History of the Christian Religion to the Year Two Hundred

Rating:
Summary: "A Rare Study, A Rare Find"
Review: Charles B. Waite's work on the first two centuries of Christianity is a rare find - there is only five-hundred in print - and his unique scrutiny of study makes this work a broadening and rewarding read. The perspective of this work is definately more objective than dogmatic; and it is more a careful documentary of raw facts than it is a panorama of historical changes. This book was printed in the early twentieth century, but on many points Waite's scholarship has endured, and still continues to influence the way we look at the formation of Christianity in the first two centuries. There seems to be no exact agenda or theme to this work, except for Waite's apparent intention to furnish aspects of the early Christian age divorced from the common traditions and doctrines of the Church. It will be a simple task to mold an individual conception of Christianity during the "Apostolic Age" with this book; but it is also a matter of individual conscience to decide whether that is a good thing or not. Overall this "history" will posit a significant amount of information that will not be found elsewhere. This book is a good addition to a Christian library, and together with a work by Dr. Augustus Neander concerning the first three centuries of Christianity it will be totally indespinsable.