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Christianity: The First Three Thousand Years Audiobook
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(4.00) - 1,010 listener ratings
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The National Book Critics Circle Award-winning author of The Reformation returns with the definitive history of Christianity for our time Once in a generation a historian will redefine his field, producing a book that demands to be heard-a product of electrifying scholarship conveyed with commanding skill. Diarmaid MacCulloch's Christianity is such an audio 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 audio book 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.
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"As with MacCulloch's Reformation, this book tells me much about the parts of Christianity of which I knew little (e.g., the non-Chalcedonian churches, some of whom went the way of Nestorios). I relished the fatness of the book, though not the heft."
— Phil (4 out of 5 stars)
Awards
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One of the 2010 New York Times Book Review 100 Notable Books for Nonfiction
Christianity Listener Reviews
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Cordt Holland, 6/4/2020
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pat, 5/13/2014
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" Especially good on non-Western Christianity and Christianity in the past century "
— Sheldon, 2/6/2014 -
" Great overview, if a bit long. This book is the shortened version of a 1,000 page book. "
— Schmidleysscribblins.wordpress.com, 2/3/2014 -
" MacCulloch is so uptight PC he must squeak when he walks. The first tipoff is his use of CE and BCE instead of Anno Domini (AD) and BC. CE refers to a "common era". The terms he uses are used by certain publishing houses and writers to "avoid offending non-Christians". The use of these terms seems ludicrous considering the subject of his book. His survey of Christianity seems to me to not be dispassionate or objective. It gets more PC the closer he gets to our time. The book is over 1,000 pages and I didn't find much in it I didn't already know. I don't trust his objectivity because he lost a high-ranking position in his church when he was outed, and he seems to be sneering at Christianity. All this and I'm not even a Christian. "
— Wendell, 1/21/2014 -
" I had to take this book out of the library three times before i finished it but it is worth reading. "
— Bonnie, 1/19/2014 -
" A monumental and magnificent history. Full of wonderful narrative, thoughtful insights, and frequent humour. I highly recommend it and plan to dip into it again and again. "
— Jerry, 12/26/2013 -
" never thought i would finish. plenty of food for thought,but be prpepared to be at the table for a while. "
— Douglas, 12/24/2013 -
" I'm still reading this book. Thus far, I've found the cultural context for the spread of Christianity to be very informative. "
— Nita, 12/9/2013 -
" Good historical work; Anglican biased; Not a Spiritual work. Looong read! "
— Anthony, 12/9/2013 -
" I'm really enjoying this book on spite of it's intimidating size. I'd encourage any person of faith who wants to understand how we got where we are to read it. "
— Rick, 8/8/2013 -
" This is a sumptuous history of Christianity. I'm enjoying this as much as I enjoyed God's War. MacCulloch digs deep into the historical origins of Christianity without sugar-coating the facts. Excellent history! "
— Teresa, 8/14/2012 -
" A complete and intriguing history of Christianity from its early days to our time. It would be useful for both academics and ordinary readers. "
— Morteza, 8/4/2012 -
" More like a text book than something you would read for pleasure. Don't jump in unless you can swim in deep intellectual waters. "
— David, 4/12/2012 -
" Interesting, but wordy, overview of Christianity from its roots in Judaism until today. "
— Eric, 3/25/2012 -
" I'm reading this for a bookclub. It's ambitious, not hard to read but hard to assimilate so much detail in one large volume. It was a burden at times to get through it. There is a set of DVDs based on this book narrated by the author that are wonderful. "
— Pamela, 11/20/2011 -
" Four stars for his broad scope and ability to synthesize so much research, all in the goal of creating a mostly coherent narrative out of such a chaotic history. Two stars for his smug, omniscient attitude and biased approach to nearly every every subject he touches upon. Averages out to three. "
— Tom, 7/22/2011 -
" This book is similar to Karen Armstrong's but goes into much more detail and focuses on history as well as the development of ideas. Anyone who reads this book will learn many things they never knew before. "
— Dean, 7/21/2011 -
" comprehensive, and excellent. "
— J., 7/5/2011 -
" Excellent. A little biased against Roman Catholicism but very good none the less. "
— David, 6/3/2011 -
" Listened to about 2 hours of it on tape, then it was due back at the library. Hadn't really gotten into it yet, all I had listened to were the parts about the Greeks and the Jews, very little of which was really historical.<br/> "
— Eli, 5/12/2011 -
" It's good, but so very very very long. <br/><br/>It's complete as well, so makes a handy reference. "
— May, 4/17/2011
About Diarmaid MacCulloch
Diarmaid MacCulloch is professor of the history of the church at St. Cross College, University of Oxford. His most recent book, the New York Times bestseller Christianity, won several awards. A fellow of the British Academy and the Royal Historical Society, he lives in Oxford, England.
About Walter Dixon
Walter Dixon is a broadcast media veteran of more than twenty years’ experience with a background in theater and performing arts and voice work for commercials. After a career in public radio, he is now a full-time narrator with more than fifty audiobooks recorded in genres ranging from religion and politics to children’s stories.