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In the book, “The History of the Church
in Plain Language” the author Dr. Bruce
Shelley has made a superb effort to trace the
history of the church right from the life and
times of Christ to the present day. No doubt there
have been a number of books written on this very
important and interesting subject over the years.
But the value of the book lies in its clarity
and simplicity. The author has made considerable
effort to present and organize the layout of the
book in a manner that appeals to the layman, the
general reader. That being said, the book is also
of scholarly merit to priests, religious scholars
and students of history. The book presents the
history of the Church and its people over the
last two thousand odd years, narrating the happenings
as the story of the people of those times, the
issues and choices they faced, their decisions
and the motivations behind them. At times the
book reads almost like a novel. However, this
is not a fictional account. Dr. Shelley is a respected
scholar whose work has been painstakingly researched
and carefully presented with historical accuracy.
He is the Senior Professor of Church History and
Historical Theology at Denver Theological Seminary.
The book starts with the death of Jesus, making
the astounding assertion that Christianity is
about the only religion whose founder died in
apparent ignominy and shame- yet in doing so the
mission of His coming to save us spiritually was
fulfilled. Jesus had the desire to have His teachings
live on after His life on earth, therefore He
brought together the band of Twelve Apostles to
live and learn the principles and practice of
what became known as Christianity. He was in the
role of the spiritual Messiah, not a war-mongering
leader as the people hoped Him to be.
Early Christianity was a religion practiced in
secret, it was thought of as appealing only to
the downtrodden and dispossessed, who had no worldly
possessions and nothing to leave behind. The early
Christians lived in fear from the authorities
and leaders- they were hunted down and persecuted
as pariahs – as were all those who harbored
new ideas and new practices that were looked upon
with suspicion and ridicule by the locals and
ruling populace. The author has labeled this period
the Jesus movement- from 6 B.C to 70 A.D- which
ended in the destruction of Jerusalem and by which
time all the Apostles had passed into eternity.
In terms of beliefs, Jesus’ religion taught
of love, brotherhood and forgiveness. So accepting
Christianity meant overhauling the self- the equivalent
of pouring new wine into old wineskins. It was
the Gentiles that formed the bulk of early Christians-
thanks to Paul’s efforts. While some followers
did come from the descendants of Abraham spread
throughout the Roman Empire, the main strength
of the early Christians for the first 300 years
composed of simple people- women, traders and
soldiers.
However the period from A.D 70 to 312 is considered
the Age of Catholic Christianity, when this religion
spread throughout the Roman Empire and even East
to India. (Shelley, 1995-Page 25) Christianity
was now being accepted as the new orthodox belief.
The spread of Christianity was however at a cost-
persecution and martyrdom were common occurrences
as followers were hunted down and sacrificed for
their new beliefs. Christianity moved from the
catacombs to the imperial courts. The adoption
of the Christian faith by the emperor Constantine
was one of the more significant turning points
in the road to acceptability. His victories are
seen as the victories of Christian beliefs. Far
from being persecuted, Christianity was allowed
to flourish with freedom of worship and expression.
In the mind of the follower, this era heralded
God’s new plan for the spread of the religion.
Separation of Church and State was however upheld.
The next significant event was the compilation
of the Word of God. Apostles, disciples and evangelists
had so far preached the message of Christianity
by word of mouth- efforts were now made to put
it into writing, and thus the Bible came into
being. The New Testament was the cornerstone of
Christian belief- followers read it and were inspired
by its teachings. It served as the standard for
a Christian lifestyle.
Belief in the one-ness of God predominated this
era. The Apostles Creed is written within this
premise. The Trinity can be said to be the revelation
of God through the three persons comprising this
one entity at different times. This is reflected
in the writings of St. Thomas Aquinas as well
as St. Augustine. The rise of Monasticism found
its roots in the 5th and 6th centuries where every
holy man was essentially a hermit- living simply
and frugally- the urge to triumph over sin being
uppermost in his mind. With Gregory the Great,
Monasticism entered the papal throne. It was a
life of simple austerity.
The Church now began to formalize into an entity.
While the early Christians undoubtedly took the
Apostles as their leaders, with the passage of
time and the foundation of the Church, power now
began to vest in the leaders of the Church. The
breaking of bread was already being practiced.
