The Modern Scholar: From Jesus to Christianity: A History of the Early Church

By: Thomas F. Madden

Narrated by: Thomas F. Madden

Entrusting the apostles to continue the work he had started by instructing them to "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit . . .," Jesus kindled the fires of a new religion in a world largely dominated by polytheism, cult leader worship, and mysticism. In the first century of its existence, Christianity was both welcomed and vilified throughout the Roman Empire. Many of Christianity's original adherents were martyred - murdered by those who believed it a danger to their authority or, at the very least, the cause of unrest among an otherwise docile populace.

Christians themselves practiced their religion with great diversity, linked as much to local influences as theology. Political intrigue, theological beliefs, and simple misunderstandings created a need for dialogue between the many practitioners of the growing faith.

Christianity's adoption as the official faith of the Roman state tied it inexorably to the fortunes of the Empire. This also helped to create a gulf between the two main theological branches of the religion, which remain to this day.

Download the accompanying reference guide.©2005 Thomas F. Madden (P)2005 Recorded Books

INTERESTING AND USEFUL

It's an interesting and accesible/easy to understand overview of early christianity. My only complain is that the prof is a little bit too hesitant in his presentation on the first part of the course(first few lectures), and that makes it a little bit hard to listen to at first.
Overall i find it very useful to anyone who wants to understand how christianity got be to be what it is today.

Great course

If you looking for people who want to try to twist history into sensationalist claims then I guess Dr. Madden won't be for you. You won't get the recently popular nonsense about how Mary Magdalene had Jesus's baby on the coast of France or whatever. If missing out on that means it will be boring to you, then this will be boring.


But he gives allot of the information regarding early church history and doesn't have an axe to grind. With him it seems facts first and then theories. The theories may not be as spectacular but they also aren???t horribly misinformed. And I will say even the seemingly less sensational theories that spring up from listening to his lectures have always given me allot to think about.



As far as his tone of voice and that sort of thing, I had no problem with it. But then again I find the material interesting.

A good lecture

This is the first set of lectures by Professor Thomas Madden on the Church History. The lecture starts with the time of Jesus Christ to the Chaucedon and Nestorian expulsion. Madden's lectures are generally consistant in quality and I enjoy them, but for people prefer humourous lecturing styles, some may find him monotonous.

Very informative. Great job with this.

I am learning so much. Very informative and just the facts. No religion, not that I am not a fan of Christian books, but this is just the history. This guy Tom Madden is amazing.

perfect a great overview Professor Madden is geat<br />

it goes quickly it's an excellent overview the professor really digs down and make some really clear that Christianity didn't cause the collapse of the Roman Empire

Mixed review

I was very interested in this topic but I found the speaker difficult to listen to. Rhythm and cadence were distracting in the extreme. I stuck with it only because, my interest in the topic out weighed my frustration with the speaker.

Excellent, unbiased history

Professor Madden is brilliant in his presentation of historical facts, unobscured by biases that are prevalent from many others in academia. I highly recommend this.

Great overview introduction for a neophyte

I say that as a neophyte, granted - so perhaps someone who knows better might disagree with emphases.

For my part, I feel better educated about the rise of Christianity from the times of Jesus to the early rise of Muslim rule.

Review of all the Reviews...and the Lecture

Before I purchased this lecture I read all the reviews to make sure it was worth my time and money. I was confused when I saw about 60% positive at 5 stars and then 40% at 1 star. How could such a lecture be so great, and so terrible?! I tried to take into account each persons review but in the end I still had to make the decision based on the reviews. Since this was my first Modern Scholar lecture I figured I should give the positives the benefit of the doubt. Boy am I glad I did! I was looking for something the gave a brief outline, with some half decent detail, to the early church. This course hit that head on. I now have a general understanding of the major themes and situations and can choose which one(s) I want to learn more about and which I'm not so interested in.

I'm a little disappointed with the negative reviews, especially with such low ratings as 1 star. I'd like to counter each of those negative reviews with my personal thoughts:

1.) "Boring and Superficial". What are you expecting, a sermon? This is a lecture class, not a church setting. Don't get me wrong, I'm a Christian, and there is a good place for a sermon, and much of this information could and should be used in sermons, but this is not a sermon. This is a history lecture, and for that, I give it 5 stars. If you are interested enough in a topic the lecture does not need to be energetic and zesty, you will get what you want out of it.

2.) "Boring even to the presenter". Very similar response to #1, not sure what exactly you are looking for?

3.) "Disappointing". I agree that this course is just a "primer", but how much can you really get into in only 7 hours of audio? This course gives a great overview of the major themes and was great for someone looking at such a broad topic as the title shares.

4.) "Zzzzzzzzzzz". Not much of a review, maybe you were tired, get some sleep.

5.) "Doesn't sound very scholarly". This was the only review that I found was slightly correct in it's analysis. However, this review would only possibly be for the first 3-4 lectures. I agree there was a slight bit of jumping around from topic to topic, for this I would rate it 3.5 stars, but even then, not as terrible as you make it. As for his Bible content, again, this is not a sermon. He uses the Bible for it's history, not it's spirituality. This is fine to do for a history lecture. There's a place for each.


Overall I would give this 4.5 stars. I'm going to listen to a few more modern scholars and then perhaps I can have a view of some others to compare it to, but stand alone I thought it was a great overview of what the title promised.

Excellent Introduction to History of Christianity

If you are looking for a historical introduction to how Christianity began and spread, this is a great place to start ! The content is solid ! After listening to this book you will be able to understand and explain how Christianity spread after the death of Christ and the early establishment of the Church.