We are less than a week away from the March 31 launch of my new book and documentary Epic: An Around-the-World Journey through Christian History. Between the book and the 10 episodes, you’ll be able to track with me as I scour the world for historical objects which together tell the story of the Christian faith. We put together this timeline to display some of the highlights and how through them we can trace the history of our faith.
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(Currently the best price is at Westminster Books which has the book for $12 and the DVD for $24.)
What is this project all about? I’m glad you asked. Here’s the text we use to describe it.
Each generation suffers from self-obsession, and we do well to keep one eye on the past, to consider not only where we wish to go, where we have been. Christianity has a long and storied past that testifies to God’s enduring grace, and even though so much of Christian history has passed away and many of its people and objects have been lost to time, a few precious relics and locations remain.
As we consider these objects with careful eyes and look at them in their historical context, we find the beginnings of a story. Through thirty-three carefully selected objects, author and pastor Tim Challies introduces readers to the history of Christianity in a unique and creative way. It’s a story that tells us what God is accomplishing in this world, whether through princes or peasants, triumph or trial. Each of these objects offers us a tangible link between the present and the past, between the Christians of the twenty-first century and the Christians who lived and died in centuries past.
In a few cases these objects are hidden away or in private collections, but more commonly they are there for all who wish to see them. Beginning with the relics of the earliest Christians, we journey through history to look at the importance of a peculiar scrawl of graffiti and the creedal significance of an otherwise unremarkable carving. We take a leap forward in time to consider the loving labor of monks and the martyrdom of Christians who called for reform long before the days of Luther. We look at pulpits and paintings and posters and pieces of machinery. And, of course, we look at books and the remains of books – for nothing has so charted and maintained the course of Christian history as its books.
If you do pre-order, there is some neat bonus material available which you can request at epicchristianhistory.com.
Again, currently, the best price you can get is from Westminster Books, and they are offering the book for just $12 and the documentary series on DVD for just $24.