A History of Christianity

By: Paul Johnson

Narrated by: Wanda McCaddon

First published in 1976, Paul Johnson's exceptional study of Christianity has been loved and widely hailed for its intensive research, writing, and magnitude. Weaving a great range of material, the scholar and author Johnson creates an ambitious panoramic overview of the evolution of the Western world since the founding of a little-known "Jesus sect".

With an unbiased and overall optimistic tone, Johnson traces the fantastic scope of the consequent sects of Christianity and the people who followed them, from the time of the apostle Paul through the Second Vatican Council. Information drawn from extensive and varied sources around the world makes this history as credible as it is reliable. Invaluable understanding of the framework of modern Christianity and its trials and tribulations throughout history has never before been contained in such a captivating work.

©1976 Paul Johnson (P)1989 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Lively Review of the Rollercoaster of Christianity

Paul Johnson is considered nowadays to be a conservative historian. That reflects on our times more than on him.

He wrote here a remarkably clear-eyed account of how Christianity arose, developed, split asunder numerous times, and in so doing continues to reveal the very human evils, weaknesses, and enormous strengths of its practitioners.

Johnson lays bare the constant tension between the spiritual aspirations of the faith and its believers on the one hand, and the reliability with which, on the other, organized religions reliably bring to the front men intent upon earthly success.

He illuminates the unique history of the faith that built what became Europe, and which led to the development of cultures capable of creating — and of course so often failing to live up to — the aspirations of The Enlightenment.

This reviewer can vouch that one need not be a believer to enjoy this comprehensive history.

I read this book three decades ago; hearing it in 2021 from a crisp presenter was a real treat.

Very broad overview that can be dense in information

It’s hard to fully keep track of names (especially Popes, I listen to audiobooks on the go), but the book is still thorough and trackable. I periodically keep notes.

There’s a lot of gaps in my knowledge such as for early Christianity that this book fulfilled, along with the Dark and Middle Ages that sort of just don’t exist in my mind as anything other than “And the rats scrambled around in the ruins of Rome.” Turns out, things really did still happen in this time at the behest of Bishops with castle armaments at times.

Institutional Christianity comes out worse for wear, almost entirely unsavory over the course of 1500 years starting with the fall of Western Rome, but the Church did save Europe from worse things, hard as it is to grasp that.

It doesn’t only solely focus on Western Christianity, but it is largely centered in Europe, glances at Byzantium once in a while, then shifts to America, and gives snippets for the places that Christianity touched, piggybacking off of Colonialism.

This book attempts to be an honest look of the Christian religion at the general level, and doesn’t shy away from its issues on nearly any level as somehow divorced from Christianity.

More impressive in that it’s a Christian willing to go over this breadth of heresies, historical befuddlements, cynical ploys, and who knows how many schisms at this point without trying to pretty it up, nor deliberately over-exaggerating. In other words, historical work as it largely should be.

It is tinged with bias, and there are claims that Augustinian maybe wasn’t the heralder of a thousand years of burnings, but if you can keep track of what might be bias and what cuts across it, you’ll find the vast majority to be honest scholarly work for what this book sets out to do, and it is a monumental task.

A good book, just to be sure to have a notebook for retention.

Well done!

Interesting from beginning to end. The author's conclusions are well reasoned and appealing. The recording has several flaws that do not really detract from the overall excellence of the work.

Audible's Production quality is third rate

Another excellent work by Johnson wonderfully performed by McCaddon, but woefully produced by Audible. How on earth do you put out 20+ hours of painful distortion and not notice? Shameful.

Read Brant Pitre's the case for Jesus instead.

He seems to take as fact the arguments of several atheist scholars who make it a goal to discredit the gospels instead of investigating the matter for himself. Of course there are conflicting writings. St Paul speaks of many teaching an alternative gospel. That is why the apocrypha weren't endorsed by those in the direct student-teacher line of the apostles aka the early church fathers. Also, all were written before the fall of Jerusalem 40 years after Jesus' death. I'm 75mn in and he hasn't gotten off that topic. I am returning this book.

Great overview!

I’ve been a practicing Christian my whole life, but Johnson’s narrative really helps put the historical forces that figure into my faith in context. My only issue is one that is not his fault: he ends the story in the 1960’s. I will search for a successor history that brings that context forward more closely to modern day, but I thoroughly enjoyed the book and the recording.

Idiocy of man taking a simple story of Jesus, and manifesting it into something so complicated.

Focus on Catholicism even in the 20th century when Protestant churches were growing. Would like to have had more reformation history. Also, many phrases in French or Latin used but not translated to English.

Interesting Perspective

1-500: Debatable but interesting. The first few chapters are not founded upon the best scholarship. The discussion of the relationship between the Church and the Roman State is very interesting.
500-1500: Kind of hard to follow, and not terribly interesting. Mostly kings and popes jockeying for power.
1500-1800: Worth the whole book. Fascinating take on the Reformation and the enlightenment, even if one disagrees with Johnson.
1800-Now: Almost as good as the previous section, especially as he deals with the church in Germany during WWII.

amen, eh

good stuff, lots to think about, i'm inclined to listen to the teaching of Jesus & St Paul and avoid the rest as mere mortals

An interesting and nuanced study of the topic.

I found new insights on the influences of the Bishop of Rome, l liked it.