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Just received a copy of a book I have been reading on PDF, don't know if it is available in the public domain or not.
Ye Are The Body: A People's History Of The Church
Here's what some of the reviewers say on Amazon and Good Reads:
You can get these facts in other books bought separately, this is the first one I have seen that covers this much ground in one volume. Protestants and pseudo-Protestants will often claim that the Catholic Church did not exist until Constantine made it legal. In reality, Spencer shows that Catholic teachings have existed since the Apostles first propounded it, and he gives names and dates of saints we have all heard of in chronological order. He gives the names of heretics who existed in the Church at that time who recanted and those who did not recant, but through it all he describes how the teachings we believe today have come down through history.
I have often heard the claim that Constantine was responsible for making Trinitarian theology the norm, in reality, Constantine simply wanted to unite the church because he thought it would unite the empire. It didn't really make any difference to him what the Church believed as long as it (east and west) believed the same thing. Spencer describes how Trinitarian theology finally won out and gives the history behind it.
Ye Are The Body: A People's History Of The Church
Here's what some of the reviewers say on Amazon and Good Reads:
Bonnell Spencer,OHC, has written a classic history text for students. Coming from an Anglo-Catholic tradition, Spencer does a masterful job of including a view of theology for each historical period, so you can see how Christianity has been shaped down through the ages. He has helpful historical charts in the back of the book, which help a student review for a history exam. This book has been used in many prep schools to teach church history to teenagers.
As an adult, I used this text to review for cannonical exams for ordination.
Some critics have said the Spencer seems to gloss over some subtle issues in church conflict, but his purpose is to give a flowing overview of church history.
Needless to say, I recommend this book for confirmation and new member instruction in Episcopal churches. Canon Robert D. Askren+
Seminal work on the delicate work carried out in the preservation of the primitive faith through the Engish Reformation.
It has been a long time since I wept after reading a history book. Bonnell Spencer, an American Anglo-Catholic, ripped out my heart once he reached the great tragedy known as the Reformation. This was not accomplished by cheap literary ploys, but rather for a full and well-articulated ecclesiology that Spencer traces throughout the church's entire history. The author does a great job in tracing the great trends, strands, and debates of a complex story with brevity. The only element hurting the book is its age; Spencer makes some predictions about the coming church history that simply did not come to pass in the 50 or so years following. I would highly recommend the first 4/5 or so of the book to everyone, while recommending the entirety to Anglicans. It is by far the best common-man's church history.
You can get these facts in other books bought separately, this is the first one I have seen that covers this much ground in one volume. Protestants and pseudo-Protestants will often claim that the Catholic Church did not exist until Constantine made it legal. In reality, Spencer shows that Catholic teachings have existed since the Apostles first propounded it, and he gives names and dates of saints we have all heard of in chronological order. He gives the names of heretics who existed in the Church at that time who recanted and those who did not recant, but through it all he describes how the teachings we believe today have come down through history.
I have often heard the claim that Constantine was responsible for making Trinitarian theology the norm, in reality, Constantine simply wanted to unite the church because he thought it would unite the empire. It didn't really make any difference to him what the Church believed as long as it (east and west) believed the same thing. Spencer describes how Trinitarian theology finally won out and gives the history behind it.