Bible Study Tools

There is an old saying that goes something like, "Those who do not learn the lessons of history are doomed to repeat them."  I don't know whether you agree with that thought, but one thing is certain -- the history of the Church is very important, as it yields many valuable lessons that are still applicable for us today.  This means that every spiritually aware person should have at least one or two Church history resources on their bookshelf.  Here is a sampling of what's currently available --

First of all, let's talk about the "mother lode" -- it is entitled The Early Church Fathers, and it is a mammoth set of 38 hardback volumes.  It was edited years ago by Philip Schaff and Alexander Roberts.  This church history resource covers the entire period of the Apostolic Church Fathers up to the Seven Ecumenical Councils (in case that doesn't register, that's a period of around 800 years!)  This resource presents a collection of the writings of the early Church Fathers and contains several valuable indexes that will help you locate information about various theological controversies, geographical places and key people.  The normal retail price for this set is $1100 -- some outlets may distribute it at a significant discount, however, so do some looking around.

If you are not looking for something with all of that detail -- and especially don't have that kind of money to spend on Church history resources -- than I would recommend another set by Philip Schaff: The History of the Christian Church.  Philip Schaff was perhaps the foremost historian of the Church in his day, and he put this treatment together -- it covers the period from the time of the apostles up to the Swiss Reformation.  It contains extensive annotations and bibliographies, as well as maps and charts.  It is not always an easy read, but I would consider it an essential.  The regular retail price for this set is just under $300.

A third set, also from Philip Schaff is his wonderful treatment of the beliefs of the Church: The Creeds of Christendom.  This set is very reasonably priced at around $150 -- 3 large hardback books that discuss the many creeds and statements of faith that have been developed down through the centuries by various groups of churches.  If you are interested in a study of creeds and statements of faith, this set will give you a treatment of the subject that you can't get anywhere else.

While most of these Church history resources deal primarily with ancient times, there is a great resource that is very up to date: Church History in Plain Language, written by Bruce L. Shelley.  This wonderful book (retailing just under $25) is now in its second edition.  This revised edition covers the history of the church right up to the 1980s and 1990s.  If you are interested in reading about things like the religious right, modern communications and the Church, modern methods of evangelism, megachurches, contemporary worship services -- all of these things are treated in this engaging paperback.

Finally, I would like to mention The One Year Book of Christian History, which tells the story of the Christian Church in the form of 365 stories -- each one designed to be read day by day.  It is written to appeal to the average layperson who may not have any background whatsoever in the history of the Church.  This is much more than just a history book -- it is also a spiritual guide, because it also has Scriptures as well as reflection questions as well. I like this resource because it is a great way to introduce the typical believer to all the historical richness of our faith. It is published by Tyndale House Publishers, as a paperback  (750 pages) and retails for just under $17.

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