Investigations into the in fight of the early church
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This book covers the history from the beginning of Christianity until the 6th century AD.
First all the early different mainstream directions are described until finally during the 4th century AD the orthodox win and rewriting history.
But after Constantine's support and Nicaea 325 AD the in-fight gets even more severe, a mix of political bickering, who is nearer to the emperor is mixing with theological interpretations. Doctrinal discussions about the duality of father and son, the `one substance' interpretation and later including the Holy Ghost as trinity are explained.
Henry Chadwick is describing all the political power play, intrigues and corruption.
- Bishop's still mainstream this year are considered heretic soon after, often not based on doctrinal differences
- The fight between Alexandria, Constantinople, and Rome or Antioch versus Alexandria all for the influence and leadership of the holy sea.
- -Alliances of Bishops from one area to unseat another Bishop and gain power.
- Fighting for imperial favor is decided which Bishop is just happened to be nearer to the emperor's wife.
- The split of Greek speaking eastern churches versus the Latin speaking western churches.
- Decisions on doctrinal issues are often made from the emperor
- Split between West and east Rome and different political events and outcome of wars adding to the picture
Mix all this and the history becomes worse or more complicated like a TV soap.
This book `the early church' of the insights of Church power plays is a good combination with B. Ehrman's `Lost Christianities' which focus on the doctrinal contents.
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Concise, Pithy Account of Early Church History
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As one who is an avid reader of Church history, I can say that this is the best volume of early Church history I have read. Henry Chadwick's account of the rise of Christianity, from its roots in Judaism to its decisive break from the mother religion, is weighty, concise and clear.
He explains how the early Christians saw themselves as Jews but that the decisive break came when they (the Christians) accepted Gentiles into the new movement. Thereafter, Chadwick explores the spread of Christianity in the Near East and eventually how it made its way to Rome. This is pretty standard stuff so far.
What I liked about the book was the explanation of the different Christological positions in the controversies surrounding the question of Christ's nature. It is in Chadwick's book that I understood Arius and Arianism, Nicene confessions, Chalcedonian Christianity, Monophysitism and Nestorianism. These controversies, which seem drab and overly punctilious to modern readers, were, as Chadwick points out, one of the reasons for the eventual split of the Church into Latin and Orthodox Christianities.
The book is not just a boring academic tome. He enlivens the book with lively descriptions of the Church Fathers; Ambrose, Tertullian and the key characters (and politics) in the Christological consipiracies. If you are interested in understanding the rise of Christianity in the Ancient World and want a readable account of the abstruse, high-falutin Christological terms that have come to define Christian doctrine then this book is a must-read. It deserves my 5 stars.
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A Great History Of The Early Chruch!
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"The Early Church" provides the reader with an excellent history of the first six centuries of Christianity. Author Henry Chadwick covers structural and doctrinal development, along with the rise and fall of heresies and introductions to the leading characters of the period.
This excellent book provides an overview of so many things which casual students of Church history probably heard of but may not have really understood. From my reading of this book I have a better understanding of early heresies including Arianism (Jesus was not co-eternal with the Father), Donatism (no reconciliation with apostates) Manichaeism (a secret, gnostic type sect) and Pelagianism (denial of original sin). The role of councils, such as Nicaea, in combating heresy and guiding the development of orthodoxy is made clearer. A greater understanding of the roles of the Church Fathers such as Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Origen, Tertullian, Theodore of Mopsuestia, St. Jerome and St. Augustine is gained by the reader of this book.
From a theological or historical perspective this book is a treasure. One test I apply to books is whether they inspire me to study more. This one does. I am confident that it will do the same for you.
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The Early Church: a tug of war?
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This is a good overall guide to the early Christian church. It is well written and easily readable, without needing a deep previous understanding. At times I did find the layout slightly confusing, as you seem to approach the same events in numerous 'thematic' chapters, rather than using a "time-line" approach. However, the reader does get a feeling of the way the issues at the time were affecting the church, especially of the conflicts that existed between East and West. A good starter from people just interested in the subject or a good revision for those already knowledgable in the subject!
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Perfect balance
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Can't complain about it at all, it covers everything in just enough detail to familiarize you with the different elements of the period, and leaves you informed as to which areas you'd like to read in more detail.
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