The church in history

This volume aims to help the beginner to a deeper appreciation of Christianity and to a better understanding of the Christianity of today by tracing out the path by which it has come. In Part One the writer presents the significant individuals, events, and movements in such a manner that the perspective of the history may not be lost in the mass of details. The problem here is both that of omission and of emphasis. Omissions are justified in that this study is an introduction, through which it is hoped to create such interest in this fascinating field as will lead to further and more intensive reading. Part Two departs from the traditional plan of a mere chronicle of events under the usual outline of ancient, medieval, and modern. Instead it offers a series of studies of different aspects of Christianity as seen in its historical development. The significant institutions of the church, the special aspects of its life and thought, the manifold influences bearing upon it, and the moral and spiritual forces it set in motion, are separately studied and each followed in its movement through the centuries. - Preface.