2000 Years of Christ's Power, Volume 1: The Age of the Early Church Fathers

Covering the 1st Century AD to the start of the Middle Ages, the first volume of 2000 Years of Christ’s Power, this period in history establishes the foundations of what we take for granted today.

Every generation has an uncanny tendency to view themselves as more enlightened than those that have gone before. Looking at the early church, by being honest about their mistakes and drawing inspiration from their motivation, mission and momentum, Needham demonstrates that our ancestors offer valuable insights for us to glean from.

Delve into the works of Saint Augustine of Hippo and witness the first apologetic ever penned.

Featuring:
• The Jesus Movement – Christianity through the era of the Apostles
• The Apostolic Fathers, persecution, and apologetics
• Gnostics, Catholics and Montanists
• African Christianity
• The fall of Rome and Constantinople

Volume one of five. Academically reliable, the accessible humorous style and accompanying glossary means church history is a subject for everyone to benefit from.

Endorsements

"What makes the books so useful is that in a non-technical (but not simplistic) way, they bring out the main story line of the history of the church through the centuries. But in addition, and most helpfully, each chapter concludes with a selection of writings (translated of course!) from people discussed in the chapter. This means that we are not only told what certain people believed, but we are able to read some of their actual writings -- and this is often extremely illuminating."
—Martin K. Bussey, Lecturer in theology, Africa International University, Kenya

"It is a brave historian who tackles the extremely challenging task of writing the 2,000-year history of the Church. Well, Nick Needham has more than risen to the challenge. This eagerly-awaited fourth volume has been well worth the wait and, not to pressure our brother scholar, we now look forward to the concluding volume!"
—Michael A. G. Haykin, Professor of Church History and Biblical Spirituality, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, Kentucky

"For many years now I have said: if you want a thorough, learned but accessible and well-written history of the church, read Nick Needham's 2,000 Years of Christ's Power. Now, with the fourth volume finally available, Christians have an excellent resource for improving their knowledge of the history of their faith. Highly recommended."
—Carl R. Trueman, Paul Woolley Professor of Historical Theology and Church History, Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

"Nick Needham's volumes on church history explain everything that someone new to the subject might not understand. At the same time, they achieve a depth of detail to interest those who already know something of the subject. We use them as standard texts at LTS and look forward eagerly to forthcoming volumes."
—Robert Strivens, Principal, London Theological Seminary, London

Contents

The Age of the Early Church Fathers

1. The Historical Background: Rome and Israel
2. The Jesus Movement
3. The Apostolic Fathers, Persecution and Apologetics
4. Gnostics, Catholics and Montanists
5. African Christianity: Alexandria and Carthage
6. From Persecution to Toleration
7. Christianity, Paganism and Society
8. The Arian Controversy
9. John Chrysostom, Jerome and Augustine of Hippo
10. Christological Controversies: From Apollinarius to the Council of Chalcedon
11. The Fall of Rome and the New Germanic Kingdoms in the West
12. The East Divided: From the Monophysites to Maximus the Confessor