A History of Christian Thought by Justo L. Gonzalez

Gonzalez, Justo L. A History of Christian Thought: From the Beginnings to the Council of Chalcedon. Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 1970.

This book was recommended to me by a reading list I found at Concordia Theological Seminary in St. Louis. I had it in my "to read" list for about eight months, but finally cracked it and found Gonzalez' writing to be very attractive and approachable. He works with very precise historical and theological terminology, but he explains everything in terms which are readily understandable. There is no unusual jargon in this book. As you might gather from the title, Gonzalez covers the big ideas of Christianity from the first century through the time of the Council of Chalcedon. He doesn't spend any significant time on discussion of the New  Testament, assigning that to a different topic. But beginning with the first century Fathers he discusses ideas and the people who interacted with them, following a chronological pattern as much as is practical considering the developments in Christian thought that arose in different parts of the world at the same time. I highly recommend this book as an introductory text in early Christian history.

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Dave Spotts
blogging at http://capnsaltyslongvoyage.blogspot.com