Something to think about...

A few years ago, my husband and I were discussing the Bible and what is and isn't in it.  I have often been puzzled by how much narratives read into the Bible stories.  I became aware of it when I read Francine Rivers' novels about Bible women.  At the end of each book, she included a Bible study.  The first assignment in the Bible study is to read the story in the Bible.  What discovered with the story of Bathsheba was that there were details in my head that weren't in the Bible.  I was caught by surprise when I realized this.

I discussed it with my husband and he said to me that God put what He wanted in the Bible.  The stories in the Bible aren't meant to point us to the people.  They are meant to point us to God.

I was reading a book this morning, Welcome to the Story by Stephen J. Nichols, and came upon an interesting quote.  Nichols makes the point that as we're reading the Bible, we should begin to realize something.  "We, if paying attention, will recognize ourselves in one of these characters. (the woman at the well, Nicodemus, Martha...) By reading about them, we will be reading about ourselves.  And just as they are confronted by Jesus, so, too, are we." p. 97

I thought about what he says in this quote.  He wasn't saying that the stories are about the people.  The stories are still about God.  I think he has a point, though.  I also think it takes humility to see ourselves in the stories.

So much to learn about our past...

This summer I reviewed a Children's book about church history by Stephen J. Nichols and Ned Bustard.  Reading that book made me realize how little I understood about church history and how much I really did want to know and understand.  So often names come up in conversations with my husband that I know who they are, but can't seem to keep straight.  So, I started looking for a book to help me fill in the blanks.


In college, I took a class called the History of Christianity.  It was absolutely boring and the textbook was dry.  That's why I thought the history of the church wasn't something I wanted to know anything more about.   But, my mind has changed about that.  


This summer I started reading another book by Stephen J. Nichols titled Pages From Church History.  The book starts with an introduction about why we should care about history.  I love this quote on page 13-14 "Without meaningful connections to the past, the soul does not grow deep, but constricts, growing more and more shallow.  As many have observed, our age tends to be consumed with the present, the new, and even the future...There also lurks, however, a downside, as this tendency can lead to a certain ahistoricism, a sentiment that tells us the past is of little relevance and may be handily brushed aside." On page 14-15 Nichols then goes on to write, "Studying the past offers meaningful connections with our legacy.  We are enriched through our study of the past, simultaneously humbled by testimonies of courage and emboldened by reflections of God's grace and faithfulness..Church history not only inspires, it also instructs."


There is a verse that often comes to mind when people claim to be original and that the past doesn't matter.
Ecclesiastes 1:9 NIV

⁹ What has been will be again,
       what has been done will be done again;
       there is nothing new under the sun.
It was humbling to read what people in the history of the church did with their lives and who they were.  We are to learn from the past for so many reasons.  But, as Nichols expresses in his book--we would do well not to forget those who have come before us.


From the introduction, Nichols begins the first chapter with a brief look at church history.  Though brief, it is packed full of information and food for thought.  After the first chapter, there are twelve chapters about different figures that are significant in the history of the church.  Some of them I knew and others I didn't.  But, even if I knew the name of the person, I learned as I read the chapters how much I truly didn't understand about that person and their place in history.


One of the reasons I felt the need to really understand church history is that I have been struck this year how the history of the world is taught absent God.  The deist perspective is that God created the world and then simply checked out.  Man was left to his own devices.  Even if people don't believe in the big bang, evolution is so prevalent that the default many people come to believe, I think, is that of the deist perspective.  I want to understand church history so that I can integrate it with what I teach my children through the years about history.  I want them to understand and have a humble perspective of who they are, but recognize that God created them and that they have a place in the big picture--a place that God has planned for them.


I leave this book in my car and read a few pages at a time and discuss them with my husband.  It is very meaty and has so many details in it.  It is a book that my husband could sit down and easily read straight through.  But, my concentration isn't quite as strong right now amidst the craziness of my life with 3 kids and homeschooling.  Still, I am able to pick it up and truly enjoy a few pages at a time.  I learn something every time I read this book.  I am beginning to understand the Catholic church more than I ever have before as I learn where the roots of their traditions and beliefs come from.


If you find yourself looking for a wonderful, interesting, and engaging book about church history, I would highly recommend this book.  It would be great also for a high schooler who is being homeschooled.  You'd definitely want to discuss it and read it together, but this book is very easy to understand.


Please note that I was given a complimentary copy of this book from P&R Publishing for review.

A book I came Across

Yesterday, I blogged about Church History ABCs and I wished for more--more context so that I could put the stories in that book into the big picture of history.  I was reading the blog from Hearts and Minds Books in Dallastown, PA, and Byron Borger mentioned this book:

Pages From Church History: A Guided Tour of Christian Classics, also by the same author.  I read a few pages of it on Amazon and it seemed to be just what I was talking about.  I can't fully recommend it since I haven't read it (and I've definitely learned my lesson on that one), but I'm glad to know that there is a book like what I was thinking of out there!

Learning About Church History

I was excited to learn that a book about some heroes of the Faith of Church History has been published.  When I was growing up, I learned a lot about Quaker History--all about George Fox and William Penn as well as many others.  But, I didn't learn a lot about church history beyond Quaker History.  I want my children to have a more well rounded understanding of church history and more knowledge about it than I have.

Stephen J. Nichols and Ned Bustard have published a new book called The Church History ABCs:  Augustine and twenty-five other heroes of the Faith.   Here is their website for the book:  http://www.churchhistoryabcs.com/index.html  The book begins with a short introduction and then a brief page on each of twenty-five people who lived as early as 110 A.D. and died as late as 1940.  (There is a gap between St. Patrick, who died in 461 and Martin Luther who was born in 1483.)  Each letter identifies a person important to church history such as Spurgeon, Martin Luther, or Anne Bradstreet.  I was glad that several women were included.  At the end of the book, there is a long paragraph about each person that gives more description about who each person was and why they are significant--how they glorified God in their lives.  There is also a timeline list of the 25 people.  I wish there was also a visual timeline with a few historical events identified to help place these people in history (I'm going to email them and ask if they might think about posting one on their website =)).  On the website, there are several coloring pages and activity pages to go with the book.  I like the illustrations and the writing.

One question I asked myself was how could I help my kids relate to this book?  How could this book be useful to me and my kids?  I homeschool and my girls will be in 2nd grade and kindergarten.  This year I have decided to start reading through A Child's History of the World by Virgil Hillyer.  This book was recommended to me by several people.  They read the book withe their children and then had them draw pictures about what they have listened to.  One downside to using this book is that it doesn't address history from a Christian perspective or include much of the history of the Christian church.  My plan is to read each of the ABCs in chronological order as we get to that period in history in the book.  It will help bring in the history of the church for my kids as we learn about the past.  One reason I've chosen to teach history this way is that I realized I have been trying to cover too much in our homeschooling and I am trying to simplify.  I also have the ValueTales books and I am also going to integrate them into our reading in the same way I'm going to use this church history book.

If I weren't homeschooling, how would I use this book?  When would I read it?  It would be a good reference book if my kids asked me questions about who these people were.  It might spur on discussions about history and the things that happened in the early Christian church.

Honestly, I don't know of any other books on church history, so this is a unique book for children in grades K-5.  I would love more--more content, more description.  I'd love more of a timeline about history and the part that these people played in it.  In short, I'd love a great history book of church history for children.  But, this is a good place to start.

You can view a sample and excerpt of the book at this website:
http://www.crossway.org/product/9781433514722

Please note that I received a complimentary copy of this book from Crossway Books for review.