A History of Christianity
Writing in The New York Times, the eminent historian of modern Christianity, Martin Marty, has lavished praise upon A History of Christianity: “The debate over whether one can represent Christianity in only 556 pages becomes pedantic and frivolous in the face of the fact that Paul Johnson has successfully done so.”
Other reviewers agree wholeheartedly: “His is a tour de force, one of the most ambitious surveys of the history of Christianity ever attempted, and perhaps the most radical,” according to Christians vs. Christians. Kirkus Reviews lauds the book for “presenting salient facts as modern scholars see and interpret them. Though the narrative is fast-paced and the style vigorously economic, the account brims with telling details and reasoned judgments, and never seems superficial. Johnson eschews all special theological pleading, and abides by professional canons of evidence and objectivity. Johnson’s book is a bold achievement of compression and analysis.”
And this from Johnson, a conservative Catholic who defends clerical celibacy and regards liberation theology as heresy! While associated with the political left in his early career, he has become increasingly conservative in his outlook and a critic of modernity; the likes of Richard Dawkins have been a target of his criticism.
A History of Christianity, by Paul Johnson
Atheneum, 1977
