The History of Christianity: From the Disciples to the Dawn of the Reformation cover art

The History of Christianity: From the Disciples to the Dawn of the Reformation

Preview

£0.00 for first 30 days

Try for £0.00
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

The History of Christianity: From the Disciples to the Dawn of the Reformation

By: Luke Timothy Johnson, The Great Courses
Narrated by: Luke Timothy Johnson
Try for £0.00

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £30.99

Buy Now for £30.99

Confirm Purchase
Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.
Cancel

About this listen

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 Courses
Christianity
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Listeners also enjoyed...

The New Testament cover art
The History of Christianity II: From the Reformation to the Modern Megachurch cover art
The Origins of Political Order: From Prehuman Times to the French Revolution cover art
The Foundations of Western Civilization cover art
Christianity cover art
The Theory of Evolution: A History of Controversy cover art
The Dead Sea Scrolls cover art
The Italians before Italy: Conflict and Competition in the Mediterranean cover art
Understanding the New Testament cover art
Understanding the Old Testament cover art
Introduction to Judaism cover art
1066: The Year That Changed Everything cover art
The American Civil War cover art
The Other Side of History: Daily Life in the Ancient World cover art
History's Great Military Blunders and the Lessons They Teach cover art
Ancient Mesopotamia cover art

What listeners say about The History of Christianity: From the Disciples to the Dawn of the Reformation

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    27
  • 4 Stars
    8
  • 3 Stars
    4
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    2
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    24
  • 4 Stars
    10
  • 3 Stars
    2
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    2
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    27
  • 4 Stars
    7
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    2

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Good overview, but biased

This is very enjoyable account but perhaps should be called "A History of Catholicism in Context" (the narrator admits this bias at the start). The writer/narrator presents, at times, a very personal account and is clearly a firm devotee of Christianity which will appeal to some listeners, but perhaps not to those looking for a clinical historical analysis. It is strongest on the first 500 years of Christianity and presents an excellent overview of the complexity of early Christianity, in particular it's Jewish and Greek influences. I would have liked some more detail on non-European Christianity, but all in all there was much well presented information to take away from this overview to give the reader a good introduction to this field.of study.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Fantastic

The lecture is very inspiring
I recommend it to anyone interested in how Christianity evolves.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars

Thought provoking.

Enjoyed it. Very interesting and illuminating. It follows the history showing how Christianity went from a new life led by Jesus, to a religion an institution and another worldy religion

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Brilliant

Fabulous over view. V well done. It would be handy if the chapters had written headings. Highly recommended. Thank you.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A Compelling Tour d'Horizon

An authoritative and succinct account of these turbulent times, from a learned lecturer who's always in control of the grand narrative.
Highly recommended.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

At least listen to it if you are going to review

Any additional comments?

To be clear, the narrator speaks of Constantinian 'sponsorship' and it is explicitly stated that Christianity was not made the official religion of the empire until Theodosius I. The person who said otherwise clearly was not listening intently enough.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

An excellent overview

A great way of looking at the broad sweep of the development of the European church. So many themes that seem modern such as different forms of spiritual expression, the relationship between church and state and how much a faith can adapt to culture without losing its essence are shown to go way back. Obviously taking this broad brush approach means you're conscious of skating over the surface of some big topics.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Fails in the first lecture

Any additional comments?

In the first lecture, the lecturer claims that Constantine made Christianity the State Religion. Wrong. Constantine made it a legal religion. It was Theodosius I some 67+ years later who made it the State Religion.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Hard to follow

I found the narrator hard to follow. It seemed like he would go off on tangents and I would forget the original topic by the time he was done. The chapters did not seem to be laid out in a logical manner. It’s more of a shotgun of information than a narrative

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!