A Popular History of the Catholic Church

Rating:
Summary: A history to help us understand the Church today
Review: from Criss Cross, No. 5: "a new resource that can help us to remember by becoming more familiar with the varied colorful history of the Catholic Church. . . can be recommended without hesitation for catechists, parents and all persons wishing to remember our Catholic roots. This history helps us to understand why the Catholic Church exists as it does today, while it gives necessary perspectives for envisioning the future."

Rating:
Summary: journey to the past to see the future
Review: from The Faith Connection, 7/12/98: "offers readers a journey into the past so they can see the future. Koch makes a good point: we need to see the church with new eyes so that we can advance its mission with wiser minds and hearts."

Rating:
Summary: A very good overview
Review: This was an extremely good introduction to the history of the church. Especially the early church history was written very lively, giving me a new understanding and appreciation for this period in time. The layout and structure of the book, including interesting maps and charts, made the reading very nice too.

I enjoyed the balanced treatment of this topic, neither blaming the church for all negative that ever happened, nor white-washing and excusing dark areas in history. The author mentioned very nicely the conditions of the times leading to new developments, be they negative or good.

Rating:
Summary: Not balanced
Review: Unfortunately, I ordered this book thinking that it was the book by the same title, but written by a true historian--Phillip Hughes. Carl Koch, on the other hand is a professor of education, human development, and English at Saint Mary's University of Minnesota Graduate School. If you are looking for a work on the Church by a true historian, look elsewhere. I recommend strongly the works of H. Daniel Rops, Phillip Hughes, and the especially readable Warren Carroll (History of Christendom series is superb).

The work itself is the typical liberal-'catholic' dogma. Luther was a great guy that had it right and was wronged by the Church. ..those familiar with liberal garbage can probably guess the rest.