Book Review: The Story of Christianity
By Trevin Wax on Oct 14, 2008 in Book Reviews, Christianity | 
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Are you looking for one book that encapsulates the most important moments and people in Christian history? Look no farther than The Story of Christianity (2007 Hendrickson Publishers, 1984-85) by Justo L. Gonzalez. You can purchase this book in either one volume or two.
The Story of Christianity is just that – a story. Gonzales has written an engaging textbook that traces Christianity’s history from the early church to the present day. Yes, this book is long. It’s historical. Like all textbooks, it drags in certain places.
But Gonzales rarely delves into unnecessary details. His restraint keeps the book moving, but he wisely includes certain short stories or events that keep the narrative fresh.
The Story of Christianity is a seminary textbook that I have truly enjoyed. Gonzales does an admirable job of making church history interesting and accessible for seminary students. He is also fair. It must be difficult for a historian to keep his prejudices from influencing his work too much. But Gonzales does well, despite a few places where his theological outlook comes to the forefront. (Example? Gonzales seems to see the World Council of Churches of the 20th century as the pinnacle of Christian success.)
Gonzales succeeds in hitting all the highlights of Christian history - an impressive feat considering the outward geographical expansion of Christianity. Sometimes he tries to fit too much history into one chapter. The narrative becomes confusing at times, but this confusion is sometimes brought about by the confusion of the times (The story of the Reformation in the Low Countries, for example.)
Overall, The Story of Christianity is a fine piece of work. I suspect that like other good church history books, this one will be in print for many decades to come.
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I had The Story of Christianity as a textbook in a church history class as well, and I would second that it is a great read and very informative. In fact, it was one of the few classes I’ve had where the students went out of the way to tell the teacher to keep using the book in future semesters and even read the few unassigned chapters (quite a feat for how much college students complain about a lack of time).
m slater | Oct 14, 2008 | Reply
Gonzalez’s book “The Story of Christianity” is a great book and is a good read from a source outside of the U.S. It is one of the few Church history books that I have read that has been engaging enough to keep me going though the whole book. Definitely worth the read.
Another Church history book that I recently read was “The History of Christian Thought: The Fascinating Story of the Great Christian Thinkers and How They Helped Shape the World As We Know It Today” by Jonathan Hill. It is also an engaging read but some basic knowledge of Church history is helpful as it is not as detailed as Gonzalez.
David Younghusband | Oct 14, 2008 | Reply
I have read this book from cover to cover…. and I strongly and highly recommend it.
I have made a bookreview about this book:
http://thedisciplers.com/book-review-the-story-of-christianity-by-justo-gonzales/
Please also note that this book is currently on sale.
It might be a good opportunity for us to grab this very nice book.
Vince | Aug 25, 2009 | Reply