Christianity

The First Three Thousand Years

By: Diarmaid MacCulloch

Narrated by: Walter Dixon

Length: 46 hrs and 29 mins

Publisher's summary

Once in a generation, a historian will redefine his field, producing a book that demands to be read and heard - a product of electrifying scholarship conveyed with commanding skill. Diarmaid MacCulloch's Christianity is such a book. Breathtaking in ambition, it ranges back to the origins of the Hebrew Bible and covers the world, following the three main strands of the Christian faith.

Christianity will teach modern listeners things that have been lost in time about how Jesus' message spread and how the New Testament was formed. We follow the Christian story to all corners of the globe, filling in often neglected accounts of conversions and confrontations in Africa and Asia. And we discover the roots of the faith that galvanized America, charting the rise of the evangelical movement from its origins in Germany and England. This audiobook encompasses all of intellectual history - we meet monks and crusaders, heretics and saints, slave traders and abolitionists, and discover Christianity's essential role in driving the enlightenment and the age of exploration, and shaping the course of World War I and World War II.

We are living in a time of tremendous religious awareness, when both believers and non-believers are deeply engaged by questions of religion and tradition, seeking to understand the violence sometimes perpetrated in the name of God. The son of an Anglican clergyman, MacCulloch writes with deep feeling about faith. His last book, The Reformation, was chosen by dozens of publications as Best Book of the Year and won the National Book Critics Circle Award. This awe-inspiring follow-up is a landmark new history of the faith that continues to shape the world.

©2010 Diamaid MacCulloch (P)2010 Gildan Media Corp

Critic reviews

"Assuming no previous knowledge on the part of readers about Christian traditions, MacCulloch traces in breathtaking detail the often contentious arguments within Christianity for the past 3,000 years. His monumental achievement will not soon be surpassed." ( Publishers Weekly)

"A work of exceptional breadth and subtlety." ( Booklist)

A brilliant overview

MacCullough has managed to present a long, and exhaustively complex story in an interesting and clearly understandable manner. He treats his subject matter respectfully, focusing strictly on the historical record and not taking a religious stand. Walter Dixon, the narrator, does a good job as well reading clearly and briskly, not getting bogged down in sometimes hugely complicated text.

Wow! Exactly what i wanted to buy!

this Is A VERY well written , thorough study of Christianity. An objective , academic, scholarly one. I thought the narrator was also very good, despite complaints about his "American accent"..he was as good if not better than many british narrators. very sober, well pronounced, objective , clear tone throughout. highly recommend if want to get at the truth of Christianity's rise and power in past 2,000, or 3,000 years.

The best book on the history of Christianity.

Neither a hack job nor a paen to Christianity. Includes the distortions, mistakes, misunderstandings, and hate filled conflicts as well as the pain that went into trying to interpret Christianity correctly. Anyone who loves to learn about the historical twists and turns of Christianity will find this an enjoyable read!

Scholarship, intimacy, depth of knowledge .

Rarely have I been so moved by a book of history. Rather, I felt as if a friend was explaining a subject in a private room, with only myself in attendance. This is what it must feel like to be tutored by a master. The depth of his knowledge, the shades of meaning implied by the words used by the original writers is explained, by a friend who want to make sure that I understand the implications, and all of the nuances in someone’s philosophies. While I have read many other histories, this one breathed life into dry dissections of those writings. I found myself rushing back to the books, hardly able to wait for the next section. The writing is accessible, conversational , while filling in the gaps, that must exist when a person is not a linguist and scholar of archaic languages. I can not begin to explain what a joy and pleasure it was to have found this book.

Exhaustive and exacting.

I am in awe of MacCulloch for his ability to treat so large and controversial a subject with intelligence, wit, and clarity.

Long but well worth the time

Clear concise and enjoyable treatment of a complex and wide ranging topic. Your knowledge and appreciation of Christianity will be greatly enhanced.

very in depth

I thought this was very informative, although the amount of information could be overwhelming.

The sheer number of names thrown at you can get confusing. major popes, to minor bishops, various locations, dates, it can really be too much.

however, it is extremely informative and there's a lot of information you can soak up.

as a history nerd, I definitely did enjoy it because it did stick to the history rather than the spiritual or faith-based information.

I would recommend it if you are interested in the subject matter.

Surpised

The information is clearly huge in scope and the author appears to be well acquainted with the various influences on the development of Christianity in the west as well as the east. Early one a bias against the validity of the Christian faith begins to come out with unnecessary criticism and surprising praise for the faith of Islam. So, it becomes hard to accept this as an unbiased history.

read the book, but do not accept ever assertion!

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

This was time well spent, a lot of time. The author has the idea that he is writing a complete history of Christianity. He alludes to the fact that he is a modern British author, and a friend of Christianity, which is code for "I no longer believe in Christ, I am too modern for such a view, but I appreciate the things the Christian culture has brought to the world." One gets the idea that McCullough was writing for his peer group of secular, atheistic British scholars. His has done his home work, and his detailed descriptions of much of the historical processes of the institution of the Church is informative and interesting. However, he makes unsupported assertions throughout the book criticizing the motives or the church which is distracting and often shocking in a book that is supposed to be a clear history of the church. One gets the idea that this is a piece of rebellion against the author's father, who was a priest in the Church of England.

What did you like best about this story?

Clearly I did not really understand the way the institutional church split into western, eastern and Russian churches. Often the politics of various leaders of nations worked to co-opt the leaders of the church to get the church to support the secular leaders. Often church leaders were forced to make political decisions for the good of the church as an institution. There were great leaders and weak leaders of the various churches throughout the ages, but the church survived. I also did not understand the development of the Coptic Christians in Egypt. Fascinating reading, but keep in mind the author has a political, secular agenda and watch for his unsupported assertions about the church's leaders and their motives.

Have you listened to any of Walter Dixon’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

This was a good audio book.

Did Christianity inspire you to do anything?

Yes, I was inspired to do much more research due to the unsupported assertions concerning the motivations of various church leaders that the author makes. This additional research has been wonderfully confirming of development of the Christian culture in the west and the key role the church has played in creating the civilization of charity we have today.

Any additional comments?

Listen to the book, but keep your ears open. I bought a copy of the book as a reference and have used it concerning the historical facts that are presented.

Awesome, Epic!

OK. I'm only 3/4 of the way through this epic read, but what a fascinating story.

There are many "aha!" moments when you get a sudden insight into why the church (or churches in their various forms) - and society in general - is the way it is today. I find this actually makes christianity in all its various forms more accessible and understandable.

If there is a pattern in the history of the church and christianity, it seems to parallel secular society: good ideas and rulers rise to the top, give way to corruption and abuse over generations, leading to reformations and revolutions. And so it goes...

A timely reminder to me to keep going back to the bible as the main source of Christianity, and a warning to be wary of dodgy translations (such as the russian sect that, due to the misinterpretation of one word, castrated themselves).

I find the author to be genuinely sensitive to the beliefs, and the history and motives behind the traditions, of christianity. The book is instructive, informative and entertaining.

Awesome, epic read.