I’ve really been appreciating Nick Needham’s 2000 Years of Christ’s Power, a projected five-volume history of the church, of which three volumes have already appeared:
- Vol. 1: Age of the Early Church Fathers [sample pages]
- Vol. 2: Middle Ages [sample pages]
- Vol 3: Renaissance and Reformation [sample pages]
I asked WTS Books if they would consider setting up a special where readers can buy all three as a set, and they have now done so—though quantities are limited.
A few notes about these books: (1) They are based on excellent scholarship, but they are quite accessible. (2) There are virtually no footnotes, except as short explanatory material—including, helpfully, pronunciation guides on ancient places, names, and events that may be unfamiliar. (3) This is not only a comprehensive overview of historical theology, but it also contains primary source reading at the end of each chapter, so that you are not only reading about, say, the church fathers, but also sampling their actual writings. (4) These volumes originate in the UK, and as such, they have a different aesthetic feel in terms of cover design, font choice, typsetting, etc. than you would find in the United States.
For a better overview than this, see Tony Reinke’s helpful post.
Reviewing volume 3 for Haddington House, Carl Trueman writes:
This book is the third volume in Dr Needham’s projected comprehensive history of the church from the age of the church fathers to the present day. While Dr Needham is an accomplished scholar in the fields of church history and historical theology, in these volumes he brings his learning to bear in a manner which is easily accessible to the layperson. In a time where neither history nor the reading of books seem to be a particularly strong part of church culture, we should welcome the fact that there are books such as these which compress so much valuable information into a such a relatively short compass is to be welcomed by all who have a concern for the church’s historic heritage. . . . In short, this book, indeed, this whole series, is well worth purchasing, reading, and inwardly digesting.
I hope you enjoy reading from these books as much as I have.