Now the power to forgive sins was indoctrinated
as an essential part of the Christian dogma. The
concepts of priesthood, monasteries and nunneries
and devotion to a life of piety began to proliferate
slowly among the believers. In this era Christianity
was seen as a road to forgiveness and emancipation
from sin- it called worshippers into its fold
in this manner- it was a school for sinners.
All the priests and bishops received their power
from the papacy. In the Middle Ages, the Church
had such indomitable power that it has never had
since. Even kings bowed to the papacy and derived
their power (coronations etc) from the Church.
Birth, marriage and death were all blessed by
the Church.
The Crusades were the call of a pope- Urban 11-
who wanted the dominance of Christianity over
Islam as well as the unification of the Latin
and Greek Orthodox doctrines. The Holy War was
thus a quest for sovereignty. (Shelley, 1995 -Page
191)
The papacy entered into decline by the mid-sixteenth
century. This was accompanied by the abuse of
power and the decline in papal revenues mainly
from Italy. John Wyclif, an English reformer doubted
the worldliness of the papacy and sought to prove
the power of the righteous man. John Hus, a Czech
reformer viewed Christ as the absolute leader
of the Church and not the pope. He sought absolute
truth. They were followed by radicals like Martin
Luther, who ushered in the age of the reformation,
starting Protestantism and by the division of
Church and State, affecting the entire fabric
of western civilization. In Switzerland, Ulrich
Zwingli and his students Grebel and Manz brought
in the concept of Methodism. They were followed
by Wesley, Calvin and the movement towards Puritanism.
In the so-called age of progress or the age of
reason, separation of Church and State was further
enhanced, and we entered into an age of reason
whereby the doctrine of faith suffered a blow.
In today’s world of the twenty first century,
we believe that faith is entirely a personal,
private matter. Pictures and symbols of the faith
have been removed from public places. However
on the cultural and political fronts, the mass
media has had some effect on the communication
of the Gospel worldwide, and the openness of society
formerly closed to evangelical witness.
Dr. Shelley has presented of history of the Church
by dividing Christianity into eight different
ages- the age of Jesus and the Apostles, the age
of Catholic Christianity, the age of the Christian
Roman Empire, the Christian Middle Ages, the age
of the Reformation, the age of Reason and Revival,
the age of Progress and the age of Ideologies.
In this second edition of the book, Dr. Shelley
also explores contemporary phenomena such as the
Religious Right, megachurches, and user-friendly
worship services as well as some of the leading
personalities behind these movements.
The state of Christianity today after 2000 years
is that it has spread throughout the world and
is practised in some measure by a third of the
world’s population. Not bad for a religion
that had its beginnings among a band of fishermen
and tax collectors. Christianity still survives
despite its numerous denominations, as evidenced
by the World Council of Churches (Shelley, 1995-Page
428, 441).
"A Concise History of the Crusades",
A Book Report
Covering a period of some 8 centuries, Professor
Thomas F. Maddern's "A Concise History of
the Crusades" presents the Crusades from
a somewhat Christian perspective. As it not only
sides with the Christian beliefs on Crusades that
have continued over the centuries, the title also
attempts to cover up for most of Crusader's activities
other than the holy war, which they presumably
carried out against the people of the different
religions. For example it would not be wrong to
note that the title book presents Crusades as
a defensive war, whereas history is evidence to
the contrary nature of facts. A few examples of
historical facts as interpreted by Madden in support
of his title book are ample evidence that Madden's
subject title is a biased piece of work. One that
makes a successful attempt at reinforcing the
generally believed set of notions on Crusades,
and follows the premise that they were merely
holy wars duly imposed upon Christians. The subject
title also stresses at various times that the
Crusades were fought as a direct response from
the continuous onslaught of Muslims and to some
extent the Jews as well.
It would also not be wrong to point that the
subject title has successfully attempted to address,
or rather place the subject of Crusades in its
Christian context, and for the average Christian
reader, it would naturally appear to be a properly
placed and indeed concise and contextual.
As evidence of the biased nature of the author's
approach towards covering the subject of Crusades
can be observed where the author profoundly praises
the commitment and bravery of King Richard I the
Lion Heart, during one of the last of Crusades.
