book, The Pilgrim's Regress, on the occasion of the 3rd edition being published: "ON RE-READING THIS BOOK ten years after I wrote it, I find its chief faults to be those two which I myself least easily forgive in the books of other men: needless obscurity, and an uncharitable temper." (HarperOne, 2014, 231.) As Alan Jacobs' notes, "much of The Pilgrim's Regress is devoted to rejecting ideas Lewis really doesn't know much about—or elevating the importance of ones he does know" (The Narnian, 159). This evaluation could be applied to much of what I heard in this series.
