Church History in Plain Language, Fifth Edition

By: Bruce Shelley, Marshall Shelley

Narrated by: Tom Parks

Over 330,000 copies sold. This is the story of the church for today's listeners.

Bruce Shelley's classic history of the church brings the story of global Christianity into the 21st century. Like a skilled screenwriter, Shelley begins each chapter with three elements: characters, setting, plot. Taking you from the early centuries of the church up through the modern era he tells a story of actual people, in a particular situation, taking action or being acted upon, provides a window into the circumstances and historical context, and from there develops the story of a major period or theme of Christian history. Covering recent events, this book also:

• Details the rapid growth of evangelical and Pentecostal Christianity in the southern hemisphere
• Addresses the decline in traditional mainline denominations
• Examines the influence of technology on the spread of the gospel
• Discusses how Christianity intersects with other religions in countries all over the world

For this fifth edition, Marshall Shelley brought together a team of historians, historical theologians, and editors to revise and update this father's classic text. The new edition adds important stories of the development of Christianity in Asia, India, and Africa, both in the early church as well as in the twentieth and 21st centuries. It also highlights the stories of women and non-Europeans who significantly influenced the development of Christianity but whose contributions are often overlooked in previous overviews of church history.

This concise book provides an approachable guide to church history with intellectual substance. The new edition of Church History in Plain Language promises to set a new standard for accessible church history.

Maps, timelines, suggested reading, and end notes are available in the audiobook companion PDF download.

©2008, 2013 Bruce L. Shelley (P)2021 Zondervan Academic

A great listen and very informative on the Church.

The offer gives a Fairview of church history, without putting his own opinion to much in the book.

Concise

Loved it all, taught me much. Staple of a good foundational learning about the chrich and Christ

Great book!

I had to read this for school but I found it much easier to pay attention when I listened to this and painted or sewed. Very informative and the reader does a good job.

Details

Extremely informative with a timeless epilogue. A must read for Christians and anyone interested in the Church, universal.

Poor Audio Quality - Great Content

After owning this for many months and comparing it to other audio books I'm disappointed that the audio quality is poor. I don't have the necessary technical vocabulary to describe exactly what I mean, but I would say that it lacks clarity. It sounds fuzzy. I also have the print version and the book itself is excellent.

Very informative

The layout for this book was really interesting. Covering an era and highlighting a person in that era.

Great

Really plain for any listener. Great book. I learn a lot in a short time.

A great overview of Christianity.

Listening to this book was enlightening, very informative, and encouraging. The church global has endured much in its 2000+ year existence, and I’ve come away from this text with hope and faith.

Excellent!

Fantastic overview of Church history. Engaging and easy to follow and understand. Would highly recommend!

Well written

Clear and direct in its presentation, makes me hungry for more information on the subject.