Church History in Plain Language, 5th ed.

by Bruce L. Shelley

Publisher:

Zondervan

, 2020

Overview

Bruce Shelley’s classic history of the church brings the story of global Christianity into the twenty-first century. Like a skilled screenwriter, Shelley begins each chapter with three elements: characters, setting, plot. Taking readers from the early centuries of the church up through the modern era he tells his readers a story of actual people, in a particular situation, taking action or being acted upon, provides a window into the circumstances and historical context, and from there develops the story of a major period or theme of Christian history. Covering recent events, this book also:

• Details the rapid growth of evangelical and Pentecostal Christianity in the southern hemisphere
• Addresses the decline in traditional mainline denominations
• Examines the influence of technology on the spread of the gospel
• Discusses how Christianity intersects with other religions in countries all over the world

For this fifth edition, Marshall Shelley brought together a team of historians, historical theologians, and editors to revise and update this father's classic text. The new edition adds important stories of the development of Christianity in Asia, India, and Africa, both in the early church as well as in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. It also highlights the stories of women and non-Europeans who significantly influenced the development of Christianity but whose contributions are often overlooked in previous overviews of church history.

This concise book provides an easy-to-read guide to church history with intellectual substance. The new edition of Church History in Plain Language promises to set a new standard for readable church history.

Key Features

• Examines the influence of technology on the spread of the gospel
• Discusses how Christianity intersects with other religions in countries all over the world
• Addresses the decline in traditional mainline denominations

Contents

Top Highlights

“But theology, don’t forget, is not synonymous with God’s revelation itself; rather, theology is our human understanding of God’s revelation and our effort to express it clearly in teaching and preaching. Theology is using our own language and our own way of thinking to explain God’s truth. And we know that people belonging to different times and cultures simply think and speak in different ways.” (Page 61)

“Unfortunately, the popes never held two basic truths that we must never forget: Christianity’s highest satisfactions are not guaranteed by possession of special places, and the sword is never God’s way to extend Christ’s church. This fault assured the religious collapse of the whole structure.” (Page 234)

“Christianity is the only major religion to have as its central event the humiliation of its God.” (Page 7)

“Theology comes from two Greek words: theos, meaning God, and logos, meaning word or rational thought. So theology is rational thought about God. It is not identical with religion. Religion is our belief in God and our effort to live by that belief. Theology is the attempt to give a rational explanation of our belief: it is clear thinking about religion.” (Page 60)

“First, the books that are Scripture and are truly the Word of God have about them a self-evidencing quality.” (Page 73)

Product Details

• Title: Church History in Plain Language (5th Edition)
• Author: Bruce L. Shelley
• Edition: 5th Edition
• Publisher: Zondervan
• Print Publication Date: 2020
• Logos Release Date: 2021
• Pages: 596
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Reader Edition
• Subject: Church history
• ISBNs: 9780310115991, 9780310115984, 9780310115960, 9780310116004, 9781401676858, 031011599X, 0310115981, 0310115965, 0310116007, 1401676855
• Resource ID: LLS:CHRCHHSTPLN5THD
• Resource Type: text.monograph.church-history
• Metadata Last Updated: 2023-06-02T23:49:24Z

About Bruce L. Shelley

Dr. Bruce Shelley (1927-2010) was the senior professor of church history and historical theology at Denver Seminary. He joined the faculty in 1957. He earned a Ph.D. from the University of Iowa and received a theological degree from Fuller Seminary. He also attended Columbia Bible College. Dr. Shelley has written or edited over twenty books, including Church History in Plain Language, All the Saints Adore Thee, The Gospel and the American Dream, Theology of Ordinary People, and The Consumer Church. He served on the editorial advisory board of Christian History and has published numerous articles for magazines and encyclopedias. He served as consulting editor for InterVarsity’s Dictionary of Christianity in America. He was a corresponding editor of Christianity Today and published articles in Encyclopedia Americana, Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, and New International Dictionary of the Christian Church.