
The History of Christianity: From the Disciples to the Dawn of the Reformation
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Narrated by:
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Luke Timothy Johnson
How did a persecuted sect in 1st-century Palestine rise to command such a massive influence on human culture, imagination, and spirit? How did Christianity weather the first critical stages of its historical development and attain its fundamental and enduring cultural role?
Speaking incisively to all of this and more, these 36 enthralling lectures tell the phenomenal story of Christianity's first 1,500 years, in all its remarkable diversity and complex dimension. In the company of Professor Johnson of Emory University, you'll follow the dramatic trajectory of Christianity from its beginnings as a "cult of Jesus" to its rise as a fervent religious movement; from its emergence as an unstoppable force within the Roman Empire to its critical role as an imperial religion; from its remarkable growth, amid divisive disputes and rivalries, to the ultimate schism between Eastern Orthodoxy and Western Catholicism; and from its spread throughout the Western world to its flowering as a culture that shaped Europe for 800 years.
Throughout this series, you'll look deeply into the nature and role of faith, the ethos of our civilization, and the core conceptions of identity and ethics that underlie the Western worldview. This is history in the most vivid and meaningful sense of the word: an inquiry into the past that opens a compelling awareness of our present-of our living origins, our ultimate horizons, our deeper selves.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.
©2012 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2012 The Great CoursesListeners also enjoyed...




















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Id recommend it to anyone who wants to broaden their thinking and gain an appreciation of the 2000 years before now and how we have come to be where we are now.
Amazing how the influence and decisions of individuals over 1000 ago heavily shapes our society and day to day lives today.
Loved it and I didn't think I would
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A great audible production
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Good but verbose
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Great survey of Christianity thru Middle Ages
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Great survey of Early Christianity.
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Biased
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A capable and critical professor surveys Christianity up to the Reformation.
CONTENT:
There are 36 lectures presented by topic. These are mostly in chronological order but often not; it is more of a zig-zag than a forward thrust through history. For example, we've already learned of many second-millennium events before we come to the "great divorce" between western Catholicism and eastern Orthodoxy. The lectures cover the topics suitably, especially those on the early Church; it could work as a primer for further study.
NARRATOR:
Prof. Johnson is a former priest and monk, now a celebrated academic. He is quite upfront about his commitments and limitations near the start of the audio lectures. His specialty is in the very early church addressing themes in their Greco-Roman and wider pagan context during the first centuries; if you are seeking a more Medieval focus you'd be better off with the Great Course by William R. Cook on Catholic history. Johnson is articulate but his voice is very slow, for me necessitating a playback speed of 1.25x for the audio portion of the series.
OVERALL:
I appreciate Prof. Johnson's work on the early Church and this is well worth a listen, especially for those unfamiliar with the outline of Christian history.
The First 1500 Years: A Topical Overview
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Couldn’t tell who the audience was supposed to be
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Outstanding, Even-Handed and Polished
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I have an MDIV, and Dr. Johnson's style is formal even for my taste. In the first lecture I wasn't certain I would be able to follow along through 30+ lectures. He has a way, however, of keeping your attention throughout. By the end, I felt that I understood church history far more holistically than I had prior to the course.
Holistically Informative
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