Wanted: High School Church History course

[mike]

I'm looking for a good high school Church History course for our home school and wondered if anyone has any recommendations for a textbook or curriculum.

[Judas Maccabeus]

I'm looking for a good high school Church History course for our home school and wondered if anyone has any recommendations for a textbook or curriculum.

Have you considered "Cup and Cross" ?

J.M.

[mike]

I'm looking for a good high school Church History course for our home school and wondered if anyone has any recommendations for a textbook or curriculum.

Have you considered "Cup and Cross" ?

J.M.

I haven't heard of that before, thanks. I have read Michael S. Martin's Pilgrims and Politics. I am looking for a broad spectrum church history; inclusion of the history of Anabaptism would be considered a plus. I have some textbooks on Anabaptist history, which might be a bit above high school level.

[Judas Maccabeus]

I'm looking for a good high school Church History course for our home school and wondered if anyone has any recommendations for a textbook or curriculum.

Have you considered "Cup and Cross" ?

J.M.

I haven't heard of that before, thanks. I have read Michael S. Martin's Pilgrims and Politics. I am looking for a broad spectrum church history; inclusion of the history of Anabaptism would be considered a plus. I have some textbooks on Anabaptist history, which might be a bit above high school level.

You mean like Roland Bainton’s “The Reformation of the Sixteenth Century?”

That may work, but it’s chapter on Anabaptism is really bad. It see the Early movement as a moral impluse.

J.M.

[Bootstrap]

Mike, can you say more about what you are looking for? You want it to be high school level, broad-spectrum, and presumably good on the Anabaptists as well?

I wonder if it would be easier to cobble together a set of good articles that each cover one period well.

[mike]

Mike, can you say more about what you are looking for? You want it to be high school level, broad-spectrum, and presumably good on the Anabaptists as well?

I wonder if it would be easier to cobble together a set of good articles that each cover one period well.

I would want it to cover from the early church to the present, not just a history of the Reformation. Good on Anabaptists would be nice but not required.

[mike]

Some possibilities for a text:





Maybe there would be a possibility of using one of these or a similar text, and then assigning papers or summaries for each chapter or section.

[francis]

I've heard that Christianity: The First Three Thousand Years is good. Not sure if it's high school level, but I watched the documentary series on it recently and really enjoyed it.

[Pelerin]

It depends on what exactly you’re looking for, but you might consider Mark Noll’s Turning Points. It’s been a few years since I read it, but I enjoyed it very much.

As the name implies, it’s written around episodes where the Church grappled with choices or adapted to deal with new situations. This approach has some natural drama to it. It also prompts good questions: “Why this instead of that?” and “What if…” that help us understand why we are the way we are today.

I don’t think Anabaptism was covered much, though that’s hard to complain about too much when you’re trying to fit 2,000 years into a reasonably-sized book. The 20th century was a little too evangelical-oriented, but then again, that is where most of the world is going (especially the charismatic/Pentecostal flavors of evangelicalism).

I remember the book being very readable, and I think it would be fine for a high school audience, especially if they’re interested in the subject.

[PeterG]

Some possibilities for a text:

I enthusiastically recommend Church History in Plain Language. I believe it was written as an introductory college text, but a high school student who's not scared by its length should have no problems with it. It is simply and engagingly written and covers church history comprehensively. Get a copy. Even if you don't end up using it for school you'll be glad to have it in your library.

I'm not familiar with that book by Gonzalez, but he wrote another book called Church History: An Essential Guide that provides a good big-picture outline in less than 100 pages.

You might also be able to use some of the resources found here.