Church History in Plain Language

Summary

Church History in Plain Language is a one-volume survey of the history of Christianity from Jesus and the apostles to the late twentieth century, written by Bruce L. Shelley, a professor at Denver Seminary, and first published in 1982. Its aim, stated in the title, is to tell the story of the church clearly and engagingly for readers without training in theology or history, and it has been widely used in churches, colleges and seminaries. Later editions updated the final chapters to cover recent developments, including the growth of Christianity in the global South. Shelley divides the story into a series of 'ages', each introduced with a short overview. The early chapters cover Jesus and the apostles and the growth of the church in the Roman world, including persecution, the formation of the New Testament canon and the creeds. Next he treats the conversion of Constantine, the great councils, monasticism and Augustine. The medieval section discusses the papacy, the split between the Eastern and Western churches in 1054, the Crusades, scholasticism and the friars. The Reformation chapters describe Luther, Zwingli, the Anabaptists, Calvin, the English Reformation and the Catholic response at Trent and through the Jesuits. Later sections take up the age of reason and revival, including Pietism, the Wesleys and the Great Awakening; the nineteenth-century missionary movement and the challenges of science and biblical criticism; and the twentieth century's world wars, totalitarian ideologies, ecumenical movement, Second Vatican Council, Pentecostalism and evangelicalism. Each chapter usually opens with a story or scene that brings a person or event to life before explaining its significance. Shelley writes from an evangelical Protestant perspective but tries to treat Catholic and Orthodox Christianity fairly, and he gives attention to ideas, institutions and ordinary believers. Reviewers have praised its readability and breadth while noting that a single volume must simplify many debates. Because the book is under copyright, this library provides a description only, without quotations.

Plot or Argument

• The early church

  Jesus, the apostles, persecution, the canon and the creeds.

• The Christian empire

  Constantine, councils, monasticism and Augustine.

• The Middle Ages

  Papacy, East–West schism, Crusades, scholasticism and the friars.

• The Reformation

  Luther, Zwingli, Anabaptists, Calvin, England and the Catholic response.

• Reason, revival and progress

  Pietism, the Wesleys, awakenings, missions and modern challenges.

• The twentieth century

  World wars, ideologies, ecumenism, Vatican II, Pentecostalism and global Christianity.

Lessons

• History as story

  Shelley introduces each period through a person or scene.

  • Why might a historian begin a chapter with a story?
  • What are the risks of telling history through individuals?

• Continuity and change

  The book traces how the church adapted to very different cultures over two thousand years.

  • Which change in church history seems most significant to you, and why?
  • What has stayed constant through the periods Shelley describes?

• Writing for non-specialists

  Shelley aimed to make a vast subject accessible to general readers.

  • What techniques can make history accessible without making it misleading?
  • What might a single-volume survey have to leave out?

• For the Christian reader

  Shelley, an evangelical historian at Denver Seminary, wrote so that ordinary believers would know the story of the church to which they belong. His survey helps students see their own congregation as part of the one church of every age, and see the Holy Spirit's work through faithful and flawed people alike.

  • Why should Christians know the history of the church beyond their own denomination?
  • Which period of church history would you like to study more deeply, and why?

Context

By the late 1970s there was demand among American churches and colleges for an accessible single-volume history of Christianity.

Composition

Shelley drew on his teaching at Denver Seminary and published the first edition with Word Books in 1982. Revised editions followed in 1995, 2008 and later, with updates after his death in 2010.

Reception

The book has been used widely as an introductory textbook and in church study groups.

Comparisons

• The History of the Church

  Eusebius wrote the first church history, which Shelley's early chapters draw on.

• Foxe's Book of Martyrs

  Foxe's history is an example of the partisan church histories that modern surveys seek to move beyond.

• City of God

  Augustine's theology of history is a major subject of Shelley's chapter on him.

• The Augsburg Confession

  A key document of the Reformation period Shelley surveys.

• Mere Christianity

  Lewis's popular apologetics, like Shelley's history, aims at ordinary readers.

• The Cost of Discipleship

  Bonhoeffer's resistance belongs to the twentieth-century story of the church under totalitarian rule that Shelley surveys.

Quotes

For Students

A reading companion for classical Christian high school students. See the student guide.

Reading Guide

Watch for

• How each age is introduced.
• The opening story of each chapter.
• How Shelley treats Catholic and Orthodox traditions.
• The final chapters on world Christianity.

Key terms and names

Schism

A formal split within a church, such as East and West in 1054.

Ecumenism

Efforts toward unity among Christian churches.

Pietism

A seventeenth-century movement stressing personal devotion.

Global South

Africa, Latin America and Asia, where Christianity has grown rapidly.

Seminar Questions

1. Comprehension Into what kind of periods does Shelley divide church history?
2. Comprehension Name three developments Shelley covers in the twentieth century.
3. Interpretation How does Shelley's evangelical perspective appear in his choices?
4. Interpretation Why might a narrative approach make history easier to remember?
5. Interpretation How might a historian from another tradition tell the same story differently?
6. Big Question How should a religious community remember the failures as well as the achievements of its past?

Faith Connections

• Matthew 16:18 (Scripture)

  'Upon this rock I will build my church', a text debated throughout church history.

• Acts 2 (Scripture)

  The birth of the church at Pentecost, where Shelley's story begins.

• Eusebius, The History of the Church (Great Conversation)

  The first history of Christianity.

Logic and Rhetoric

Central argument: The history of the church is a single story of continuity and change across many cultures, best understood through the people and events that shaped it.

Rhetorical device: narrative history. Each chapter opens with a scene or story before explaining its significance.

Debate: Resolved: that a single-volume history of Christianity can be fair to all traditions.

Writing Prompts

Essay: Choose two periods from Church History in Plain Language and compare how the church related to political power in each.

Comparison with The History of the Church: Compare Shelley's purposes and methods with those of Eusebius.

Creative Prompts

• Classroom

  Build an illustrated timeline of ten turning points in church history, explaining why you chose each.

• Fiction

  Choose one event and write an opening scene in Shelley's narrative style.

• Essay

  Write an essay arguing which single event in church history most changed the course of Christianity.

Further Reading

• The History of the Church, Eusebius

• The Story of Christianity, Justo L. González