On the subject of Crusaders, Madden writes --
"Pious idealism had brought these courageous
knights to the Holy Land . . ." While particularly
praising King Richard I Lion Heart, Madden writes,
"Richard I was the epitome of French Chivalric
culture. Well educated, well spoken, and even
an accomplished poet, the Lion Heart was also
a bold man of action. A young man of 32 when he
took the throne, Richard was an imposing figure
-- tall, blond and physically strong. Like the
knights of the chansons de geste, he was a daring
figure, placing himself in personal danger without
a thought, always eager to take part in any clash
of arms." (The Concise History of the Crusades,
pp87)
The aspects which make the title piece more than
interesting include a clear and 'concise', (hence
also the name), presentation of the Crusades movement,
duly supported with necessary historical background.
The order of facts also provides sufficient material
for an individual totally unaware of the Crusades
or the objective behind the movement. Evidence
of this clear and concise presentation of facts
on Crusade, irrespective of their biased-ness,
can be found in the chronological nature of events,
making it all the more easier for an average reader
to follow the order of the Crusades movement.
For an individual totally unaware on the history
and objective of the Crusades, the subject title
presents an excellent reading material. However,
one must take into account that Crusades covered
an era of more than 8 centuries, while the subject
book only presents a concise version of the entire
Crusades movement all within the confines of a
200 page book. This leads one to deduce that even
if the author has made significant strides, it
would be practically impossible to take into account
each single detail. Thus it is only natural that
there have been a number of omissions, and it
is these omissions which make the title book more
interesting, entertaining and more than objective.
As the principle subject and topic around which
the entire book evolves are the Crusades, the
author wisely chooses the history of Islam as
his first topic, which also provides for ample
background for the onset of the first Crusade
at around 1071. A brief on the first topic thus
shows that Seljuk Turks threatened the Easter
Roman Empire with its capital at Byzantium. After
having fought for a number of years against the
Seljuk Turks, and with no apparent victory insight,
the then Emperor of Roman Empire called for help
from his brethren in the Western Europe. This
was the First Crusade as it occurred in 1096 resulting
in the victory for Byzantium, as well as successfully
capturing majority of the Holy Lands from the
Muslim stronghold.
One the numerous Crusades, one occurred some
half a century later, which too was in direct
response from the Muslim expansion in general,
and to a small extent the Jews as the latter too
were against the Christian beliefs. The subject
book by Madden though takes sides with the Crusaders,
and strives to present them as pious, religious,
and with good intentions. Yet, the facts cannot
and must not be superceded as warfare whether
in the form of Crusades or present day war against
terrorism does also include mishap, blunders and
crimes, even if the same are or were committed
by a few and not all the Crusaders.
An example to this respect can be evidenced in
the robbing and massacre of Jews by one Count
Emicho of Leiningen in the Rhine region of Germany.
These Crusaders thought it righteous to rob and
murder Jews, and use their money to fund Crusaders
all the way from Eastern and Western Europe to
Jerusalem. Yet, it was wrong then, as it is now
as also evidenced in the strong condemnation from
the Church for all such anti Jewish activities.
The fact that practically entire populations
of Jews perished at the hands of the Crusaders
did not at all imply that the Crusades were against
the Jews. On the contrary, the Pope, bishops,
and preachers were against all such anti-semantic
acts. Yet it is also true, as also evidenced in
history including present day wars, armies kill
far more innocents than the intended perpetrators,
but this certainly does not imply that the war
should not take place, or that the Crusaders were
wrong.
The subject book thus strives to present some
set of reasoning as to the causes of the Crusaders,
and their pursuit of aims for taking over the
Holy Lands. The subject book goes on to encompass
a period of the next half a millennium of Crusades.
It is the various failures and successes of the
Christians during the Crusades which makes up
for the majority of the subject book. It may well
be noted that though the first of the Crusades
was a victory for the Christians, practically
all those followed failed. This was primarily
from the unrivaled Muslim expansion and their
strategic advancements in varied disciplines of
life including their faith which to date remains
a primordial source of all their power and learning.
Madden's work "The Concise History of the
Crusades" all too strongly implies that all
the Crusades were against the Muslims is a bit
undermining of the historical facts. The Jews
too have been the target of hatred as have been
the Muslims. One need not turn the pages of recent
history to confirm that during the entire Middle
Ages, Jews along with the Muslims have been persecuted
at the hands of Christians, and the Church could
have stopped this, that is if they wanted to.
What of the numerous kings and emperors who ruled
over majority of the European nations for centuries,
yet they did little to stop such persecutions;
Holocaust being just one example. To the extent
of the insight on Crusades, the subject title
by Thomas Madden is indeed an excellent work,
but to cite and imply that the Crusades were against
the Muslims only would be a severe understatement.
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