Thread: Jaroslav Pelikan's 5 volume church history

Any opinions on it?

Any opinions on what else is an enjoyable but noteworthy church history?

I assume that you mean Pelikan's [u:9dc6d138f8]History of the Development of Doctrine[/u:9dc6d138f8]...(?).

I read somewhere (I forget) that it's supposed to be a pretty fair and comprehensive treatment of the subject ...even though Pelikan himself is an adherent of Greek Orthodoxy (after going through Lutheranism,etc.).

I managed to find a copy of vol. 3 [u:9dc6d138f8]The Growth of Medieval Theology [/u:9dc6d138f8](600-1300) at a used bookstore for practically nothing but haven't gotten to it yet as I have other books on my priority list.

It's chocked full of references to and quotes by dozens of obscure churchmen from those times.

Yeah, that's the set. Just wanting to know if it is "safe" or too tilted toward any viewpoint.

Prepare for a stiff read. I thought Pelikan packed a lot into his paragraphs, so concentration was a 'must' for me when I read vols. 1 & 2 (if memory serves as to the amount read).

His work does focus on doctrine. As such it matches up against Cunningham [i:379a908c0b]Historical Thoeolgy[/i:379a908c0b] (2 substantial vols), Berkhof [i:379a908c0b]History of Christian Doctrines[/i:379a908c0b] (1 small vol), and others on the same topics. Naturally, as a modern contribution, and for it's length and comprehensiveness, Pelikan is a useful set. It's not Reformed (duh!), but rather designed for a broad-spectrum (although scholarly) appeal; and you would probably find it useful in many ways.

As always, read with discernment. Happy studying.

For church-history in general, the old stand-by is Schaff (19th century writer, very readable, multi volume # depending on the edition), and Latourette (only two volumes) is good too. Schaff only went up through the Reformation Age; Latourette covered up to the 20th century. Latourette contains bibliography for further reading at the end of nearly every chapter.

Less broad, nothing at all wrong (IMHO) with D'Aubigne on the Reformation (he wrote massively). Various Penguin paperbacks on different topics or periods are generally useful as straightforward history by modern scholars trying to be "neutral." For narrower topics you'll probably just have to pick something you'll likely be interested in (or are turned onto by the more general texts), and read with discernment.

Radar:

If you are looking for general church history (as opposed to a history of doctrine or whatever), you might check out Justo Gonzalez' The Story of Christiainty. It is readable and is used as a text in some Reformed seminaries( such as RTS, if I recall). I can't rememeber anything troubling in his works.

Scott

Thanks guys. I purchased the AnteNicene Fathers set, a Dictionary of Early Church that acts like a topical analysis of the AnteNicene set, and Pelikan's first volume. I plan on Pelikan as an overview, the Dictionary as my primary guide, and the Set for comprehensive reference.

Should last me for plenty of years! Lord willing.