I do not know Carl Trueman all that well, but from what I do know of him, he is not a man who is prone to overexcitement or hyperbole. Because of that, when he does get excited about something, I am likely to pay attention. It is for that reason that I found myself intrigued by a book he recommended as “remarkable” and “that rarest of books.” He says if you read it, “you will be informed, entertained, and edified.” That was enough for me, so I did as he suggested: “Take up and read.”
30 Key Moments in the History of Christianity by Mark W. Graham is a history of the early church—the church of the first millennium. Graham begins at the end of the Apostolic era and closes 900 years later, just around 1000 AD. He tells this history by focusing on 30 specific moments that proved especially significant. Such an approach has both limitations and benefits. In terms of limitations, “readers might well find themselves wishing for the larger historical picture and searching to fill in the gaps between and among the moments covered here.” Of course, people may also want greater depth or wish to hear about characters or events the author chose not to include. Yet Graham addresses and mitigates this limitation by providing thorough citations and a list of recommended works that will provide what his work lacks.
This approach has benefits, too. It allows the author to focus on only the key events and people, thus passing over ones that may matter, but may not be quite as interesting or important. It also allows him to keep the book’s size manageable and reader-friendly at 235 pages. It also makes it the kind of book that can be read casually, since the chapters are relatively brief and, though they follow one another chronologically, they do not necessarily follow one another thematically, so each can be read independently.
The joy of 30 Key Moments in the History of Christianity is that it introduces a period of history most Christians know little about. Even Reformed Christians, who tend to put a premium on knowledge of church history, still often skip quickly from the Apostles to the Councils to the Reformation (probably also pausing to cover Huss and Wycliffe). Yet, as Graham so aptly points out, there are many of “Our People” (the endearing term he uses throughout) in the first millennium whose stories we ought to know. And to our surprise, we will find they existed “on the shores of the Black Sea, the Red Sea, [and] the Mediterranean Sea, [and] deep in the Middle East, Britain [and] China.”
Graham does more than introduce them and tell their stories—he also draws lessons that are applicable to Christians today. So, for example, when he discusses Donatism, he draws this application:
Such might call to mind the all-too-common anonymous online attacks and deep-faked videos we see today by zealous Christians who imagine their cause as just and desire quick victories, even at the expense of openness and truth. Wisdom can never be in such corners, regardless of how justified some might feel in carrying out dishonest and cowardly acts.
He continues:
Christians sometimes revel in nostalgia. It is not uncommon to hear Christians today pining for a return to the fourth-century church or to sixteenth-century communities, or even imagining themselves as the restoration of the first-century church. Quite often, a bit of historical scrutiny reveals a fundamental myth of a golden age that never really existed.
Here is another example related to the Byzantine Empire and the first Holy War:
Assuming that our victories are ultimately God’s victories carries a serious risk. Despite Christian confidence over the centuries that each moment is the culminating moment in history, so often it has been revealed to be what it is—a mere episode in the history of Our People. History holds important lessons for us that are painful at times but always helpful. Where does the Russia-Ukraine conflict fit into God’s timetable of history? In ten years, will the conflict between Hezbollah and Israel still be seen as a signal of the imminent apocalypse? Confidently affirming that “we trust in the name of the Lord” (Ps. 20:7) does not commit God’s people to speculating on each moment in history and its place in God’s ultimate timetable for humanity.
This is history, but history we can learn from, history that applies to the present day.
Having read 30 Key Moments in the History of Christianity, I understand and echo Trueman’s enthusiasm for it. Even if your reading diet does not regularly include history, I’d encourage you to change that with this book. I expect you’ll soon echo Trueman as well.
